Looking for a goldendoodle!

[Jolie Genender]

Hi!  My husband and 9-year-old son are trying to find a non-shedding goldendoodle (at least an F1b) due to my son's moderate dander allergies. We live in the Chicago area and would like to find a breeder in the midwest that we can trust, so we can hopefully get a new puppy this summer. Most important to us is disposition of the dog (friendly and sweet), and gender, size and color is less important (although we love the cremes, golden and apricot colors!)  Any suggestions on breeders or preferred genders?  Any and all thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jolie, our DK Guidelines prohibit anyone recommending breeders here in the open forum. If you click on "Groups" above, you will see the Owner Recommended Breeders Group, which would be a good place to start. You could also join the Chicagoland Doodles group, where people are allowed to talk about their breeders.
You can also do a search in the Forum for discussions about gender; we have discussed this a lot, and the consensus is that it really doesn't make any difference.
Most important, though, is that you read this discussion on what to look for in a breeder:
http://www.doodlekisses.com/notes/What_To_Look_for_In_a_Breeder

[Jolie Genender]

Karen and Jack - Thanks for the suggestions! Much appreciated. - Jolie

[Kim]

Just an FYI - I don't think non-shedding has anything to do with dander???? I believe dander is secreted in the skin - not positive though. I'm sure someone will know.

My Husband has Dog Allergies and we have an F1B and had to jump through hurdles to get them to co-exist in the same home. I know that you REALLLLLYYYY want a dog - so did I... I just didn't do much research beforehand regarding the allergies. I wouldn't trade my dog for anything in the world - but it was a big problem initially. We had to pull our carpets to hardwood, and now my Husband is on a daily inhaler - among other things... so it was a big expense, and totally worth it to us - but I'm not sure if many other people would go through what we had to go through.

I'm not trying to be a downer and I'm sorry if I come off like that - but it brings me back to what we went through, but for your child and it was not a pleasant time for us.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Shedding is related to dander, and non-shedding dogs are much more likely not to affect people with dander allergies. But you brought up some important points (once again) about the non-shedding, allergy-friendly issues with doodles.
I did not notice that part of the post.
Jolie, nobody can guarantee that any goldendoodle you get will not affect your son's allergies; even if you spend a month at the breeder's house, even if your son sleeps with the puppy for a week, that is still no guarnatee that the dog's adult coat will not cause your son to have an allergic reaction. Doodles have coat changes, and a puppy who seems fine may cause extreme misery when he becomes an adult.
Nobody likes dog hair all over the house, but if allergies are a problem for you, you really should consider getting a standard poodle. They are much more likely to be allergy-friendly, and they are great dogs.

[Jolie Genender]

Karen, do you think an australian labradoodle seem like a safer option? I have also heard that the curlier coats are better...?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I adopted this wonderful little puppy at 10 weeks old. From what I understand the original owner was highly allergic to him, although he is non-shedding. I have yet to find a dog hair even when I brush him. I can only imagine that she must have been extremely ill and totally heartbroken to have to give him up. She had him long enough to fall in love. There is also the impact to the puppy. He was moved around a few times at a very young age, and I'm sure he was frightened and confused. I so much agree with what everyone is saying, because I'd hate to see you, your son, or your puppy have to go through something like this.

[Adina P]

What Jane said above =)
If curly coats are better, curly coats are also a grooming nightmare--or can be. Typically difficult to keep long and doodley. In which case, why NOT a standard poodle?

BUT non-curly coats can be allergy friendly and non-shedding too. You just can't always tell from looking at a pup what you're gonna get. MORE chances with F1b's and multigens, but no guarantees either way.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

To Jane and Adina's comments, which are right on the money, I would also add this: We are seeing a lot of allergies in labradoodles themselves. Atopic dermatitis runs in Labrador Retrievers, and we have at least a dozen members with confirmed diagnoses, in LDs of all generations, including ALDs, and many more whose dogs are too young for testing, but who seem to have atopy. We have also had a couple of LDs relinquished by their owners because the dogs had the allergies and the owners could not afford testing or treatment.
Atopic dogs itch and scratch constantly; they throw off a tremendous amount of dander, much more than an unaffected dog who sheds. And a dog who has atopy will severely affect a person who is allergic to dog dander, even if the dog has a non-shedding coat.
If I had a family member with dander allergies, the only breed of dog I would even consider would be a purebred poodle.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree with your recommendations about a poodle. But I disagree about a lot of doodles having allergies. We have almost six thousand members, some don't have doodles, some have young doodles and some have multiple doodles. So lets say 5000 doodles to be conservative. Having a dozen cases and even tripling that seems to still come out as a small percentage of dogs afflicted. I realize that for the dog and the owner atopy is an ordeal and that having a dog with atopy would be difficult for an allergy sufferer but I still think less than 1% is not a lot, IMNSHO.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Considering that a year ago, mine was the the only one that any of us knew about, I would say it's definitely on the rise. Perhaps "a lot" is not the correct term, but we certainly are hearing about "a lot" more cases lately.
I just thought it was an interesting point, that dogs who themselves have allergies are more likely to cause allergic symptoms in people with allergies. It was not meant to be the focus of the discussion; I commented twice above before throwing in this tidbit.

[F, Calla & Luca]

When people become aware of something and learn more about it new cases often appear.Whether that's because awareness leads to better diagnosis, asking the right questions or a true rise in incidence is always the question. Similar questions are now being raised, for instance, about autism in NJ.
Many of us add items that are related to the discussion, but not the main focus, and that is good. It was an interesting point.

[Jolie Genender]

Kim - thanks for the feedback. Before you got the dog, were your husband's allergies severe?