Define Doodle Shedding.....

[Jennifer Tramell]

Hi everyone!  I haven't posted in a long time, but I still keep an eye on what is happening on DK.  The recent discussion about the f1b pup Chance and his shedding has started me thinking.

 

How do you define shedding?  I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but I am constantly approached by people who comment on my dogs and say "and they don't shed, do they?".  At this question, warning bells go off in my head.  How do I answer this, I do not want to mislead anyone.

 

My dogs are f2 and multi-gen (still 50/50) curly coated goldendoodles.  In my opinion, they don't shed BUT maybe some people would consider them as shedding.  When people ask me, I always say, "In my opinion, they don't shed enough for me to consider them as shedding; HOWEVER, I do find "doodle tumbleweeds" in the corner and along baseboards every couple days". 

 

Is there a consensus of what is considered shedding or non-shedding?  Do "non-shedding" dogs leave hair around?  I would think that all animals need to lose dead hair for new hair growth - I know I do.

 

 Here is how I break down my dogs shedding:

 

Hair seen on clothes?  No

Hair seen on furniture?  No

Hair seen on car seats?  No

Hair come off in the dog brush?  Yes for Webster, Very little for Charlotte

Hair on floor?  Yes, doodle tumbleweeds sometimes blow out from under the furniture or hide in corners, however, I don't brush my dogs frequently - I bet increased brushing would reduce the tumbleweeds.

 

I guess if I ranked my dogs on a scale of 0-5, with each category being 1 point, Webster would be 2 out of 5, Charlotte would be 1 out of 5.

 

Any thoughts?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Exactly what I was trying to say.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

im confused... how can your dogs be f2 and multi gen, yet still be 50/50? Half poodle half golden is an f1...

Cooper is a multi gen ALD, I will get fur on her brush and tumbleweeds occasionally, but I class her as non shedding as theres non on clothes, furniture etc. My MILs dog (an akbash) is a 10 on a scale of 1-5! She looses fur in clumps and when ever she moves you see a trail of fur in the air. I couldnt cope with a shedding dog!

[Jennifer Tramell]

Webster's parents were both f1, that makes him a f2 - there was no breeding back to an original breed.  Charlotte's parents were (this gets confusing) both f1bs, BUT, the dad was bred back to golden retriever, the mom was bred back to poodle.  Dad (75% golden, 25% poodle) plus mom (75% poodle, 25% golden) still leaves Charlotte 50% golden and 50% poodle.  Because of this confusion, and because she is the 3rd generation of goldendoodles in her family line, I just call her a multi-gen.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

interesting, and yes, confusing!

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

When people mention to me that Riley is non shedding I counteract their enthusiasm by saying that of course he needs a lot of grooming to prevent matting and knots and that I brush him daily.  I then tell them that I clip his nails, brush his teeth and bath him every few weeks. By the time I've finished they certainly don't think owning a doodle is a doddle! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When I was placing doodles in adoptive homes, I made sure that prospective adopters who had never owned poodles or similar dogs knew that in many areas, professional grooming for a standard non-shedding doodle would run them 600-800 dollars per year and more, depending on where they lived, and would also require a lot of time for brushing, etc. Ear maintenance always got mentioned, too, as many people who've never owned poodle-y coated dogs are clueless about that as well.

Sadly, many people shave non-shedding dogs down completely, to avoid having to have them groomed more often or to avoid having to keep their coats brushed out. Just last week, JD's groomer was shaving a little Shih Tzu down to the skin. The little dog's coat couldn't have been more than 2" long, which is already very short for a Shih Tzu, and it was beautiful, fluffy and not matted at all. . When I asked her why they wanted that done, the answer that they wouldn't have to bring him back in for a grooming for a longer period of time. I will never understand why people get long haired breeds and shave them down. The appeal of most long haired breeds is the coat. I understand trimming and keeping a dog who isn't being shown in a shorter, more manageable cut, but to just remove all the hair, why get that breed at all?

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I totally agree with you in this Karen, this is why I am grooming Riley daily and if I do take his coat down during the summer it will only be a little and I will do it myself.  I spend at least 20 minutes a day combing and brushing him and doing the extra bits.  Today it was teeth and nails.  I believe he is going through the coat change right now as more hair is ending up in the brush each day. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good point. But maybe they are going for size temperament and "non shedding? And I'm sure people don't realize that keeping up even a more manageable coat can be time consuming.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

I always kept my Yorkes shaved. In the winter they would have longer coats but in the summer it was just to hot. Even with brushing once a day my boys would still get that very fine hair matted up. They both loved the short hair and would become less active when it was longer. Sure they looked like shaved rats but they just seemed happier to be able to see and me not having to yank on knots in there hair everyday to brush them.

I am taking cocoa next week for her first grooming and having them take her Down to about 1 inch. It's been almost 80 where I live and she acts like she is having heat stroke. I want to keep her short in the summer and longer in the winter.


As far as I can tell she is a none shedder I think I have seen 5 or 6 loose hairs in the brush but I think they were probably pulled out. But I wonder if they need to be a certain age before you know if they are going to shed or not? I am one that bought her based on the breeder telling me she won't be a shedder because the hair bothers me... I think I'm allergic. So far so good and I hope it stays this way.

[Camilla and Darwin]

Very interesting.

Hair seen on clothes?  No

Hair seen on furniture?  No

Hair seen on car seats?  Yes, but in random clumps and only occasionally. 

Hair come off in the dog brush?  Yes, a lot.

Hair on floor?  No.

2/5 for Darwin. I consider Darwin a shedding dog. When people ask me, I always say "yes, a little bit. But when you brush him hair will be floating in the air."

 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I get random clumps too but they are from Calla who scratches more and thereby does some self grooming. I don't consider that shedding per se.

[Gail+Kathleen,(Sydney+Olivia:)]

 A Non-Sheeding Doodle, our Olivia is an example, no hair on our clothes, furniture, very little in the brush (kind of what Karen mentioned about her Poodle).  That's wonderful, but it takes me hours to brush her if her coat gets longer than an inch.  And if I don't brush her for hours every week, she mats and needs to be shaved.

 

Now for our shedding Doodle, Sydney (who happens to be a 7 and 9 generation ALD - the breeder advertised no shedding/ hypo allergic and had been breeding for many years).  We happened to get a Doodle with that recessive gene.  We were disappointed because we had expectations (not good to have expectations in life!!!) but we love Sydney dearly.  She sheds like Karen's Jack (24/7 every day of the year).  We recently decided to get her clipped very short, but now when she shakes, there are a millions short hairs blowing all over the place. Our "Animal Dyson" is our bestest friend!!!!!   If we didn't brush Sydney for months, she still would not have any mats.  That's lovely!  And, as Karen mentioned, her hair kind of stays the same length without any cuts.