Generations of Goldendoodles

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Hello! I was curious if someone could explain to me how the generations of goldendoodles work. 

A friend of mine is considering a goldendoodle. Her dog would be the product of an F1 (the mom) and an F1BB (the dad). She (like post people i suppose) wants a non shedding dog. I've tried to explain that all goldendoodles are not non shedding, but she doesn't seem to believe me haha. Was hoping someone could give me some insite so I could relay the info back to her.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think instead of trying to explain generations to her,you should simply tell her that any time you have heavily shedding breeds like Golden Retrievers in the genetics, you have the chance of getting a dog that sheds.  The Poodle's non-shedding genes do not have what is called "complete dominance", and do not somehow cancel out or eclipse the Retriever's genes.

Explaining the generations is difficult and complicated,because as an unrecognized and unregistered mixed breed with no official breed standard, there is no real "official" description of the generations; they vary from one breeder to another; but in any case, any Goldendoodle of any generation has the potential to shed, so it doesn't really matter what generation she looks at. Yes, the F1Bs (goldendoodle bred back to a purebred Poodle) have a better chance of being non-shedding, but all anyone has to do is look at Lori's Pippa to see that it is far from a guarantee. 

I would strongly encourage your friend to consider only purebreds that are known to be non-shedding, if shedding would be a deal breaker for her. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In the case of the litter your friend is looking at, with the F1 mom and the F1B dad (no such thing as F1BB, unless some breeder made it up, lol), you have retrievers on both sides, so there is definitely a chance of shedding. But then, there is always going to be a chance of shedding, unless she gets a dog with no shedding breeds at all in the mix. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you karen!! We got lucky with our Yeti in the fact that he doesn't shed, however he does mat pretty horribly so sometimes i wonder if a little shedding would be worth it to not have as many mats haha.

It will be interesting to see what the litter of puppies ends up looking like. Ive told her many times you cant really tell by just looking at their coat if they will or won't shed, especially because their coat can change as an adult. I am by no means an expert, i've just read a lot of what people have said on DK.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, so the coat and shedding are really two separate issues. 

There are 3 genes that govern coats: one for length, one for curl, and one for furnishings. Poodles have all three. Golden Retrievers have only one. There is no gene for shedding or non-shedding; that depends on the growth cycle, and the growth cycle of hair varies from one individual to another, although there are breed tendencies. In the non-shedding breeds, the hair growth cycle (anagen cycle) is longer than in the shedding breeds, and the hair loss cycle (catagen cycle) is almost non-existent. Any given doodle puppy may inherit the gorwth cycle of his retriever ancestors rather than his Poodle ancestors.  So it is possible for a doodle to get all the genes for curl and furnishings and still shed; there are quite a few doodles here who look very doodle-y, with curly coats and furnishings, and still shed, although much less than Goldens do. (Part of the reason they shed less is that the hair gets caught in the curly coat rather than falling out, hence, the matting. It's possible to have the worst of the two worlds, lol. ) Joanne's Spud, Donna's Quincy, and Adina's Rosco are all examples of curly doodle-y doodles who do shed. On the other hand, there are a few F1s here, with straighter coats, who don't shed. Adrianne's Samantha comes to mind. There are simply no guarantees, and honestly, I have never been able to understand why anyone would gamble on getting a doodle puppy if not shedding is so important to them. Ditto, size, lol. 
And yes, the coats do change in adulthood, so a puppy who doesn't shed can easily start shedding as an adult. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

You are awesome!! Thank you so much :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, glad to help. You might also give your friend a link to the Shedding Doodles group so she can see all the different doodles who do shed, lol. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

I will!! I dont blame her for wanting a doodle, but want to make sure she doesnt make a mistake in getting one that might shed and having to get rid of it!

[Adina P]

Rosco is a great example of a doodle with all the curl and furnishings and some length who sheds a ton :-)

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

thank you so much! He is really a beautiful dog though :).

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

She can get a poodle but groom it as a doodle if she wants a guarantee of non-shedding but a doodle look. Not all poodles have really tight curls - something I didn't know until my son got a standard poodle. To me, the least likely to shed is a multi-generational Australian labradoodle, but they are also the most expensive.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And even with ALDs, you get throwbacks. The best example of that is Sydney. Here are some photos:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/what-did-you-say-5?context=user

Sydney is on the left in this one: http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/sydney-and-olivia?context=user

Sydney's parents were a 7th generation ALD and a 9th generation ALD. 

Sydney is also a good example of why a curly coat on a puppy means nothing. Here she is at 8 weeks: 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/sydney-8-weeks-old-5?context=user

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

And so  true, Karen.  There is never a sure thing in doodles.