Goldendoodle vs. Labradoodle?

[Kate]

What are the differences between Goldendoodles and Labradoodles? Preference? Size? Shedding? Coat colors?

 

So far I have only been searching for Goldendoodle puppies, but perhaps I should be looking at both?

 

Any info that Doodle parents can share would be great!

[Kate]

That makes sense. :-)

[Adina P]

You have to look at it statistically.  Statistically speaking, if you were to pick a random pup from an F1b litter there is a high chance you'd get a non shedding pup than if you were to pick a random pup from an F1 litter.  But in a mixed breed there can still be a doodle with a  'throwback' coats that resemble the retriever and thus, sheds.  Not sure about softness...'fleece' coats tend to be the softest (whether they are curly or wavy).

[Kate]

Will it be obvious in a litter of puppies which ones have fleece coats and which don't?

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I have a 2 yr old Goldendoodle Sasha and a 1 yr. old Labradoodle Oliver.  Since they are mixed breeds you really can come up with anything.  Sasha GD does not shed at all where Oliver LD sheds like crazy.  Their personality is unique to the individual dog.  Sasha has a very poodle like coat with GD markings but poodle hair.  Oliver's hair is much looser curls than Sasha's.  Both my dogs are great dogs in their won way, in general both are goofy, loving and "people" type dogs who are friendly and love everyone and do not have a mean bone in their body.

[Kate]

That is wonderful, Barbara - sounds like you've got 2 great dogs there! Thank you for sharing info about them! How much do your dogs each weigh? Where did you get them? So it's seeming like Labradoodles tend to shed a bit more than Goldendoodles... Is Sasha's hair soft? Thank you again for the input!!!

[Bonnie and Kona]

I see you are getting the wide variety of answers here. I have two Goldendoodles. One is black, fleece/wool non-shedding coat, 90 pounds, with a completely laid back temperament. His half brother is cream, slightly wavy coat that sheds a tiny bit, 70 pounds and full of the dickens! It's like children, each one has it's own personality, but with my two they have a lovely sweetness that is unmistakably Golden. I have never had a Lab or Labradoodle so I cannot speak to the differences between the two. There is a kind of temperament test I knew nothing about until recently on DK. I think you could find it in the Puppy Maddness group.

[Kate]

Thanks for the input, Bonnie! Where did you get your dogs? How old are they? I am partial to black dogs and big dogs! Are your dogs F1? Thank you for sharing, and I definitely want to know where you got your dogs!!! :-)

[Bonnie and Kona]

Mine are F1's. I got them from a breeder in CA. They have the same sire. My CA breeder stopped breeding standards after I got Kona, my 90 pounder. Her daughter lives in IN and owns the sire. She bred him with one of her poodles and sent the pregnant female to her mom to sell the puppies because Owen's litter was in CA. I don't know if I can put the name of the breeders in here but if you go to my page my list of groups has both breeders as there is a group for each of them on DK. I cannot recommend my CA breeder highly enough. Their home is immaculate and the dogs are lovingly raised.

[Kate]

Thank you again so much for your feedback. The only thing about CA is how far it is from WI! I am thinking I need to visit the breeder first before deciding to go with one. I also am a little afraid of shipping puppies by plane, but perhaps that is just my ignorance about it? I'm sure people have done it with no problem! I would think the puppies would be so scared! :-) I might be too much of an animal softie...

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I know how you feel about the airline shipping method.  There are many pros and cons right here on DK.  We actually had a big discussion about it about 6 months ago.  You might be able to go to the Archives of Discussions and find it.  But, personally, I didn't want to take the chance of my puppy be traumatized and then have to deal with a puppy that was skitterish.  Also, may of the "big" breeders will not let you visit or even come close to their facility (house) whatever.  Most of the purchasing is done on line where you give them your personality profile and they send you a photo of a couple of Doodles they think might have the temperment you looking for.  They end up matching the Doodle to you based on your feedback.  They know nothing about you but they somehow manage to pick your Doodle for you...I find that really strange.  I live in San Diego and we did manage to find a local breeder totally by accident.  We were allowed to come visit and play with the puppies and meet the parents.  She had four children of her own who handled the puppies and so they were totally use to small kids by the time they were ready to come home.  It was a great socialization for them.  We went out and visited the puppies every weekend and sat and played with them.  Personally, for me, that is the only way I would get a puppy.  If I hadn't found my breeder then I would have located one some where in California or Arizona and would have done the drive to pick it up rather than fly it.  This is just my opinion though.  Others have been just as happy and lucky with how they acquired their Doodles and it all pretty much works out in the long run.  Just make sure you research your breeder and know all the testing and health records and history of the parents, etc.  You can get to the point that you end up way over thinking this entire process.  Just do your homework and know in your heart what you want and that will be the Doodle for you.  Basically, you can't go wrong with either a LD or GD...all Doodles are the best there is!!!!

[Adina P]

A good breeder does ask a lot of questions about the buyer and what they are looking for temperament-wise.  It isn't just picking a puppy knowing nothing about you.  Some might do that but then I wouldn't consider them a good breeder.  For rare breeds many have NO choice besides having a pup shipped because there is no local breeder.  The reason I would want to visit a breeder is so I know with my own eyes that they are well cared for dogs and pups, to meet the parents if both owned by the breeder, to meet the breeder, etc.  I don't care if a  breeder does the choosing based on criteria.  I certainly can't spend the same amount of time with the pups that the breeder can so he/she hopefully knows her litter darn well to be able to discern which pup would be a good fit for which buyer.

[Kate]

Yes, I agree with you on this and the reasons to visit the breeder to see with your own eyes. I would definitely take a recommendation from a good breeder on which puppy will be best for me based on what I am looking for...after I verify it is a good breeder. I'm sure in the end the shipping turns out okay, but for my preference I would prefer to pick up my puppy and drive with it.