Coat and Size Expectations

[Maris]

Hi All!  New to this site.  We're bringing home our first dog which is an F1 goldendoodle in January and we're so excited.  They're currently 3.5 weeks old and we're up next to choose our pup!  

Our breeder said we can expect the dogs to be anywhere between 30 and 45 pounds. The mom is 45 and the dad is 23.  We definitely want one on the larger end of that (preferably close to 45 pounds).  We're also choosing a boy so we think that probably will ensure he is on the larger end of the spectrum.  We asked which two were the biggest boys and so those are the ones we're choosing between.

My question is from other people's experiences with similarly sized parents, is the 45 pound guess accurate?  Our friends told us they had a 42 pound mom and a 16 pound dad and their dog is 60 pounds.  Is there any way to really tell?  I don't mind if he is a little bigger but just curious about others experiences.

My second question has to do with coat.  Our breeder said her favorite one is the darker of the two (2 pics below).  I love his color but my worry is that his coat is going to be the really curly type of coat that I don't really want-- I like the wavy/shaggy look.  The second picture (lighter dog) seems to have more of a flat or wavy coat, but again its so hard to tell at 3.5 weeks what this will actually look like when they're older.  Anybody have comparison pics of their pups at 3/4 weeks and then now that seemed to have similar coat texture?  

Any other advice in terms of choosing which one?  Our breeder wants us to choose soon so we won't be able to wait until 6/7 weeks when they have more of a personality.  What other questions should we be asking assuming we have to choose in the next week or so? 

Thanks so much!!

[Maris]

Yeah I agree I wish we could wait but oh well-- she wants us to choose by this weekend so the rest of the people can pick, they'll be 4 weeks on Friday.  Good to hear about the coat, wavy is good!  

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

From what I've read about f1 goldendoodles, a curly coated f1 rarely occurs. I've also read that with the goldendoodles that their coat changes so much while they are growing.

[Maris]

Yeah that is why its so hard to tell I think right now!  I think I'm just overthinking it :)

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

Well they are both adorable. I don't think you can go wrong on looks.
I found Jade's pics form when she was a wee one (before I even thought about getting her) and she had waves like your two. Mostly the ears are really wavy. Compared to the lighter pups in her litter, she is a bit more wavy. The lighter ones are more fuzzy right now. But, of course things can definitely change!
I'm attaching some pics, the first one - she was a week old and she has the yellow ribbon (on the left). The other one is her just this morning with Gracie. It's hard to get a good photo on my phone of her. I'm working with my camera to get just the right settings so that I can capture better photos of her. I just haven't uploaded them yet.

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

Ok. Her baby pic didn't attach. Here it is.

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I have a multigenerational Australian labradoodle, who weighs 24/25 pounds. Her mother weighs 42 pounds and her father is 35 pounds. Go figure!

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Welcome!

Luna is the same mix you described.  I'm not sure how big mom was she was a smallish golden.. dad was about a 20 lb. mini poodle.  Luna is about 40 pounds, but her ideal healthy weight is more like 37 lbs.  

Luna was about 7 lbs when we brought her home and was one of the larger pups in the litter.  

Of those pics you posted I would say the lighter one is more likely to be "shaggy" - the darker one looks curly to me.

Luna is way at one end of the spectrum and she has a coat almost identical to a retriever.  The downside is she sheds a ton (including seasonal coat changes) and the upside is I don't even need to brush her.  She generally doesn't get mats at all.

Luna (as a 7 week old pup and on her 5th birthday)

[Maris]

 AH she is so cute!!!  What a beautiful dog.  She really is very retriever-like but I love that look.  I agree the darker one looks more likely to be curly-- I talked to the breeder and she said that the puppies from these parents are usually wavy and never get that curly, so hopefully that holds true.  I'm still undecided though :)  

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

So Luna is an f1? That's interesting as the info I've read said that very rarely do you get a flat coat retriever look in an f1 Goldendoodle. Luna is one of a kind!
My breeders pups look similar to Luna as a puppy - well some of them did, but the black ones had more waves on their body and curls to their ears. Her pups generally come out wavy as adults. So, I guess it depends on parenting more so than the mix.
Luna's beautiful. If Jade turns out like that, I wouldn't be disappointed at all. How soon did the shedding start with Luna?
Gracie sheds and shedded since she the beginning. But, she is an f1 Labradoodle. So, it was expected.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Yeah she's an F1.  It happened a lot with her father for some reason.  I've seen pups from other F1 litters with the same poodle dad and they're all flat-coated.  He must have some kind of weird mutation :p  

The shedding was from day one but it got worse when she shed her puppy coat and got the full "retriever" coat.  The Furminator is great for that we use it a lot to keep her undercoat under control during seasonal changes.

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

That is interesting. Gracie never blew a coat. She's just sort of wiry, but soft. I think I'm going to see if her hair will grow longer instead of having it trimmed. She's easy to brush too. I think she just looks like a shaggy tall lean lab. ;)

I can't wait to see what Jade looks like as an adult.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Welcome to DK.  I agree with Carol.  At 3.5 weeks, it's tough to know much about their personalities.  And they each come with their own "surprises." But whichever one you choose, he'll have your heart by the time you get him home.  Finn was supposed to be 35 - 40 lbs.  He is 52 lbs.