How to Choose the Right Australian Labradoodle Puppy for You
The right Australian Labradoodle puppy for your family is the one whose temperament matches your home, not the cutest face in the photo. Pick by temperament first, coat type second, size third, and color or gender last. The puppy that thrives with your kids, your schedule, and your activity level will become a calmer, easier dog than the one chosen by looks alone. Reputable breeders use temperament testing (often the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test) at 6 to 7 weeks and match puppies to families based on lifestyle, not on first-come, first-served color requests. At Bestland Australian Labradoodles in Rome, GA, every family on our waitlist gets matched through this process, and it is the single biggest reason our puppies settle so quickly into their new homes.
Here is how to think through the selection from start to finish and what to expect when your turn comes.
Step 1: Match Temperament to Your Family
Even within a single litter of well-bred Australian Labradoodles, individual puppies vary in personality. Some are bold and confident; others are quieter and more sensitive. Some are dominant; some are easygoing. Picking the right energy match for your home is the single biggest predictor of long-term satisfaction.
Think honestly about your home:
- Active family with older kids and outdoor lifestyle? A confident, medium-to-high energy puppy will keep up.
- Quiet household, working from home, or older adults? A calmer, more biddable puppy will be a better fit.
- First-time dog owner? Look for a middle-of-the-pack puppy. Confident enough to settle in, easygoing enough to forgive training mistakes.
- Existing dog in the home? Match energy levels and consider gender pairing carefully.
- Young children (under 6)? Avoid the most dominant or the most timid puppies. The middle is best.
- Therapy or service work? Look for a calm, intuitive, people-focused puppy who naturally seeks human contact.
If you are still deciding whether the breed itself is right for your home, our guide on whether an Australian Labradoodle is the right dog for your family walks through temperament, exercise, and lifestyle considerations.
Step 2: Decide on Size
Australian Labradoodles come in three breed-standard sizes:
- Mini: 14 to 16 inches at the shoulder, 15 to 25 lbs. Best for apartments, smaller homes, families wanting a portable dog. Easy to lift, easy to travel with.
- Medium: 17 to 20 inches, 30 to 45 lbs. The most popular size for active families with kids. Big enough to keep up, small enough to manage.
- Standard: 21 to 24 inches, 45 to 65 lbs. Best for families with space, older kids, or active outdoor lifestyles. Often the calmest and most laid-back of the sizes.
Size affects practical things like furniture protection, travel logistics, food costs, and exercise needs. A mini in an active family with three kids may struggle to keep up; a standard in a small apartment will feel cramped. Pick the size that fits your home, not just the size you find adorable.
Step 3: Pick a Coat Type
Coat type matters most for households with allergies and for grooming preferences. The three accepted coat types are wavy fleece, curly fleece, and wool. Our complete guide on Australian Labradoodle coat types walks through the differences in detail, but the short version is:
- Wavy fleece: Easiest to brush, most movement, low to non-shedding.
- Curly fleece: Soft spirals, holds shape between grooms.
- Wool: Tightest curl, most allergy-friendly, slightly more grooming attention required.
Tell your breeder upfront if anyone in your home has allergies or asthma. They can steer you toward a litter with appropriate coat genetics, since this is something locked in by the parent dogs’ DNA before the puppies are even born.
Step 4: Color and Gender (Why These Come Last)
Australian Labradoodles come in 16 recognized colors, including chocolate, parchment, cream, gold, red, apricot, lavender, caramel, café, chalk, blue, silver, and black, plus a range of accepted patterns like parti and phantom. Pick a color you love, but understand:
- Color does not affect temperament. A black puppy and a chocolate puppy from the same litter can have very different personalities.
- Color can change as the puppy matures. Chocolates often turn parchment or lavender by age 3. Reds can fade. True coat color stabilizes over the first year or two.
- Gender does not affect temperament much. Both males and females in this breed are calm, affectionate, and people-focused. Males do not typically mark territory when neutered early.
- Gender pairing with an existing dog matters more. If you already have a dog at home, your breeder may recommend opposite-gender pairing for the smoothest transition.
A breeder who insists you cannot reserve a specific color or gender at the outset is not being difficult; they are protecting the temperament-first matching process. Trust it.
The puppy you bring home is the one you will live with for the next 12 to 15 years. A few weeks of waiting for the right temperament match is worth far more than getting your favorite color from the wrong litter.
Step 4: Open House and Temperament Match (6 to 7 Weeks)
Around 6 to 7 weeks of age, the puppies are evaluated using a temperament test, often the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test. The breeder uses these results to recommend specific puppies for specific families.
Most reputable breeders host an Open House visit at this stage, where families on the waitlist:
- Meet the puppies in person along with the parent dogs
- Watch the puppies play together to observe individual personalities
- Hear the breeder’s recommendations on which puppy fits which home
- Provide their top 2 or 3 puppy choices
- Meet the other families adopting from the litter
At Bestland, the first Open House happens at 6 weeks and lasts a minimum of 2 hours. The whole family is welcome. Bring your signed Adoption Contract with you. Families who live too far away to visit join us by video call. Final puppy assignments are made shortly after, and you will know exactly which puppy is coming home with you.
The puppy a breeder recommends is almost always a better long-term fit than the one you would pick on looks alone. They have spent 6 to 7 weeks living with the litter and know each puppy’s personality.
How Reputable Breeders Help You Choose
Good breeders do not let families pick a puppy from photos. The process usually looks like this:
- Application or questionnaire. You fill out detailed information about your home, family, schedule, experience with dogs, allergy concerns, and what you are looking for in a companion.
- Phone call or video chat. The breeder talks you through expectations and asks follow-up questions.
- Reservation deposit. You secure your spot in line for a specific litter or upcoming season.
- Weekly photos and updates. Once puppies are born, you watch them grow through regular photo and video updates from the breeder.
- Temperament testing at 6 to 7 weeks. The breeder evaluates each puppy’s personality with a structured test like the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test.
- Open House or video pick day at 6 to 8 weeks. You meet the puppies in person or virtually, hear the breeder’s recommendations, and provide your top choices.
- Final matching. The breeder pairs each family with the puppy whose temperament best fits their home.
- Pickup at 8 to 9 weeks. You bring your puppy home along with all the documentation, food, and starter supplies.
If a breeder offers to let you pick a puppy from photos at 4 weeks old based on color, walk away. That is a sign they are not invested in long-term outcomes for the puppy or your family.
The Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test Explained
The Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test is a widely used 10-part evaluation done at 49 days (7 weeks) of age. It measures:
- Social attraction (does the puppy come when called?)
- Following (does the puppy follow a person walking away?)
- Restraint (how does the puppy respond when gently held on its back?)
- Social dominance (how does the puppy respond to being stroked and held?)
- Elevation dominance (how does the puppy respond to being lifted?)
- Retrieving instinct
- Touch sensitivity
- Sound sensitivity
- Sight sensitivity
- Stability around novel objects
Each section is scored from 1 (most dominant) to 6 (most submissive or fearful). The pattern across sections paints a clear picture of the puppy’s natural disposition. The middle scores (mostly 3s and 4s) tend to make the easiest family dogs. Strong patterns of 1s indicate a puppy that needs a confident, experienced owner. Strong patterns of 6s suggest a sensitive, quieter home.
A breeder who runs the Volhard or a similar evaluation is showing you they take placement seriously.
What to Watch For at the Breeder's Open House
When you visit the puppies in person, watch for:
- How the puppy responds to your kids. Does it move toward them or away?
- Body language with strangers. Confident puppies approach calmly; over-exuberant ones jump and nip; fearful ones hide.
- Recovery from startle. Drop a soft toy near the puppy. A balanced puppy startles briefly, then investigates. A fearful one stays away.
- Energy across the visit. A puppy that is calm at first may be exhausted; ask the breeder how it has acted across the day.
- Social comfort. Watch how the puppy interacts with siblings. Is it the bully, the loner, or the middle peacemaker?
Trust your breeder’s recommendations. They have spent 8 to 9 weeks with these puppies; you have spent an hour. Their judgment on which puppy fits which family is almost always more accurate than first impressions from a single visit. For more on what a good early environment looks like, see our guide on home-raised vs. kennel-raised puppies.
Red Flags When Choosing a Puppy
Be cautious if you encounter:
- A breeder who lets you reserve a specific puppy by color or gender alone before the litter is born
- No temperament testing or evaluation process
- Pressure to put down a deposit immediately without an application
- Refusal to share parent health testing documents
- Vague or conflicting answers about where the puppies are raised
- No waiting list or matching process; you can pick any puppy on any day
- Multiple litters available year-round in large numbers (a sign of a high-volume operation)
A reputable breeder will be selective with you, and that is a good thing. The questions they ask you are part of how they ensure happy long-term placements.
Bestland's Matching Process
At Bestland, every family who reserves a puppy fills out a detailed application about your home, lifestyle, kids, allergies, and what you are looking for. We send weekly photos and videos as the puppies grow, run temperament evaluations at 6 to 7 weeks, and host two Open House visits at 6 and 9 weeks for in-person meet-and-greets. Families who live too far away to visit join us by video. We make the final matches based on the temperament fit between each puppy and each home, with your top choices weighted heavily.
You can browse our current and upcoming litters, meet our parent dogs, and walk through our full adoption process when you are ready to begin.
Find the Right Bestland Puppy for Your Family
📞 Call or text 770-709-8497 and we will walk through your home, your lifestyle, and the litters we have coming up. With 15 years of breeding experience and ALCA-aligned standards, we serve families across Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and nearby areas. Domestic delivery is available to major U.S. airports for families farther out.
