Differences between Labradoodles and Goldendoodles

[Julia]

I am not trying to start a riot here, but as some of you know, I am researching dogs for my young family and have been thinking about a medium sized ALD. I also want an adult, which isn't easy to find, so I thought it would be good to find out a little more about Goldendoodles. I would love to hear from the experts about the similarities and differences about the two breeds and possibly why each person chose the one they did.

[Julia]

That makes perfect sense. Do you think you could elaborate on exactly what you think the differences are? It seems to me that ALDs should have similar temperments to each other since they should be breeding *true*, right? The way golden retrievers, or boxers or any other breed tend to have characteristics in common.( Of course these are generalizations and each individual have their own special personalities,)

[Julia]

Oh, and Jane, did you say Rooney has a fleece or wool coat?

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Rooney has a fleece coat, here are a few photos that show is coat at different lengths.  Un brushed they go into little spirals.

 

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

I know this is a question for Jane, and I don't want to put words into her mouth--but I wanted to share my observations.

I think that, for any dog, what the breeder is breeding _for_ is highly significant. As Adina pointed out, in established purebred dogs, the breeder is breeding to an accepted standard of characteristics--appearance, coat, conformation, temperament, etc.

In crossbreeds, the breeder's goal is just as important. For early crosses, it can be more difficult to "breed for" specific characteristics, because the genes can mix in unpredictable ways. With a multigeneration cross, some of that unpredictability is gone, and the breeder can focus on coat, temperament, etc., with more reliable results. In general, multigen offspring can still vary from each other, but that range of variation is smaller (but definitely not nonexistent) than with early-generation offspring.

That's why, in my opinion, it is so important to identify a reliable breeder and make sure he or she understands what you are looking for. I believe that Cosmo's breeder does work very hard to breed for temperament, and to reinforce that breeding with early socialization. As I said before, we were originally thinking we would wait for a later litter of standards, but she told us the two medium puppies were exceptionally good matches for us. And she was absolutely right!

Cosmo is the perfect companion; he is laid-back, smart, funny, and generally very obedient, and he's never met a stranger. He gets excited when it's time to play or go for a walk, but generally he is calm and quiet in the house or backyard. BTW, he has a loose, wavy fleece coat that does require brushing/combing a few times a week.

[Julia]

Elizabeth, do you go to the groomers monthly, or do you find Cosmo can go longer without a trim?

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

I like Cosmo's coat a little long, say about 3 or 4 inches. It does make the brushing or combing even more important, though.

Cosmo has been to the groomer only 4 or 5 times in his life (he'll be  2 in May), because my husband likes to trim Cosmo's coat himself. My husband, whose main experience comes from trimming his own beard, has more passion than outright skill in dog grooming. (He disagrees!) And he (DH) does this grooming only about every 8 to 10 weeks. So, when Cosmo is looking too hacked, I'll sneak him off to the groomer!

We bathe him more often (DH says he does it, not we--which is true!), about every month, using Mane & Tail horse shampoo. It makes his coat nice and soft, and I'm not allergic to it. It also has a detangler spray that works well.

Really, I think how often the dog is groomed depends on how long you like the coat and whether or not you are willing to do the brushing/combing that will remove or prevent matts. It is really nice but not absolutely necessary to have him groomed every month.

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

I have to respectfully disagree about the "new name." Personally, I do not believe it has any significance to any dogs not currently being bred by the breeder who originated that name. Many ALDs in the US are now many generations removed from that breeder's stock, and breeding practices, including health testing, record-keeping, etc., are very different.

I would recommend the web site for the Australian Labradoodle Association of America (ALAA) for further information on how breeding, including new infusions, is currently being handled in the U.S.: http://www.ilainc.com/index.html

I absolutely agree that the ALD is a mix of many breeds, including poodle, labrador, cocker spaniel, wheaten terrier, and possibly others.

Julia, I know this wasn't what you meant by your original question, and I didn't mean to highjack the thread!

[Julia]

No apologies needed, I'm very interested in  this discussion.

[Chloe, Finley & Mama Shelley]

For me it was based on my love of goldens. I have and have had both Labs and Goldens. I love them both dearly but something about the temperament of goldens is just special.
Our Chloe is F1B goldendoodle and has a F1b mother and a Golden retriever Dad and has a loose wavy, non matting coat. Very tousled looking and easy to maintain. She is and has always been very mellow and calm, but very playful. I believe her father being an English Cream Golden contributes a lot to her temperament. Her trainer loves her and says she is amazingly smart and adorable! She sheds very little and I leave her with full run of the house..she is only 7 months old.. love my GD.!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Julia, I have an ALD also.  He is 7th generation and looks just like his parents and siblings, allowing for the same differences you might have in a human family - well, actually fewer differences than in a human family.  IMO when you get down to a 5th generation, the dogs do look strongly alike with the exception of coat type - wool, fleece, combination.  I don't think I have heard of an ALD of 5th plus generation shedding. Personality-wise, I think doodles generally  make good family pets and are high energy dogs. 

Specifically my ALD is a good family pet and NOT a high energy dog. He is not really, really snuggly but more independent and "cat-like" in personality. I know three doodles from Ned's litter and they are all different colors, have similar but not identical coat types, have different personalities, and none are high energy. Ned's coat is high maintenance.  He began matting at about 6 months and continued to mat lots until he was about 2 1/2 or 3. We had to brush him about every other day for about 40 minutes to keep him mat-free.  Finally he began to mat less and less and now we can brush him about once a week or two and brush out, sometimes slice through minor mats.  It still takes 40 plus minutes.  When we brush him we get fur in the brush and at that time we get little pin knots on our clothes. We get him professionally groomed every 4 - 6 weeks.  Our groomer does not charge an arm or a leg or we would cut him shorter and let him grow longer between cuts. 

Now for the adult dog. We have a rescue doodle that was listed as a labradoodle by the shelter. We think he may be what is called an English Goldendoodle because he is blockier. Because he is a rescued dog, we really do not know what he is or even if he is a doodle. He sheds - "doodle bunnies" and when we brush him, we get more fur than when we brush Ned. Clancy has a mixed coat that is coarser on his back. His shedding is not from all over his body, he rarely, rarely has a mat. We get him professionally groomed every 4 to 6 weeks too. His face area grows much more quickly than Ned's and when he is professionally groomed he is soft - oh so huggably soft. Clancy came to live with us at age two, so we knew his coat type, although good nutrition has made it better as well as some changes it has had from 2 to 3. Clancy's personality is calm and laid back. He has both great personality traits and a few faults. He is very loving but not clingy. He has changed since coming to live with us but the changes were gradual. I attribute these changes to the trust and respect that evolved in the stable, secure home environment we provided. Clancy was housebroken when we got him but did some marking inside. This ceased - good for him because it would have been a deal breaker.
If you are looking for an adult and must really know about him, I would suggest going to a breeder or only applying for a rescue that is a re-home with a known background. If you only care about the "look" and general personality of the doodle, like our Clancy, you can be less picky. If you think an adult dog will always be housebroken, that is not the case. Many breeders' dogs are not, many rescued dogs have not been - however, an adult dog can be housebroken.
I probably said more than you wanted to know.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I chose an ALD for the predictability on size, and coat type. and non shedding!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I have one of each, there is of course differences in the coat, size, intellegence but then you can have that between the same litter mates as well.  Each dog is a individual and buy combining two breeds its difficult to get the same outcome every time.  I am sure you could like up FB1 goldendoodles or labradoodles and they all could be different.   I can tell you that I like the more curly doodle which I looked for in both my doodles when I brought them as puppies and they remained curly while their litter mates were either straight hair, curly and/or wavy.  O have one male and one female doodle...... which makes a difference right there in the gender department.  So its kind of difficult to pin-point the differences...  all I can 110% say is that they are the best dogs I have ever owned and I love my doodles to bits :)