Medium Goldendoodle

Choose an Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) compliant food matched to life stage, and let your vet set the amount. They will work out the daily kilocalories from your dog's lifestyle, health, reproductive status and the specific food you are using, which is more useful than a chart on the bag.

Adults get two measured meals a day. Puppies under six months need a minimum of three, and up to four suits some.

Keep your Medium Goldendoodle lean. Obesity in dogs causes conditions and aggravates existing ones, and this is a breed with hip, elbow and patella issues in the background where every extra pound is loaded onto a joint. Treats stay at 10 percent of intake or below.

Feeding a homemade diet is possible but not casual: have a veterinary nutritionist calculate it rather than assembling it from recipes. On a complete commercial diet, no supplements are needed unless a vet prescribes them.

A Medium Goldendoodle carries a good deal of coat, and all three approved textures need constant and regular grooming. Brush at least a few times a week and book a professional groom every four to eight weeks; the cost of that is a real part of owning this breed and worth budgeting before the puppy arrives.

The habit that makes it possible is trained, not innate. Handle the puppy, comb it, and get it used to standing still from the first weeks; a 45-pound adult that refuses is a genuine problem.

Bathe when your dog is wet or dirty rather than on a timetable, using a dog shampoo, and ask your vet how frequently your dog's skin can take it.

Keep the bangs trimmed clear of the eyes, watch for the glaucoma and cataract symptoms the breed is prone to, and keep the ears clean and dry after every bath and swim. Daily tooth brushing rounds it out.

Thirty to sixty minutes a day is the published requirement, and a Medium Goldendoodle is well set up to take the upper end of it. Walks, runs, hikes and open play all count, and this size can keep up on a long day out.

Give the exercise structure where you can. Obedience and agility both play to a fast, trainable dog, and a session of either does more for a bored Goldendoodle than an extra half hour of leash walking.

The early puppy years are when the requirement is least negotiable. A young Medium Goldendoodle that is under-exercised and under-stimulated is where the breed's reputation for mischief comes from.

A yard is preferred and this size makes more use of one than the smaller tiers do, but an apartment works if the daily hour is real.

This is a highly trainable dog with a strong reason to work with you, and positive reinforcement is all it takes. Obedience classes and agility both suit a Medium Goldendoodle and give the intelligence somewhere to go.

Socialise early and widely. A friendly nature is the starting point, not the finished article; exposure to new people, animals, surfaces and situations is what produces the settled adult the standard describes.

Train from a young age to set habits that hold. The grooming tolerance this coat demands is part of that curriculum, and so is polite greeting behaviour, which matters more at 45 pounds than at 20.

Build up time alone deliberately. Goldendoodles are prone to separation anxiety, benefit from being part of the daily routine, and should not be left for more than about eight hours. Crate training and a walker or sitter cover the gap.