What the 2026 Doodle Behavior Study Actually Found (And What the Headlines Got Wrong)

A major study from the Royal Veterinary College went viral this week, and headlines from the BBC to Smithsonian Magazine declared that Doodles "behave worse" than purebred dogs. Before you panic, read this.

I read all 24 pages of the actual study. Plus the 2024 companion study from the same research team. And what I found is a story that is significantly more nuanced, more hopeful, and more useful than any headline captured.

In this episode I break down what the study actually measured (owner survey data, not clinical veterinary observation), which Doodle crosses were and were not studied (Goldendoodles, Bernedoodles and Sheepadoodles were NOT included), what the Labradoodle findings actually show, the training methods finding nobody reported, and the health-behavior connection buried in the discussion section that may be more relevant to your dog than anything else in the study.

The study is right about something important: Doodles are not plug-and-play dogs. But your dog is not broken. And this episode gives you the full picture.

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Corinne Gearhart is the founder of The Doodle Pro®, a science-based training platform helping Doodle parents raise calmer, well-mannered dogs using positive reinforcement. She is the host of The Doodle Pro® Podcast and author of Your Doodle’s Daily Schedule Blueprint™.

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Transcript

0:26

My phone started buzzing Thursday morning before I even had my tea, text messages, dms, emails, all the same version of one thing. Corinne, did you see this? So I started clicking and here's what I found. The BBC designer dog owners report more problem behaviors, vets sworn. Smithsonian Magazine. Contrary to popular belief, some doodle crossbred dogs may have more behavioral problems than their pure bred parents. The guardian crossbred dogs show more behavioral problems than pure breed. Studies suggest whales online dog breeds worse. For owner aggression, a study finds problems. And then this one, which I have to be honest, made me laugh A little newser scientist eye, a problem with trendy doodle dogs. Trendy if you have a doodle, you know there's nothing trendy about trying to host a dinner party with your doodle around. I read every one of those articles and then I did something most of those journalists did not do. I found the actual study. All 24 pages of it. Published March 19th, 2026 in a peer review journal called PLOS one out of the Royal Veterinary College in the uk. And then I went back and read the companion study they published in 2024 on the same dogs. Because here's what I wanna tell you before we go any further, what those headlines said the study found and what this study actually found are two different things. And today we're going to talk about all of it, the real findings, the things the media missed entirely, what it means for your dog, and most importantly, what you can actually do with this information. Starting today. I'm Corinne Gearhart founder of the Doodle Pro and your host. This is episode 93 of the Doodle Pro Podcast. Let's get into it. Before we dig into the findings, I wanna give you some important context because understanding what this study is and what it is not is going to change how you hear everything that comes after This study was conducted by researchers at the Royal Veterinary College in London. It's surveyed owners of 9,402 dogs. In the United Kingdom using a validated behavioral assessment tool called the Sea Bark, that stands for the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire. It measures 12 different behavioral categories, including trainability, excitability, fear, anxiety, aggression, and separation related problems. The study compared three different designer cross breeds against their purebred parent breeds Cockapoos, which are a cocker spaniel crossed with a poodle, labradoodles, which are a Labrador retriever crossed with a poodle and CAOs, which are a Cavalier King Charles spaniel crossed with a poodle. I wanna stop right there because I need to say something directly to a lot of you. If your dog is a golden doodle, a bernadoodle, a sheep, a doodle, an Aussie dole, a schnoodle, a multi poo, or any other doodle cross that's not on this list. This study was not about your dog. The researchers themselves clearly say in the paper that results should not be extrapolated to designer cross breeds that were not studied. Each cross breed needs its own evidence base. Every headline that said doodles as a blanket category was overstating what the data actually showed. I also want to say a specific hello to all of our listeners in the UK because I know a lot of you found this episode through the BBC coverage or the Guardian welcome. This is your national story and I want to give you the full picture that the headlines didn't. Everything we cover today applies directly to you too. Now the second thing you need to know about this study was there was a companion study published by the same research group in 2024 that looked at the physical health of these same three cross breeds, same dogs, essentially, same research team. Same methods. That study found no significant health difference in 86.6% of comparisons between the cross breeds and their pure bred parents that did not get the same headlines, probably because doodles are basically fine, health-wise, is less clickable than the alternative. But it matters enormously for what comes next. One more thing before we get into the findings. I want to be transparent with you about the nature of this data. This study measured what owners reported about their dog's behavior, not what a behaviorist or a vet directly observed. The researchers used a validated and rigorous tool. And they're controlled for many confounding factors, but the data still flows through owner perception. The researchers themselves acknowledge this. I am telling you this because I think you deserve to understand the full picture of what this research is and what it is not. That does not make the findings invalid. It makes them a starting point for a more nuanced conversation, which is exactly what we are having today. Before we get into the numbers, I want to address something about the headlines themselves, because several of them use specific language that I think created a false picture of what this research actually is. The BBC headline said. Vets warn other headlines, say, vets say that language implies something very specific. It conjures an image of veterinarians sitting in their clinic, seeing a surge of doodle behavior problems walking through their doors bite injuries, behavioral euthanasia cases, clinical records showing a crisis. That is not this study. This study is owners filling out a questionnaire about their perception of their dog's behavior.. The Royal Veterinary College conducted and published the research, which is where the word vets comes from in the headlines. But the RVC is a world class research institution. This is not a clinical report. There are no bite statistics in this study. No behavioral euthanasia data. No vet visit records, no direct observation of any of the 9,402 dogs, the researchers. Never met those dogs. They analyzed what the owners said about their dogs. That is owner reported survey data analyzed by veterinary researchers, and that's a meaningful distinction. I am not saying this to dismiss the study. The methodology is rigorous. The tool they used is validated and they controlled for many confounding factors, this report is not saying that your doodles vet is seeing a sudden clinical surge in behavior problems. If you walk into your vet's office next week and ask about this study, they're reading the same headlines you. But what bets experience with our doodles is a complete other topic that we cover on other episodes. The data in this report is about owner perception, not clinical presentation. Understanding that changes how you should sit with these findings. Okay, the big scary number, let's talk about it. The headlines led with this designer. Crossbreeds overall showed more undesirable behaviors than their parent breeds in 44.4% of comparisons. That sounds alarming until you look at which cross Breeded was driving that number. Cockapoos differed from their parent breeds in 16 out of 24 behavioral comparisons, and they scored worse. And all 16. That is a significant finding. Cockapoos showed noticeably more aggression, more fear, more excitability, and more separation related problems than both Cocker Spaniels and poodles. Cavapoos differed from their parent breeds in 12 out of 24 comparisons and scored worse in 11 of them. And then there are labradoodles. Labradoodles differed from their parent breeds in 11 out of 24 comparisons. But here's where it gets interesting. The labradoodles scored worse than their parent breeds in only five of the comparisons, and they scored better than their parent breeds in six better. When compared specifically to poodles, Labradoodles showed less owner directed aggression, less dog directed aggression, less dog rivalry, less stranger directed fear, less dog directed fear, and fewer separation related problems. The Labradoodle was the only cross breeded in the entire study to score better than its parent breeds on multiple behavioral measures. That is not a headline that ran. Anywhere. Now I wanna tell you something else that almost no one reported, something buried in table One of the study that changes everything about how you interpret the Labradoodle findings. Most of the cockapoos and Cavapoos in the study were first generation crosses about 60% each were F1, meaning their parents were one purebred and one purebred. Less than 1% were multi-generational. The labradoodles were dramatically different. Only 33.8% were F1 and 22.6% were multi-generational, meaning multiple generations of breeders had been intentionally. Selecting for behavioral traits and health. The researchers note this themselves as a possible explanation for why labradoodles performed better. The Labradoodle breeding community has had decades more time to intentionally select towards healthier. Calmer and more stable temperaments. So when you see the Labradoodle results, you're not just seeing a genetic comparison. You are seeing the result of intentional, ethical, multi-generational breeding work. That distinction matters enormously. Now, let me tell you the most counterintuitive finding in the entire study, the one I haven't seen covered anywhere. The study found that owners of pure bred Labrador retrievers and Cocker spaniels were significantly more likely to use aversive training methods compared to Labradoodle, cockapoo and kaaboo owners almost twice as likely in some comparisons. And the pure bred scored better on trainability. Most headlines would read that as old school training works better, but the research themselves say something very different. They flag explicitly that the better trainability scores in the pure bred gun dog breeds may reflect what they call forced suppression of disobedient behaviors. A dog who has had behavior corrected out of them through punishment can look compliant, can look less anxious, but that is not the same as a dog who is at ease or has genuinely learned. The researchers go further. They cite multiple peer reviewed studies showing aversive training, harms dog welfare, and damages the human dog relationship. And they conclude that doodle owners should absolutely not interpret the trainability findings as a reason to use harsher methods. Doodle parents are already leaning towards positive reinforcement. This study suggests that that inclination is the right path. I want to be honest with you here because I am not here to tell you everything's fine and the researchers are wrong. The study is right about some things, and those things deserve your full attention. All three cross breeds showed significantly more non-social fear than their non poodle parent. Non-social fear means fear of inanimate things, traffic loud noises, garbage cans on their walk, novel environments, unexpected objects. All three showed more separation related problems vocalizing destructive behavior distress when left alone. All three showed more excitability, strong reactions to arousing events like walks, visitors, doorbells, car trips. I have seen these same patterns across thousands of doodle families. They are real, they are consistent, and they're the real reason I do this work. But here's the context. The headline stripped away entirely. Almost 50% of doodle parents in the study were first time dog parents. Compare that to 33.7% of pure bred parents. And doodle parents were significantly less likely to work in the canine or animal care sector, only 4.9% compared to 12.9%. So if you have dogs bred for high engagement and high intelligence, increasingly owned by people who have never navigated a dog before with less access to professional guidance and more likely to be relying on social media and advice from friends. That's not a breed character flaw. That's a support gap and maybe an expectations gap. Now here's the piece. Nobody covered. And I think it might be the most practically useful thing in this entire study. The single biggest factor associated with behavioral scores across all comparisons was health disorder prevalence. And the companion 2024 study already told us that doodles are more prone to ear infections and skin conditions like atopic dermatitis than their parent breeds. Here's why that matters. There is peer reviewed research showing that chronic skin conditions and ear infections are directly associated with higher excitability, reduced trainability anxiety and fear-driven behavior. In dogs, a dog who is itchy, uncomfortable, or in low grade chronic pain behaves differently. Their nervous system is already running hot before training even begins. So before you change your training approach based on this study, I want you to ask yourself something. When did your doodle last? Have their ears checked? Have they been licking their paws? Has their skin been assessed? Because some of what this study documented may not primarily be a training issue. It may be a health issue that's showing up as behavior. That's a vet conversation, and that is worth having. The study also found something important about where doodles came from. Doodle parents were significantly less likely to have seen their puppy with its mother on the day of collection, and not seeing the mother was directly associated with worse behavioral outcomes, including lower trainability. More aggression and more separation problems. This is a sourcing issue being mistaken for a breed issue. Dogs from lower welfare sources, including puppies who could not be seen with their mother, show worse behavioral outcomes over time. The breeding quality matters where your dog comes from. Matters. This is part of why ethical, intentional breeding with health testing and temperament selection produces better outcomes. That's not a marketing claim. It's what this research shows. I want to talk about training directly now because I think some of you may have read those headlines and thought maybe I need to be firmer. Maybe I'm being too soft. Maybe treats aren't enough. Wow, I understand that instinct, and I want to be gentle here because a lot of us were taught things about dog training that we now know the science doesn't support alpha rolls. Dominance theory, the idea that your dog's trying to be the boss and you need to put them in their place. Many people were taught this in good faith. It was presented as the way dogs work. But the research is clear. Aversive training methods, the physical corrections, the dominance based techniques, these approaches create stress. They suppress behavior without teaching the dog anything about what to do, and they can damage the relationship. You have worked so hard to build. The study itself confirms this. The dogs in this study who came from owners using aversive methods looked more trainable on paper, but the researchers flag, this may be behavioral suppression, not genuine learning. You don't want a dog who's quiet because they've learned to be afraid. You want a dog who's calm because they've learned to regulate themselves. Because they feel safe. Those are two completely different things. Positive reinforcement is the right approach. The science on this is not ambiguous. It's not only more humane, it's more effective. It builds trust. It creates dogs who want to work with you because working with you feels good. So why are so many doodle parents using positive reinforcement and feeling stuck? This is the thing I want you to hear. Positive reinforcement is the method for doodles. It also has to be a system, a treat, and a clicker will teach your doodles. Some very useful words. Sit down, come leave it. Those are valuable. They are not enough. On their own. Because doodles are bred for a level of engagement and intelligence, that means their brain is running fast and hot most of the time. They are not stubborn. They are switched on constantly. They are looking for things to engage with, respond to react, to be. Part of what that means is that a standard positive reinforcement class will teach your dog skills. But it won't teach your dog how to regulate their own arousal state. It will not teach them how to settle when everything around them is exciting. It will not build the emotional foundation that a high engagement dog needs to actually be calm. That gap between knowing the cues and being able to live calmly with your dog is where most doodle families are, and it is not your fault. You found the right method. You just need the complete system structure, sequence, doodle specific application, daily practice that builds emotional regulation over time, not just compliance upon command. That's the work and it is absolutely possible. I want to tell you something about my dog, Nestle before I close. Nestle is a Cava P, one of the three cross breeds studied in this paper, and I will tell you honestly, even with everything I know, even with 50,000 hours of working with these dogs, Nestle's tested me, the anxiety. The need to be near me constantly, the way unfamiliar environments can send his nervous system sideways. He's not a failure. He's not broken. He is a Cavapoo and he needs what every doodle needs. A patient science-based guardian who understands what his breed was built for and trains with that in mind. Not against it. I have never once regretted getting him. I have absolutely had moments where I wish someone had handed me a better manual, and that's the whole point of this work. Here's what I want to leave you with the study's right. Doodles are not plug and play dogs. They have become the default. First time purchase. The default first family dog. And nobody fully told you what that meant when you brought yours home. The coat, the anxiety, the ear infections, the energy that refuses to quit even after the long walk. Once that doorbell rings the way your dog seems to have their own agenda, most of the time, you're not doing it wrong. You're not failing. You just got a dog that an entire industry sold as easy. And the science is now confirming it was never that simple. And if you've ever felt overwhelmed, embarrassed, or quietly wondering whether you made a mistake, I need you to hear this. You are not alone, not even close. This study surveyed over 9,000 dogs and the people who love them, first time dog, parents, families, people who did everything right and still found themselves Googling, why won't my doodle calm down at 11 o'clock at night? That's exactly why I do this work. Not to tell you, your dog is broken. Not to pile on with another scary headline, but to be the resource that should have existed when you brought your doodle home, the one that tells you the truth and gives you something to do with it. If you're ready for that something, I want to invite you to join my free Doodle Parent challenge. It starts April 20th. It's only five days, and it's completely free and designed specifically for Doodle families who are done guessing and ready for the system that actually works. We're going to work on the exact behaviors this study documented, the excitability, the anxiety, the inability to settle. Even when you've done everything right, and we're going to do it using positive reinforcement in a structure that is built specifically for how doodle brains work. The link to register is in the show notes at thedoodlepro.com/ challenge. And if this episode resonated, will you share it with one doodle parent? You know, because the people reading those scary headlines this week. Deserve the full picture, and you just got it. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for being here and for our UK listeners who found us this week. Welcome. I'm so glad you're here. I'm Corin Gearhart. This is the Doodle Pro podcast, and I can't wait to see you and your pup in the challenge.