An Australian Shepherd and Poodle cross.

The Poodle, Bichon & Water Dogs family. Curly-coated water retrievers and their companion-sized cousins. Their low-shedding coats made the Poodle the parent of most modern 'doodle' mixes, which sit here.

This mix combines the Australian Shepherd and the Standard Poodle. Mixed litters vary, so a puppy can take after either parent in size, coat and temperament.

Smart, energetic and goofy.

Voice

Barks to alert you, then settles.

With kids

Friendly with kids and usually patient.

Other dogs

Generally sociable with other dogs.

Home

Can adapt to an apartment with daily outings.

Exercise. Very high energy: needs a lot of daily exercise plus a job for its brain, such as herding, agility or scent work. Puppies do better with several short sessions than one long walk, and older dogs need gentler outings.

Training. Learns fast and loves a job. Keep its brain busy with obedience, tricks or dog sports, or it will invent its own work.

Curly, continuously growing coat: it sheds little but mats easily, so brush several times a week and plan regular professional clips. Light shedding.

For every dog: trim nails when you can hear them click on the floor, brush teeth daily if you can (a few times a week still helps), and clean ears about once a month, drying them well after baths and swims.

Daily calories

About 780–1,690 kcal for a healthy adult

Dry food

Roughly 2–4.25 cups a day at ~400 kcal per cup

Puppies eat four small meals a day at 6 to 12 weeks, drop to three somewhere between 3 and 6 months, and move to two meals a day from about 6 months.

Keep treats, including training treats and table scraps, under 10% of daily calories.

Calories use the resting-energy formula from the Merck Veterinary Manual (70 × body weight in kg^0.75) times a maintenance factor of 1.4 to 1.8, so very active or working dogs may need more. Cups assume about 400 kcal per cup; check your food's label. Treat any feeding chart as a starting point and adjust to body condition.

Typical lifespan is 12–15 years. Conditions reported in the breed:

Ask breeders for health-test results from the parents (hips, eyes, and DNA tests where relevant), and schedule yearly vet checkups.

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• PetMD: Types of doodle dogs (opens in a new tab)
• AKC: Puppy feeding fundamentals (opens in a new tab), bloat (opens in a new tab), treats (opens in a new tab) and grooming (opens in a new tab)
• Merck Veterinary Manual: Nutritional requirements of small animals (opens in a new tab)

Ratings for energy, shedding and the like are our own summaries, informed by these sources. Breed facts were checked in October 2026.