Million-dollar question: F1 or F1B? HELP!

[Amy N]

We are first-time Doodle buyers and we are torn between three pups (two different breeders).

One is an English Cream F1. From the other breeder there is an F1B petite and an F1 mini. I feel really good about both breeders but, in addition to the right disposition, having a non/low-shedder is important to us.

In your experience, are F1s more likely to shed than F1Bs or is it a crap shoot and totally based on a dog's genes? I've read a lot of conflicting information. All three are described by the breeders as having "wavy to curly" coats--with the English F1 looking the least curly. HELP! We hope to make our decision soon so we can reserve our pup.

Thanks, cannot wait to bring him home!

[Ginny Nightingale]

There might be  BIG difference in size with these pups too--but I guess you are more concerned with the coat--

I have an F1 and two multigens--the F1 is easier to groom (I do it myself and it takes less than an hour) and never mats as others have said---her coat is coarser and straighter than the others. One of my multigens has a mix of coarse and fine hairs and he sheds a bit and mats less than the one with a soft curly coat all over (his mother).

As one person mentioned, the finer hairs tend to mat and the soft, silky  curly coats are often the ones that end up being finer. If you are actually visiting the pups to decide, a silky feel is going to mat more and shed less if it is also curlier--like this guy. At the age of 8 weeks, you could already see his curl and his coat was very fine. He is less likely to shed...and is a multigen. But his sibs were less curly--so you really have to look the litter over to see how the coats vary and another trick is to pull gently on the hair on the back of the pup near the tail--often the non-shedders will lose very few hairs and the shedders will--but it is still not a guarantee. 

[Stephanie and Ragley]

I have never heard that trick before, Ginny. Thanks!

[Jennifer Tramell]

We always did the "pull test" but I wondered if it was just an old wives tale.  It's neat to hear someone else reference what my mom has always said.

[Stephanie and Ragley]

My puppy, Ragley, is an F1b, but she has a fleece coat that is a loose wave- no curls here. She has yet to go through her coat change, but I have noticed little ( I mean tiny- less than the size of a dime) puffs of hair every 4-5 days where she lays to sleep. I'm not sure if this is the beginning of a coat change, or if it is shedding, but not all f1b's are low shedders. I also nannied an f1 who shed almost nothing. He is really curly though. I think generation matters, but which coat type you select will also help dictate how much shedding is likely. In your case, however, I would say if the english f1 looks the least curly, it is the most likely to shed the most out of the three.

[Jordan & Daisy]

I agree with Karen, too. We have an F1B and I have not seen one hair anywhere. I know that as their adult coat comes in things can sometimes change but in general F1B is most likely to be the least shedding out of those 3.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

When I was researching prior to finding Charlie, I found this in a breeders information online.  Maybe it will help clarify.

[Rose Coward]

Thanks

Does the term differ (IE. F1b) if the dog is the opposite 75% lab and only 25% poodle? 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

There would be no incentive to breed back the F1 doodle to a lab or golden, and I have not heard of any experienced doodle breeders even doing this.  In my search I would not have even considered using a breeder that was breeding that way.

[Rose Coward]

I agree, I wouldn't be interested in one of those dogs, but I have a neighbor who loves retrievers but would appreciate less shedding.  I don't know that this would help her any but it just got me curious as to whether the same F1b label would apply. 

[Lynda Kamrath]

There was a discussion here recently about that very thing.  I think, however, that it was an inexperienced breeder.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I don't think so, it is still F1b, but be careful.  Make sure it is 75% poodle if shedding is a consideration.

[Rose Coward]

I'm not an expert but it seems to me that the individual dog, not the generation is more of the indicator.  As many have said, they have found F1 and F1b's that defy the "rule".  In choosing a pup we were more concerned with the look of the particular pup and not the generation.  We went by the best information we had at the time, to look at the head of the dog and pay no mind to the body.  If the head is kinky or curly this pup leans more to the poodle side and therefore less of a shedder.  (But more of a grooming challenge).  

Mind you we were looking for exactly the opposite, we were more concerned about the grooming issue than the shedding.  Our Molly is an F1b who had silky feeling, wavy hair as a pup and she has just recently become a grooming pleasure--now that we're past the juvenile molting stage--and I haven't seen shedding either of any noticeable degree. 

My guess is that the generation of the dog only means that there is greater chance of having more poodle in the pups,  and with more pups leaning more to the poodle there will be less shedding.

In short, to get a less shedding, choose a dog that leans to the poodle side (curly and kinky head hair) regardless of the generation. 

Or would others here testify that two dogs who look identical as pups one being a F1 and the other an F1b having observed clear shedding differences due to generation alone.