I am a prospective Clubman owner. I have an 82-lb chocolate labradoodle who goes on road trips long and short with me. He needs to be able to lie down in the back seat and snooze the journey away. He's used to the back seat of my Subaru Forester. He definitely doesn't take up the whole space when he lies on his side, but he takes up around 2/3ds of it.

Will my big goofy dog be able to lie down in the back seat of the Clubman? I noticed a big seatbelt anchor protrusion in the middle of the back seat--I'd have to put down enough cushiony bedding to keep him from noticing that, and some kind of foam inserts in the foot wells to give him support... what do you think?

 

Why can't you just fold down the back seats. I did that for my Greyhounds. Plus in my gallery you can see the back liner MINI sells if you want to enclose the entire back area. I just put down a dog bed for mine. One of the Greyhounds is 86 pounds and the other is 78. Biggest problem for the skinny, but taller 78-pounder (shown in my siggy) is that he is taller than the female. You can also find dog mats built for the Clubby on the NAM vendors.
I think your Labradoodle would love his own MINI.

 

I'd just fold the seats down and get a pad for the back... The seats fold totally flat. Do a search for dogs and MINIs and you'll see a lot of different options!

 

LOL.. Holly and I posted the same thing at the same time!

 

Could we both be avoiding our work again? I should be doing my 2007 tax stuff, but will always answer a dog question.

Dogs love MINIS, Babies love MINIS!!!

 

82 lb labradoodle? I'm getting a goldendoodle (or two), but I'm not expecting them to get that big. They'll be my first dogs... ever!

 

Our female is a solid 58 lbs - so yes they do get that big,

 

He'll look so cute in a Clubman - where's that Dogs thread? Here it is: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...highlight=dogs though there are many more examples within existing threads.

Go for it, your labradoodle will love it and bring great joy to everyone who sees him in your bigger MINI.

 

As the others have pointed out the Clubman with the seats down and a MINI or Poochstyle.com cargo cover is a wonderful dog car. I transport my two English Pointers to the dog park in it every weekend.

Tim, I hope you are looking at rescue dogs. You can find great dogs of all varieties at shelters and with rescue organizations. Even the "doodle" designer dogs are now prevelant in rescue.

Regards,

Jim

 

Thanks for all the awesome info inre: doodles in minis.

My labradoodle wasn't supposed to get this big, BTW. I think the breeder guesstimated 65 lbs. When he got to 75, I was like, woah. And then, at the last weigh-in, he was 82. I was like, Um, seriously? Anyway, he just turned 3 so I'm hoping the growing is over.

He's such a doll-baby.

I've met a couple goldendoodles. They're all sweet, but I met a couple that were super hyper. I'm a labradoodle girl all the way.

YAY. Well, that settles it. My one concern was whether or not the dog was going to fit in the car, and since he will fit, nothing else matters. I mean... okay, so there won't be a lot of room for carting other stuff. But so what? Just gives me an excuse to buy cute new clothes wherever I go, right?

 

I've got lots of respect for those who take in rescue dogs, but as I mentioned, this will be my first dog ever. Rescue dogs, from what I understand, require experienced dog owners who know how to handle them. I'm reading a book about puppies now so I can learn what it is that I'm supposed to be doing when I get it. This is going to be a complete life-style change for me, so I don't think a rescue dog is for me this time around.

The dog we're getting was born on May 4th in Caribou, Maine, and we'll be picking her right after MINIs On Top. My wife is VERY excited about it.

 

We met a labradoodle puppy last week who was very calm. My wifed wanted to buy him, but he didn't seem to have much "oodle" in him, which would make him a lot less hypoallergenic. I'm allergic to most dogs, but not poodles. Gosh, I hope my Goldendoodle isn't wicked hyper.

Evie, make sure you post some pics of your dog, preferably in MINI when you get a chance.

 

I am all for the adoption of dogs. But like Tim, I had never owned a dog before when I got my labradoodle, and I had a seriously allergic family member. My mom told me she wouldn't see me anymore if I got a dog because even just the dog hair/dander on my clothes/in my car would set her off. Then she heard about labradoodles, arranged to meet and handle a puppy, discovered she didn't react to them... et voila.

Labradoodles are good first dogs because they're hard to mess up. My dog is super gentle, friendly, submissive and playful. He's high energy, but so am I, so it works well for us. He was house trained very quickly and easily, which is important because, as a grad student, I basically rent a lot and home ownership remains a thing of the future.

Goldendoodles... like I said, I met a couple really hyper ones, but as I recall, at least one of the golden owners was pretty lazy about training AND getting his dog enough exercise.

Now that I know what it means to own and train a big, energetic dog, I am definitely thinking about adopting a dog in the future. One dog is enough for me right now, but someday, perhaps when the Ph.D. is done, I will actually own my own house, and then it will be easier to have two dogs and to deal with house-training a new dog.

So don't feel guilty for getting a hypoallergenic doodle, nor for buying a pup--a lot of the doodles that you find up for adoptions are the first gen pups that aren't hypoallergenic. Right now, your best bet for getting a multi gen, hypoallergenic pup is to go to a breeder.

My labradoodle's from Hudson Labradoodle (in Hudson, NY). He is the Best Dog On Earth (According To Me). He's from Australian stock, doesn't shed, adores children more than anything (their faces are at kissing level), and no one has ever been allergic to him. He does have ear problems--I have to clean them every few days with a vinegar and water solution to prevent yeast infections.

Hm. I was planning on getting a red MINI with black trim. But my doodle is chocolate. I wonder if I ought to get a choco MINI to match the doodle?

 

I plan on clubbin with my Rottie, I think his head will look great sticking out the sunroof with doggles on. (he's rather tallish for a rott).

maybe the question is what color to match the hair your pup will leave behind.

 

Doggles!! Hi - LAR - ious. Is it strange that my doodle loves to be dressed up? He'll sit super still to keep sunglasses on his head if I put them on him. He doesn't really like wearing a bandana, but he really enjoys t-shirts. I used to have a pair of doggles for him, but he doesn't like to put his whole head out the window, usually--just his snout.

Doggles, tho, are SOOO funny.

I'm starting to sense that MINI choices are very much about personal style. I mean, the choices you make seem so significant, so telling.

My new favorite color combo is brown + turquoise or brown + pink. Somehow I think that's cute when we're talking about a batik skirt, kind of hideous when we're talking a MINI. Hmmm. This is getting complicated.

 

Apologies, as I'm following this thread off-topic.

It's more that to be a dog rescuer you need to be an experienced dog owner who knows how to handle them. A good dog rescuer will know which dogs are a handful and which can be handled by neophytes, and will make sure you don't get saddled with a dog you can't handle.

That, of course, changes the question to, "OK, how do I know which rescuers are going to hold up their end of the bargain?", which is a much tougher question to answer. I got lucky with mine. Either way, I believe that steering people towards rescues for their first dog may not be in anyone's long-term best interests.

Different people want different things in a dog-- and if what you want is a labradoodle, go get one! There are a zillion dogs at shelters and at rescues, sure-- because they were dogs someone didn't want. If you go get a dog you feel like you have to get instead of one you want to get, you're not going to be as happy about it and the dog runs a much higher risk of eventually being a shelter dog or a rescue dog or worse, a euthanized dog. Once you're in the dog world, and you're finding you're liking it, talking to dog people and vets and such and folks who know the good rescues, well, you may decide your doodle needs a quadruped buddy to hang out with, and maybe that'll be a rescue dog. In my experience most dog people wind up just being dog people, instead of particular breed people...

Heck, you might wind up being a dog rescuer, yourself. Better get the Clubman, it'll fit more dogs...

 

Yucca Patrol has transported more than one Saint Bernard at a time in his MINI Cooper, so a Clubbie would be more than ample for a Labradoodle!

 

LOL... my wife wanted a Chocolate doodle to match our HC clubman.

 

Both our dogs are rescues...one Rottie and one Basset...they love each other. Both have had training and both are family dogs. Owners need to take responsibilty for their animal's traning and make sure they have lots of socialization. Check for doggie daycare in your area for fun time for your pets

 

I'm traveling from the DC area to Williamsburg this weekend with my partner, and my 14 year old son with my Lab in my Clubman, hope this works :-)

 

Hey, welcome to NAM - nice thread to jump into.

Which Clubman do you drive, not that this will effect your companions. I'm sure you'll have fun, but bring some windex for dog nose marks.

 

Labradoodles, and other doodles, because they are mixed breeds, won't return a consistent size, appearance or temperament every time. That's just how genetics works. Even within pure breeds, there can be a lot of variation, and this is particularly true with Labs. The breed standard for purebred Labs calls for them to be 70 pound dogs at their largest, but because Labs originate from St. John's Dog (also the fore-father of the Newfoundland) size is going to vary a lot. My Lab is pure bred and weighs 90 pounds.

Point is, don't trust what the breeder will "guesstimate" about size. Get the dog because it's the right dog for you, who cares if he's going to be a 100 pound monster that will scare the crap out of your friends. You want him to keep your feet warm in the winter, and put his cold nose in your armpit while you're reading a book.

If you're anything like me, you want to take them all home the second you look into their eyes, but at the same time, you know which dog will be the one to stay with you for the rest of his life. The same is true for the Clubman. If you feel that this is the right car for you, go look at one, take your dog with you and ask the dealer if they will let your dog try it out. I'm sure they will.

 

My 72lb. doodle rides in the back of my 02 MCS, with the rear seats down and does just fine... doodle peeps check out the doodlezoo.com

 

Hey thanks...

I just bought an 08 Clubman S ...Green, SaturdayI would say I like it, but it's been in the shop since Monday having the navagation system repaired and the sirus radio installed and a few other glitches fixed.

Donnie
Waldorf Md

 

Don't worry, you'll like it Donnie.

djpmz, is this what you were talking about http://doodlezoo.googlepages.com/thedoodlezoo?