Does your Doodle shed?

[Brenda Showfety]

We looked for a suitable dog for us for about a year.  In doing research, we kept coming to the Doodle breed because it had every trait we wanted in a dog, smart, no to low shedding (my husband is very allergic to dogs) , great temperament etc,, The only problem is that my husband liked the poodle look, but I did not.  We found Maggie who was the ultimate of everything.  She is a Double Doodle.  She is 13 weeks today.  She looks like a Lab/Retreiver mix.  We see little to no signs of poodle which I am more than happy with.  The one problem is that she is shedding like crazy!  We are wondering if because she took on more of the Lab/Retriever look, that she also has the shedding gene.  I wanted to see if others in this Where's the Poodle in my Doodle group have shedding Doodles since most everyone in this group have the look that our Maggie does. We have no intention of giving Maggie up, but we are vacuuming daily( gathering a tennis ball sized ball of fur)  and brushing her outside to make sure we minimize the dog hair in the house.  Just wondering.

[Brenda Showfety]

Thank you, that is very encouraging.  I do think her coat seems to be changing.  We bought a Furminator and I used it.  That seemed to stir the pot, but I am forever hopeful this will be just like you said, her new coat coming through.

[Kevin,Keri and FRED]

We have a golden doodle and bought him for the exact same reasons you did. He sheds quite a bit but I've never owned a lab or Golden retriever so maybe by comparison it's not a lot at all. It's definitely more than we expected, however my wife hasn't had any allergic reactions other than sneezing once in a while and she is allergic to dogs.

He actually didn't shed at all until about 16 weeks, so it seems from dog to dog the results can vary quite a bit. We wanted to shave him because he's black and gets hot really quickly but I've heard it can mess with their coat if you shave them too early?

Bought a furminator but haven't tried it yet.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

We just bought a furminator - it works REALLY well!  SO much hair coming out of one tiny dog.  I think we got enough hair yesterday to make a new dog!

[Brenda Showfety]

I got a Furminator, too!   LOVE it!  The only thing I notice with it is that after you are done, you need to rub them really well to get all the hair you just loosened from the furminator.  It does do a fantastic job, though. Still see lots of hair in the house.  We are still hoping this is a  "puppy coat" and it will slow down soon! 

[Andrew Bliss]

We are getting a Doubledoodle in two weeks.  The one we are getting looks very lab like to me.  He has the shortest coat of any of his 9 siblings.  We were interested in the doodles because I have a daughter with an allergy.  She has been around him several times and she has not had a reaction yet, but he is only 6 weeks now.  Maggie looks very lab like to me....does mine look similar to what Maggie looked like as a new puppy?  Ours is 5/8 poodle, 1/4 Golden and 1/8 Lab...I see more lab than anything though.  How is your husband's allergies around your dog?  Do you remember Maggie shedding much when you first got her?

[Brenda Showfety]

Andrew,  Maggie looks a LOT like the picture we got from the breeder of her at that age.(the pic below was Maggie at 5 weeks)  Maggie too, was the only one of 9 siblings to have the "lab look".  That is why we liked her so much.  The unfortunate thing is that Maggie does shed and she does bother my Husband's allergies.  She is now 4 months old.  We are hoping this is puppy coat shedding and that it will slow down.  We would never give her up.  He just needs to keep his face and hands washed after playing with her.  I have looked and looked at blogs about doodle shedding and first thought that because she has the retreiver/lab look, she also will have the shedding like them, but I do see blogs from people that have this type of look and their doodle is no to low shedding. I guess it is nothing you can be sure of.  Not too helpful, I know, but that is our experience.  I still hope you get her.  Double Doodles are amazing!

[Andrew Bliss]

Thank you Brenda,  every bit of information helps and prepares us with realistic expectations and getting a plan together.  Is Maggie exclusively an indoor dog?  The thing that kills me is that ours is only 1/8 Lab and he looks so Lab like.  I am drawn to the retriever look but we are just wanting to make sure that we are going to be OK with my daughter's allergies.  Thanks so much for the reply...you will have to keep me posted as Maggie gets closer to the one year mark and how her shedding and allergy issues go and I will do the same...might be pretty interesting.

[Brenda Showfety]

Sounds like we have the exact same situation.  Maggie is 1/8 lab, 1/8 golden retreiver and the rest poodle.  There is definitely not any poodle in our doodle!  Our Vet thinks she will look more like a Golden Retriever body with a lab face but the poodle tallness and body shape,, very interesting indeed.  Praying the shedding goes down but until then, we vacuum daily and keep the faith. lol. 

[Andrew Bliss]

I think my wife will go nuts if she is vacuuming everyday.  She has never owned ANY pet so this will all be so new to here.  The no to low shedding was a big draw to the breed.  I think you are right though...looking at ours and Maggie I sure see a lot of similarities.  Just even looking at their paws...they are identical.  Sounds like you and I are in the same boat...I am a little nervous about the allergy stuff though.

[Andrew Bliss]

So, we have a new development.  We went to the breeders house (close friends of ours) to expose my daughter to the puppy again yesterday.  I was wearing a dark shirt and the puppy had been bathed the day before.  I was absolutely covered with hair.  Every time I held him, new hair was on the shirt and you could see the hair coming off of him.  My daughter also had a slight reaction on her arm and her nose got just a little stuffy.  The very first puppy that was sold from the litter was a little girl (the other runt) with the more fleece type coat so I picked her up and carried her...no shedding at all.  It was pure luck, but the person who had wanted her could no longer take her and the breeders agreed that it would be best for my daughter to go with the non shedding coat...so, we are getting a different puppy.  We want to make sure we are doing the best thing for my daughter and not setting ourselves up for constant medication.

[Cathy, Josie and Piper]

My doodle looks like a mini retriever too and sheds alot. I have purchased just about every kind of brush and comb there is out there. I find the only brush that takes out her loose hair is the furminator, it's fantastic. My question is, can you use the furminator  as your only brush or do you think it's too "aggressive" to be used all the time?