multigen vs. F1b and consistency

[James And Sophie]

Hello!

We have the possibility of getting on a wait list for either an F1b, or a multigen goldendoodle.  Both mediums, both great breeders.  The breeder of the F1b litter told us there could be a weight range of 45-75 lbs (sire and dame are 45 and 55 lbs), while the multigen breeder seemed more sure of a weight range within 10 lbs high to low. Both breeders have had previous litters with the same two sires and dams, respectively.  My question is:  is there any more consistency with the multigens than the F1b's in being able to predict size, coat, personality?  I wondered if this were an advantage to getting a third+ generation doodle, or if it's not so.  Thanks for any advice you can share.

[Jennifer Tramell]

Regarding size/weight range: 

I'm close friends with Webster's breeder.  I know that their poodle stud is 27 lbs, one of the mama dogs is 22 lbs and the other is 55 lbs.  You would think that the pups could range from the stud's weight to the mama's weight, however that is not always the case.  Even though the dad qualifies as a "moyen" or small standard poodle, he was the largest in a litter of miniature poodles.  He has thrown mini f1b goldendoodle pups that have an adult weight of only 15 lbs!  His medium f1b pups have been as small as 25-30lbs and as big as 50lbs, but they average 40 lbs.  The breeder explains the expected *average* size of the pups, but also the possible variation due to the family line of the stud. 

Webster's parents are 55lbs and 70 lbs, how did he grow to and 88 lb sasquatch?  Apparently there are bigger dogs in the genealogy of Webster's parents.

Depending on what the "multigen" is (I've seen different breeders call different generations "multigen"), the breeder may have records of doggy parents, grandparents, even great grandparents sizes.  The f1b breeder recognizes that both golden retrievers and standard poodle sizes can range greatly and show up in puppies. 

Just my thoughts ;-)

 

[James And Sophie]

That's really helpful, Jennifer.  Thanks so much!

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

I was always under the impression that a litter of true multigenerational labradoodles (going back 6, 7, 8 generations) are very likely to be consistent, both in terms of size and appearance. The breeder should be able to predict characteristics based on the history of both parents. If both of the breeders that you are considering have paired the parents together before, I would assume that all of their future litters would produce a similar range of puppies. For instance, Charlotte's breeder had three litters with the same dame and sire, and all three litters were similar in terms of appearance and size. Some were a little more wavy than others, and they were a few pounds apart in size at 8 weeks. The breadth of personalities was also pretty homogeneous - not identical, but pretty close. Others may have different opinions, but as I said, this is how it was explained to me.