LABRADOODLE QUESTIONS

[Bernie J]

Hi guys,

I'm a new labradoodle owner and I just have a couple of questions I was hoping you guys could help with. This is my 8-week-old doodle puppy and he is an F3. His mum is an F2b fleece and dad an F7 wool. I'm worried because his coat does not seem to be thickening out much or become fluffy, in comparison to his siblings. He sort of looks like a labrador/golden retriever now and I don't know what that means? What sort of coat will he eventually have? Will his coat remain flat or would he eventually thicken out? Why are only the fur on his ears and under his chin wavy, while the rest remain straight-ish? 

Also, I was just browsing through the internet for doodle pictures, and I'm wondering why some doodle have hair that are fluffy and some just have hair that remain closer to the body? I understand that some coats like the wool coats are fluffier but even between the fleece coat, some have really fluffy hair, while some have coats that stick closer to their bodies. Is this entirely grooming or is it sort of genetic?

So sorry to bombard you all with all these questions! Have a great weekend :)

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Some will look fluffier as they have just been brushed, and some coats are just fluffier. My Cooper is very fluffy down her back, but more silky on her legs and head. Shorter cut fur will often be curlier too (at least in the case of my wool ALD). 8 weeks is still very early to tell (can you post more pictures). From your description you pup will not have a wool coat - from my experience (my dog and looking at photos on here) these pups tend to be the curliest when really small.

Did your breeder give you any indication what to expect coat wise? Someone who has been in the business a while and is a good breeder should be able to predict somewhat 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Some doodles have straight hair coats but as Kaytlin said 8 weeks is early to tell. Your pup is a later generation which improves the odds for a more doodle like coat. No predictions though. He is adorable and may end up looking like Jane's Stuart who is on the main page now under

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/just-in-case-sometimes-com...

[Ron Carnes]

Zack had a straight coat at 14 weeks but filled out as he got older (F2). It is my understanding, but I could be wrong, that a F3 does not maintain the 50/50 mix.

[F, Calla & Luca]

It all depends on what mixes are in the parents and gets complicated.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Your puppy is just adorable. I agree it is too soon to tell. We have two F1s. Our black"ish" one (5 yo) is more of a wooly coat and the creamy one (almost 2) is more fleecy. The creamy one was very un-doodly until he was over 6 months old. If you look at my photos he has doodled right up. ;o) I can't tell you how much time I spent looking at photos on people's profile pages to see if a pup like Owen could eventually have the fluffy coat. 

[Lynda Kamrath]

I wouldn't worry about your puppy's coat at 8 weeks.  It definitely will change.  My puppies were smoother when they were young and then got wave or curls in their coat.

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Not sure about the coat but he is adorable. Enjoy him.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I raise pups for a breeder and can tell you that it is totally genetic and the pup may have a gene from a previous ancestor that will give him a straighter coat--but when I look at those lovely waves on his ears, that tells me that those waves are on there and will be coming out in the future! 

I had some straighter coated pups that ended up will big lovely waves after being very labby as a baby. I think you will have the same thing here--and then, they go thru a transition and change again between 10 months and 14 months and get an adult coat that may be different again! 

here are the two pups that HAD straighter coats at the age of 4 months and 3 months.

First, the one of them at 7 weeks and the other at 4 weeks-note the wavy ears!:

[Bernie J]

Hi Ginny! Thanks for these lovely pictures! I was just wondering, is the second picture of the cream doodle at 10 months? If that is so, his coat would change and grow again is that right? Thanks so much for the wonderful pictures! Your dogs are beautiful

[Ginny Nightingale]

The cream doodle is about 5 months old in this picture I think--the owners of the pups send me pictures so the breeder and I can see how their coats turn out--but I think that doodle will end up looking a lot like Haley in the long run, but with a thinner coat.

[Jeff D]

Ginny - I really like this chocolate one. Again - maybe he just had a hair cut. Whatever the case, it worked. Is this an F1?

[Ginny Nightingale]

No, the chocolate had not had a hair cut--it was just growing in as he was about 4 months old here--he is a mulitgen (they both are) --not all multigens are curly as they can look more like their previous generations than the parents. The  mom is a pretty curly (but not wool) chocolate and the dad has a loose fleece and is apricot.