Ok - I have figured out what F1 and F1B mean with goldendoodles. And it appears that the F1B's are best for not shedding and for people with allergies. Is that correct? I have allergies and asthma so I want to get a dog that is hypoallergenic as possible.
I have a question about breading an F1 to another F1. Someone nearby has a litter and I'd like to get one, but want to be sure that they will be what I picture. Doing research, I saw a couple places where it said a lot of people won't breed those generations because the puppies all come out so different. I also read that this type of breeding doesn't give non-shedding doodles and isn't for people with allergies. Is this true?
When I do get my goldendoodle I plan to have it for a good lifetime, so I want to be sure to get the right match. I'm so glad I stumbled on this site. Is there anyone who could offer advice?
If your allergies are pretty strong, then a puppy from an F1 x F1 cross is a big risk, in my opinion.
Here's a way to think about the genetics:
Let's say that golden retrievers (GR) are represented by yellow marbles and poodles are represented by a blue marbles. When you makes a GR and a poodle you take a marble from the yellow jar and a marble from the blue jar and end up with a bunch of yellow and blue pairs.
Yellow x Blue, Yellow x Blue.
So then an F1 is like a set of marbles--one is yellow one is blue.
When you mix an F1 with another F1 it's like randomly choosing from both the blue and yellow jar for each pup. There is just as much chance of getting two yellows and two blues as there is of getting a yellow and blue together. If a yellow marble lined up with blue marble you'd end up with a dog that looked like another F1, but if a yellow marble and a yellow lined up you'd get what looked like a GR. Or two blues that looked like a poodle.
I don't know if I just confused you more...LOL...but the point is that statistically a litter from an F1 to an F1 crossing will have some puppies the look a lot like poodles, some puppies that look a lot like golden retrievers and some puppies that looked like goldendoodles--but it's a much bigger crapshoot. Most breeders avoid F1 to F1 crosses because they know that there's not much good that can come out of them as far as meeting the needs of buyers, getting low shed, and getting doodle looking puppies. Doesn't mean that you might not get lucky... But I wouldn't place my money on it.
There are reasons reputable breeders don't do this cross...so I would research carefully this breeder (along with what health testing they do on their parent dogs, etc).
ALD dogs or Australina Labradoodles are multigen dogs and therefore most apt to be non shedding as well as non allergenic. They have been carefully developed since 1984 for these qualities as well as excellent temperments. That is why I chose an ALD for my first "doodle" as DH is really really allergic to dogs. Our two ALDs cause him no trouble. There are quite a few excellent ALD breeders in the US now. Check for a gold or silver (or both) paw on their website to begin. Without that in my opinion you should look elsewhere. Check in owner recommended breeders on this site. Also googling Rutland Manor will yield a wealth of information about the "breed". Google owner recommended labradoodle (or golden doodle0 breeders. Good Luck
HI Maryann - I was just reading through some of the comments and found yours.... You mention that DH is really allergic to dogs (is that your husband) but that you have two ALD's that don't bother him. Do you know if he is allergic to just the dander or does he get itchy when licked? I'm researching that breed because I'm fairly allergic to dogs. I don't react when I'm in a room with a dog but I do tend to get stuffy and itchy after playing with most dogs. Where did you get your ALD's?
Thanks!
Leslie