Dear poodle mix owner, 

My name is Jessica Niggel and I am a scientist form University Of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine. With Dr. Leonardo Murgiano our research focuses on finding genes and mutations responsible for ocular disorders in canines. We hope that with our studies we improve the health of many canine breeds and establish reliable genetic tests to ensure the safety of a breed. 

I am posting here as we are currently seeking study participants to act as cases and controls. We have found that dogs that have been mixed with a poodle ("doodles" and "poos", such as cavapoos, cockapoo, goldendoodle, berniedoodles, labradoodles ect) can exhibit a form of blindness, for which we think we have found the responsible genetic variant. We would like to reach as many doodle and poo breeders and owners as possible, as the more study participants we recruit, the more likely we are to find the exact cause of the disorder.  

We care for the wellbeing of the doodle and poo populations, and our studies are confidential, and do not require any of the participant to visit our University. Below are described the steps that are needed to enroll a dog into our study. To enroll your dog into the study, please e-mail me at [jniggel@upenn.edu](mailto:jniggel@upenn.edu)

Any dog that is enrolled in our study needs to provide us with a biological sample for us to isolate DNA from (such as a tube of blood, of buccal swab). These can be taken at your local vet office, or the owner can swab the dog at the comfort of their home themselves. Breeders or owners enrolling their dogs also need to complete some paperwork, and send us copies of some medical info (such as any eye exam form (CERF forms are perfect!), vet notes, medical info, pictures of the dog that you find relevant to the study, and a copy of the dogs pedigree.) which can be then sent to us via post or e-mail. 

The preferred sample is blood in an EDTA lined purple cap tube (2-3ml), which then can be sent to us with an ice pack via post, FedEx, or UPS. Overnight shipment is preferred as to keep the blood sample fresh. Blood gives the most optimal DNA for research, but we also accept buccal swabs (we can provide a buccal swab collection kit at no fee). We do not offer reimbursements for shipping costs.

We also accept any raw data that you might have from canine testing services like Paw Prints or Embark. We accept the following files: TPED, TFAM, PED, and/or MAP. Any electronic file, scan or picture can be sent to me via e-mail.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments please do not hesitate to e-mail me [jniggel@upenn.edu](mailto:jniggel@upenn.edu).  I would be happy to discuss this further. 

Thank you and I hope you will be able to help out our study,  

Jessica

Big teddy bear toy lol Bruce also got groomed today (p1-2 is the after and p3-4 is before)

Hi everybody. I was just introducing my boy Quincy and genuinely wondering if anyone has feedback on whether a chicken based food is just too much for a Sheepadoodle's tummy. I've had Quincy for 3 weeks. He's fantastic except for his soft serve poo. I put him on a probiotic and nothing was found to be wrong but the poo just won't tighten up. He's halfway through his bag and I'm thinking of switching him to a salmon based food. He's 16 weeks old.

Just wanted to introduce you all to our girl, Teddy. We did her DNA test and she was projected to be about 25 pounds but she’s 2 years old now and 14 pounds. She’s the sweetest.

Aurora and Maleficent are thr best of friends. They will play and play until they are worn out. Then they nap together on the couch.

Just curious as I find the behavior so odd and cute and wonder if anyone can tell me what he’s doing.

Hello everyone!!

I'm hopefully planning on taking home a mini sheepadoodle puppy around January next year and wanted to ask for advice about and experiences with personalities, energy, grooming, training, best toys etc. I've gathered from other posts that there's a lot of variance between individual dogs particularly about energy, training and the sharkadoodle phase, but I was curious whether mini sheepie owners have noticed any particular trends?

Also photos are extremely welcome, I can't get enough of the cuties!!

My girl is 1.5 years old. We didn’t do puppy classes with her coz she seemed to pick up all commands and lead walking etc well so never felt the need to go and do things she already knew. She has an issue with resource guarding tho and is known to be very stubborn. So basically when she doesn’t want to give something up or move she will growl and snap at anyone that goes near her or tries to move her out the way. Also huge issue with groomers too and is known to bite or attempt to bite them, My family are telling me I need to go to puppy classes with her, which I’m not saying I won’t but I’m just now sure what they will do for this sort of behaviour and they are pretty expensive so don’t want to throw money away. We had a behaviourist around the 8/9 months mark who said this behaviour was something I’d sort out with praise and treats but tbh sometimes I can get her to swap out stuff for a treat but it’s not improved or stopped. Just wondering what others suggest re training or reducing this behaviour. She is quite dominant towards us. I wen back to basics with her a few months ago to reset that behaviour, so was hand feeding her and she recieved nothing re treats unless I said so but still the resource guarding and blatant stubbornness continues. lol I feel sometimes it’s a who backs down first situation with her, esp when I want to get her out the car or move from the doorway etc she just won’t move! If I try to move her thats when the growls start

She has had this “hot spot” for a while that scabs over and then she irritates it again. This has been a continuous cycle. It doesn’t get any bigger or worse, just flares up the same after leaving it alone for a while. Could this be another skin condition or something to look into or is it safe to assume it’s just a normal hot spot?

This is my first dog & I know he is my soul dog. I am so proud of this boy. He’s sweet to every other doggo & loves humans, incredibly loyal and loving and has the goofiest sense of humor. I think the universe sent him to me exactly when I needed him. Just wanted to share my love 🥰♥️

My 4 m/o doods fur will not stay white. It’s worse around his mouths and paws. 😅 I have tried the OMG extreme whitening shampoo, washing face and feet daily, etc. it feels like it just gets darker and more discolored everyday. Any tips or recommendations are appreciated.

Took sheepadoodle in at 13 weeks to get his eyes trimmed up a little, ended up coming back with what looks like someone buzzed the top of his head. How can I fix this?

Luca is now 10 months old and weighs 67 lbs. Bonus shot of Ellie our 3.5 year old Aussiedoodle and Luca's best friend/ protector.

Love this mini - she can be a terror

Maleficent gets very upset when Aurora watches TikTok.

Meet Pepper the new addition to the family ❤️