"purebred" dogs vs doodles regarding coat consistency

[Ginny Nightingale]

Just throwing out an observation I made today--lots of times when people say "I want a doodle because they have ________ (fill in with "a curly coat", "a low shedding coat", "a fluffy coat" etc.) we have quickly and appropriately corrected them and said that because doodles are mixed breeds, the coat can vary--that is all true, but is often followed by "If you want to be sure of a certain coat type, get a purebred dog....."

Now, here is where my observation comes in--I groomed a Portuguese Water Dog today--I have a very good friend who has one and I have been grooming him for a few years and now know the appearance differences between a PWD and a doodle, so I decided to try doing the grooming on another PWD. (I usually groom poodle mixes, like cockapoos and labradoodles). My friend's PWD has a single coat; not too thick, soft, not matted and easy to groom. Compared to my multigen doodles, he is a piece of cake to get the clippers through--so the new one should be easy too, right? WRONG!! This new PWD had a coat just like my multigen doodles--thick, soft with lots of undercoat (not shedding, but soft and lots of dead hairs caught in the coat) and mucho matted....and more curly. So much for purebred coat consistency! I guess it happens with PWDs  in that there is at least some variation here and there.

I got her all cleaned up though, and like my doodles, she was a sweetheart--very similar in temperament--I was tempted to ask the woman if she was SURE this was not a doodle--but didn't want to get her upset!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Portuguese Water Dogs can have a gene mutation that causes "improper coats". Here's a good article on it:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2908740/

Optigen actually has a test for PWD breeders to test for this: http://www.optigen.com/opt9_impropercoat.html

In general most purebred breeds are more consistent in their coats than PWDs. 

[Kyoko]

I now have to declare you as dog genius.

[Ginny Nightingale]

This gene controls whether or not the dog will have furnishings on the face and legs--this dog definitely had them which is typical of the breed, so she did not have this mutation. Just more hair!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are three genes discussed in the first article I linked, one for furnishings, one for long coat and one for curly/wiry coat. The PWD can have mutations in any or all of them, from what I understand. 

[Kyoko]

Charlie is a F1b Labradoodle. Pinot is a standard poodle. But Pinot's coat is looser than Charlie's and less thick.

Charlie has very thick curly coat!! So, if someone wants a doodle because they are sort of curly but not as much as a poodle, that will be wrong....

[Ginny Nightingale]

wow--isn't that something!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think it may also depend on the age of the dog although I don't know if the PWD goes through a coat change. Also, no doubt the difficulty in grooming. Increases if the owner does little to no grooming in between visits.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have known the first P

[F, Calla & Luca]

Whoops

[Adina P]

Probably depends on the breed.  I can't remember if it is the beagle or not, but it seems some have double coats and some have single coats.  But the variation is probably a lot less than in the generic "doodle".

[Sally S Miles]

When you look at the dogs that are being shown or bred, in the fancier world - the coat comes into play and the best of the best are seeking perfection, which is ever elisive. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder - the judges.  Imagine how many dogs come between the show ring and the 'different coat'.

 

Oddly enough in the last few days I have had time to peruse some websites and still Doodles are touted as absolute everything = non shedding, perfectly balanced, intuitive, oh every adjective imagineable - but there is no perfect.  

 

In one litter of ten F1's - the litter our girl is from, sizes range from 45 to 85lbs (ten months)  - coats run from one who is a ringer for the GR mom to my curly girl who looks like her Std Poodle sire.  There are fluffy ones, straight ones, thick coats and thin.  Second litter, again ten - no more similarities than before - but an F1b litter at same breeder, appears no differently in the ten.  Can't tell the two dogs litters apart.

 

In the months that we have had this wonderment of canine compilation, I have heard the same sort of 'oh, I want a Doodle because...' and all are words that hold little meaning. They're cute - most people are looking for cute.   Most will obsess on the 'fault' and lose track of what is inside.    They might shed profusely, might be hyper, might be small, might be large, might be.....  What they are is the creation of combining two awesome breeds - no guarantee on that 'hybrid vigor' and no guarantee on looks.   Like chocolate? "You never know what you'll get" - if what is in the center of that piece of chocolate is very important, then perhaps the sampler box is not right for all.