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DOODS & GENERATIONS
First Generation Goldendoodles - F1
A first generation hybrid Goldendoodle is the product
of a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. As first generation
hybrids, these dogs have the added health benefits
associated to Hybrid Vigour. This is a phenomenon in
animal breeding referring to the fact that the first cross
between two unrelated purebred lines is healthier and
grows better than either parent line.
(photo courtesy of Big Oak Farm)
Coat Maintenance: moderate to high care
Coat Description: Coat grows to a natural body length of 3-5 inches which requires
combing and occasional grooming. Many choose to have the fur cut back once every
few months to keep the fur shorter and easier to maintain. Coats are usually wavy or
curly, with a rare shorter hair coat.
Shedding: mostly very light to nonshed (see the stats in the Dood Database)
Allergy Friendliness: usually successful in families with mild allergies. When a family
has moderate to severe allergies, a backcross Dood is recommended.
First Generation Backcross Goldendoodles
- F1b
A backcross pup is the result of a hybrid bred back to
one of its breeds of origin. From a genetic standpoint a
backcross pup is a first generation cross. As breeders
are breeding towards nonshedding and allergy
friendliness, a backcross Goldendoodle is generally the
product of a Goldendoodle bred to a Poodle. The
resulting dog is, on average, 1/4 Golden Retriever and 3/4 Poodle.
Although there is less vigour in this crossing than in the original hybrid, the first
generation backcross still is close enough in the breeding tree to benefit from hybrid
vigour. With each successive generation vigour is lost.
Coat Maintenance: moderate to high care
Coat Description: Coat continues to grow in length although similar in appearance to a
first generation Goldendoodle. Coats are wavy or curly.
Shedding: very light to nonshed (see the stats in the Dood Database)
Allergy Friendliness: recommended for families with moderate to severe allergies.
Second Generation Goldendoodles - F2
A second generation Goldendoodle (F2) is the result of a
Goldendoodle bred to a Goldendoodle - and there are very few
of these actually bred as the second generation hybrid is
genetically the most varied generation possible. (see study
below on wolf-poodle hybrids) When breeding on, most
Goldendoodle breeders breed a backcross instead, as the pups
are more predictable, and work well for people with allergies
Coat Maintenance: varies on the coat type
Coat Description: The coat can be a hair coat, wavy coat, or curly coat.
Shedding: varies greatly from shedders to nonshedders
Allergy Friendliness: not recommended for families with allergies, due to the varying
coat types.
First generation hybrids are all exactly 50% of each parent breed. Half their
chromosomes from one parent, half from the other. Dogs have 78 chromosomes, so
picture 39 white marbles and 39 black marbles, each colour representing a parent
breed, in a large bowl representing the chromosomes of each dog. When these hybrids
reproduce, each sperm or egg will contain '39 marbles randomly picked from the large
bowl'. Statistically the random mix will be somewhat evenly distributed, but it is
theoretically possible though unlikely to 'pull out 39 black marbles' and also produce a
purebred of either parent breed.
Dr. Kate Schoeffel, honours geneticist, Vet and Dood breeder, has a great page on the
genetics here - https://katesfamilypets.com/inbreeding-linebreeding-and-
crossbreeding-in-dogs/
There was an intersting study done in 1976 by C. Schleifenbaum looking into the fur
marks and coat color in wolves and poodle-wolf hybrids, raised in Kiel. (Zeitschrift fuer
Saeugetierkunde, 41(3):147-167. BA 62:60461 ZR 113(19):148).
It shows how greatly varied the coat types are in a second generation hybrid.
The first generation poodle-wolf hybrid - uniform coats.
The second generation poodle-wolf hybrid - varied coats.
Second Generation Backcross Goldendoodles -
F2b
A second generation backcross pup (F2B) is the result of a
Goldendoodle (F1) bred to a Goldendoodle backcross (F1b).
Although three generations in the making, F2Bs are technically
second generation dogs.
1st generation pup - Golden Retriever x Poodle - F1
1st generation pup - Goldendoodle x Poodle - F1b
2nd generation pup - Goldendoodle backcross x Goldendoodle - F2B
Although there is less vigour in this generation than in the first, the second generation
backcross still is close enough in the breeding tree to the original hybrid to benefit
from hybrid vigour. With each successive generation vigour is lost.
Coat Maintenance: moderate to high care
Coat Description: Coat continues to grow in length although similar in appearance to a
first generation Goldendoodle. Coats are wavy or curly.
Shedding: mostly nonshed
Allergy Friendliness: recommended for families with moderate to severe allergies.
First Generation Labradoodles - F1
A first generation hybrid Labradoodle is the product of
a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle. The term
'Labradoodle' was coined by Wally Conron of the
Australian Guide Dog Association, when he first bred
these hybrids as allergy friendly service dogs. The
AGDA still uses first generation Labradoodles upon
demand to this day.
As first generation hybrids, these dogs have the added health benefits associated to
Hybrid Vigour. This is a phenomenon in animal breeding referring to the fact that the
first cross between two unrelated purebred lines is healthier and grows better than
either parent line.
Coat Maintenance: Low care
Coat Description: Coat grows to about 2-3 inches in length and requires occasional
combing. Coats are often hair coats, and others can have wavy or curly coats.
Shedding: light to nonshed (see the stats in the Dood Database)
Allergy Friendliness: usually successful in families with mild allergies. When a family
has moderate to severe allergies, a backcross Dood is recommended.
First Generation Backcross Labradoodles -
F1b
A backcross pup is the result of a hybrid bred back to
one of its breeds of origin. From a genetic standpoint
a backcross pup is a first generation cross. As breeders
are breeding towards nonshedding and allergy
friendliness, a backcross Labradoodle is generally the
product of a Labradoodle bred to a Poodle. The
resulting dog is, on average, 1/4 Labrador Retriever and 3/4 Poodle.
Although there is less vigour in this crossing than in the original hybrid, the first
generation backcross still is close enough in the breeding tree to benefit from hybrid
vigour. With each successive generation vigour is lost.
Coat Maintenance: moderate to high care
Coat Description: Coat continues to grow in length and requires combing and
occasional grooming. It is usually thicker and curlier than a first generation
Labradoodle with a wavy or curly coat.
Shedding: very light to nonshed (see the stats in the Dood Database)
Allergy Friendliness: Backcross Labradoodles are recommended for families with
moderate to severe allergies.
Multi-generation Labradoodles
Technically a multigeneration Labradoodle should be the result of
generations of Labradoodle to Labradoodle breeding, but in practice
backcrosses and poodles are also used in the early generations.
When multigeneration Labradoodles were first introduced to North
American breeders, they were given a Lab-Poodle breeding program as the
breeding model for Labradoodles, which suggesteded that Poodles could be
reintroduced into the early generations.
This breeding program allowed breeding to poodles for the first four generations -
which is why in some older lines of multigen dogs, 'there is a lot of poodle in the
doodle'. Poodles are less expensive, they make shedding lines more nonshed, and
they allow the introduction of some popular new colours such as red and parti. Good
breeders are selective about adding only a modest amount of poodle in the early
generations.
Coat Maintenance: moderate to high care
Coat Description: Coat continues to grow in length and requires combing and
occasional grooming. It is thicker than a first generation Labradoodle and can have a
curly, fleece or wavy coat type.
Shedding: almost all nonshed (see the stats in the Dood Database)
Allergy Friendliness: Multigeneration Labradoodles are recommended for families
with moderate to severe allergies.
Australian Labradoodles
In 2004, the name Australian Labradoodle was used to describe
the lines of multigeneration Labradoodles with long pedigrees,
some dating back to the two kennels in Australia who started
breeding them in the early 1990's.
It was later announced was that there were in fact six breeds
used in the breeding program; Poodle, Labrador Retriever, Irish
Water Spaniel, Curly Coat Retriever, American Cocker Spaniel,
English Cocker Spaniel.
The Curly Coated Retriever experiment was a failure and those lines were abandoned.
Only two Irish Water Spaniels were used, and only one time each. This left the main
contributors as : Labrador, Poodle and American & English Cocker Spaniels.
Multigeneration Labradoodles from Australia started to take off in North America in the
late 1990's. Now there are a large number of breeders in North America and in
Australia who own breeding dogs from these lines. They are working together to push
for higher standards in health testing, to broaden the genetic foundation and to better
the breed as a whole.
The Labradoodle Association of Australia (LAA) is the founding parent body of the
Australian Labradoodle. It is their vision to work with the Australian National Kennel
Club (ANKC) towards breed recognition in Australia - a process which takes decades of
breeding towards conformity.
The Australian Labradoodle Association of America (ALAA) protects the welfare of the
Labradoodle and Australian Labradoodle breeds.
Coat Maintenance: moderate to high care
Coat Description: They have wool, 'new wool', fleece or hair coats which continue to
grow in length and require combing and occasional grooming. Wool coats are curly and
poodly in texture. The 'new wool' has a more relaxed and softer curl. A fleece coat has
a relaxed curl and is softer than wool coats. Hair coats are rare and are flat, shedding
and not allergy friendly.
Shedding: almost all nonshed
Allergy Friendliness: Australian Labradoodles are recommended for families with
moderate to severe allergies.
For more information see our page on the Australian Labradoodle
(top photo courtesy of Timshell Farm)