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?

[Ginny Nightingale]

As a contrast, I once groomed an Australian Shepard for a friend--she wanted some of the loose hair out so he wouldn't shed so much--well, how hard could that be!? Well, I brushed that dog for 3 hours and the hair was still coming out--it was everywhere and had a static to it that caused it to stick to everything in the house, including me. There were piles of hair all over the floor. It was days before I could get it out of the house--and the dog was still shedding a bit when he left. I just gave up. Never again!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's what I live with every day. That's Jackdoodle.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

My two both shed some, but so minimal that it's not something I have to think about much. Bella has always shed more, but she's white too, so we see it more. Especially on dark clothes, but not enough to even use a lint brush for. There is some on the furniture, but a quick weekly vacuum takes care of that, car seats are leather, so no problem there, and both of them loose tons of hair when I brush them but only if they are longer than 2 inches. I keep them short in the summer for the pool and it is very hot here so they cool off faster when they come insidewf rom the heat. I don't brush them much when they are short, but when I do there is very little hair in the brush. I get most hair from their tails now as I keep those long on both.
I love the long loose curls they both have, but past 2 inches it's a constant job and with two its just not fair to them or me to have to spend that much time brushing and combing and bathing. So on a scale of 1 - 10, Murphy is a 3 and Bella a 5 I'd think.

[ERIC A. NATER]

My Labradoodle, Claire, and my Foster Labradoodle Stella both shed worse than any of the many Golden Retrievers I have had in my Life.  My Goldendoodle, Cooper is a medium shedder.  I have always had two Dogs at a time, and have never had as much hair in my house as I have now since getting my Doodles!  I hate seeing Breeders ads stating that Doodles are non-shedding.  It is a total dis-service to the Breed.

[Lynne of Fountain Falls]

To reply to the original posts:  I keep data, as much as my new families are willing to communicate with me, on my puppies.  At 6 months, one year and then again 1 year later, I ask people to rate the shedding from 1- 10 with a poodle being 1 and golden retriever being 10.  There is a big difference between my first two litters using Honey and Rudy and subsequent litters using Tucker and two other girls.  The first two litters shed from 4-5, the last litters around a two meaning doodle tumbleweeds.  f1b almost no shedding at all. 

My three poodles, never notice any hair on clothes or bedding.  Now if we could just eliminate the dirt.