[Shell]

There is nothing wrong with finding a dog's look pleasing to the eye. Most people have preferred coat colors or body structure types.

But a dog is far more than a novelty of its looks, far more than what other people think (or don't think as really most people are just like "aww, cute pup" for every dog they see), and if for some reason you care about what other people think then a well trained and well mannered dog will get far more compliments then a physically unique dog on the whole.

10-15 years of your life and the whole of the dog's life. Personality, temperament, that feeling of just fitting into each others space the right way. Imagine the dog curled up on the couch with you, imagine walking alone with him through the woods, imagine caring for him if he is sick or injured, imagine day to day life and pick what fits that.

If you want to turn heads on the street, get a motorcycle or flashy car.

 

[Shell]

Honestly, I think people are just gonna assume a Lagotto is a Doodle. Most people've never heard of them, even in the dog world. So I think if you're holding out for the world's reactions, you'll probably be disappointed - in fact, I think there's some prejudice against the breeding of Doodles, yeah? So you're gonna be explaining you've got this rare dog breed, and people are, like, tolerantly nodding...lol.

I mean, all things being equal, I'd take a looker over a more vanilla dog, but all things aren't equal here (price, availability, options, etc). Plus, do you plan to do the grooming yourself? Much easier to find someone who knows how to properly groom a poodle. And don't poodles have fewer genetic health problems? Also, it's not like standard poodles AREN'T eyecatchers.

Yep. I know what a Lagotto is but since its highly unlikely to see one here, I would assume a dog with those looks to be a doodle.

Whereas, a standard poodle does catch my eye (especially with a nice hunting type clip rather than a frufru style cut, personal taste on that but I like the functionally aspect), I think "doodle prejudice" IS a factor and seeing a nice Standard poodle is like an indication that the person got the dog they wanted not the dog that is trendy.

(My boss's wife just bought a Berner-doodle....)

 

[Shell]

I’m someone who has been mistreated by a lot of people-bullied, teased, left out-all my life. In a way, I think if I get a LR, I will sort of be de-stigmatized by association. That is, with a Poodle, I’ll be the ostracized person with a dog that a lot of people don’t like or want to interact with. It’s almost like the kind of dog somebody like me should have. “Look at that unattractive person with the ugly dog.”
With a LR, people will want to come and see it, pet it and I won’t feel rejected, the way I usually do. The focus will be off me and on the dog. People won’t be focused on judging me, except by thinking that I have a really cute dog.

Unfortunately, it won't work that way. People will see a doodle, they will mostly think cute dog and move on or they will think "ugh, another person supporting those puppy mills/money grubbing doodle breeders" and move on

A dog of any breed is not in and of itself a fix for anxiety or depression. The right dog can be a big benefit to ease those type of issues but in this case, I think your hopes/reasoning behind the breed choice is flawed and will not play out how you imagine.

My suggestion for a dog to be an emotional support dog? A confident and easy going dog of about 2-4 years old that does not overly attract attention (which can be hard to cope with when its misplaced like say, screaming child) and has a rock solid temperament so it can deal with things like screaming kids or lunging strange dogs without increasing your discomfort and stress. There is a reason Labs and Goldens are the classic assistance dogs (although Poodles make great working dogs and a poodle with a trim cut and a vest that says he is working negates a lot of the frou frou stereotypes).

Socializing a puppy can be very hard if you are not comfortable in social situations/know lots of people/go different places and a puppy of any breed is an unknown as to adult temperament. What would you do if the dog grew up to be fearful or reactive of people?

A confident and calm dog of any breed at your side can have a steadying influence and people like confident and calm dogs. One of my best memories of Chester was when we were at a busy waterfront festival and sat down to take a break from the heat. A girl about 5-7 years old with Down Syndrome ran up to him and her father ran behind to stop her from petting Chester without permission. She was loud and uncordinated but happy and wanted so much to say hello to the doggy. I gave permission and she petted Chester with the biggest smile on her face. Petting meant kind of smacking him on the head and then running her hands on his back but he was OK with that kind of thing. Her father drew her away to move along and said softly to me "Thank you so much, you made her week"

Neither cared about breed or me at all. A little girl was just happy to pet a big soft red dog. And I was happy to have a calm, safe dog that I could trust to allow her to pet.