There are three coat types for the Goldendoodle hybrid:
1. Curly coat
2. Smooth coat
3. Shaggy coat
Some shaggy coat doodles do have loose curls about the coat from head to tail. Do not confuse this with a curly coat Goldendoodle. How do you tell the difference? It's easy really. A curly coat Goldendoodle will be curly from the hairs beginning at the top of the nose, all the way to its tail. The curly coat does still have the upside down "V" shape on its muzzle...forming its facial beard...but due to the amount of the curls, the facial beard is not as prominent. Its face just simply looks very fuzzy and curly. A shaggy coat Goldendoodle with loose curls in its coat will have a full facial beard that sprouts out away from its muzzle and will have a very shaggy coat. However, you will see loose curls out and about the entire coat. A smooth coat Goldendoodle will have a face very similar to a purebred Golden Retriever. All of the smooth coat Goldendoodles we have produced have an appearance that is very similar to the "Field style" Golden Retriever. Our Golden Retrievers do not have large, block shaped heads. Rather they have long muzzles that can appear to be slender. The smooth coat Goldendoodle does NOT have a facial beard nor does it have an upside down "V" shape between the eyes.
What is an upside down "V" shape that I am talking about?
If you can envision an upside down "V" shape between the eyes of the Goldendoodle puppy up above, you can see that between the eyes, little hairs are sprouting out and away from the face. It is narrow between the eyes and as you look down towards the nose, the hairs sprout out further and further away....giving the shape of an upside down "V". The photo up above is a five week old Goldendoodle. It has been our experience that a breeder can distinguish the facial beard forming at this age. Because every Goldendoodle will look just like a purebred Golden Retriever at birth, even when the parent is a Poodle, Goldendoodle or Golden Retriever.....new breeders may panic and wonder what the heck happened! Don't panic!
Goldendoodles will go through 10-15 different coat changes from the time they are born until the day they turn one year of age! But an experienced breeder will know what coat type their doodle pups have simply because over the years, they will learn how to tell the three different coat types apart. It takes many, many years to create a professional, experienced breeder who knows what they are talking about! Even then, we always have to update our information when it comes to the Goldendoodle dog! The doodles to the right are a curly coat Goldendoodle. How do we know this? These five week old Goldendoodles already exhibit plenty of curls from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail! Yes! They STILL exhibit the upside down "V" shape....at this particular age. However, as they age and their coat fully extends, it will be more difficult to see this shape in their beard simply because of all the curls.
When a Goldendoodle is bred to a Poodle...of any size...the majority of the offspring will have more of a Poodle appearance and it has been our personal experience, that the curly coat Goldendoodle can sometimes have a higher drive than the smooth coat or the shaggy coat Goldendoodle. Simply for the fact the curly coat Goldendoodle usually picks up more Poodle DNA. The coat type and the bodily structure is usually a good indicator that the doodle has picked up more Poodle or more Golden Retriever. BUT....this can NOT be determined when a doodle is a newborn puppy. Sometimes a breeder can see that a doodle puppy has longer legs and a narrow or wide muzzle when the puppy is approx. 8-10 weeks of age.......but I want to remind everyone that a puppy is very much like an infant. They all have to grow into their face and their bodies! How many times do we see an infant having a huge head....big eyes....tiny little nose...chubby body! This does not all indicate how the child will turn out as an adult. Doodles are very much like people. They can look like any one of their ancestors regardless of whom their parents may be. Sometimes a parent dog will have strong genes and many times a doodle will strongly resemble on parent or the other....but we have also seen doodles pick up an appearance of neither parent and we've seen some doodles become larger or smaller than either parent.
It would be absolutely foolish for any breeder, including ourselves, to give someone percentages of the amount of Poodle or Golden Retriever in a Goldendoodle's genetic DNA unless an actual DNA anaylsis was conducted through a canine genetic laboratory......but given the experience from an established breeder such as ourselves, it would be easy to tell whether a Goldendoodle is a shaggy coat, a curly coat or a smooth coat based on what they've had in the past.
Customers are the greatest resource for a breeder. Those who keep in touch with a breeder and offer updated information on the personality, coat changes and photos are invaluable to the breeder...that is why all breeders should encourage their customers to stay in touch and to send as many photos as possible of each doodle. If your fortunate like we have been, you'll have some of your customers keep in contact with you for the duration of the doodles' life. On the other hand, you can't always rely on customers staying in contact, which is why we intentionally held back some of our doodles for longer periods of time. It is the only way a breeder can photograph, document and research the changes that their doodles will go through. We are probably one of the ONLY Goldendoodle breeders who has written so extensively about the Goldendoodle dog and have gone to great lengths to research this lovely hybrid.....but we know that our experience, our research and the information we provide has helped thousands of doodle fans across the world, over all of these years. We know that it is possible to have shaggy coat and curly coat Goldendoodles in the same litter that comes from a Goldendoodle/Poodle pairing. We also know that most curly coat Goldendoodles have a slender body structure, with nice long legs.....will not have a high muscle mass....will have a narrow muzzle and will have more Poodle attributes than their shaggy coat siblings. We also noticed that Goldendoodles who have a curly coat and come from a Goldendoodle/Poodle pairing seem to be on the thin side physically and have more a petite body structure and we do not have an answer as to why this is so. It could be due to their higher drive and sometimes neurotic tendencies. They do tend to NOT be as laid back as the smooth coat or the shaggy coat and thus may burn off more energy.
It is possible to also have curly coat Goldendoodles come out of a 50/50 mixture just as it is possible to have shaggy coats come out of a Goldendoodle/Poodle mixture. A breeder will see a mixture of coat types come from a Goldendoodle/Poodle pairing or a Golden Retriever/Poodle mixture but the one thing they will never see is a smooth coat coming out of a 50/50 mixture...ie...one parent being a Golden Retriever and one parent being a Poodle or a Goldendoodle/Poodle pairing. Since creating Goldendoodles in 1999, we've never seen it happen. As we've discussed on previous pages, we were very surprised to learn that most of our smooth coats came from breeding two curly coat Goldendoodles together! Theoretically, that doesn't even make sense....but as I said, The Goldendoodle is a contradiction to itself.
When we bred two curly coat Goldendoodles together, we saw smooth coats and shaggy coats. Not a single curly coat. The smooth coat Goldendoodle will not have the hairs on the muzzle stand outward. The smooth coat will not have an upside down "V" shape nor will any hairs sprout out away from its muzzle that indicates a facial beard. A smooth coat can have curly ears or some fluff about its neck and top of its head. A smooth coat can have nice long legs and nice long ears very similar to the Poodle...but it will not have a facial beard, whatsoever. The facial beard and its texture is dependent upon whether the doodle is a curly coat or a shaggy coat. Most Goldendoodles enjoy the water. That's been our experience for our own Goldendoodles. For this reason, the coat is difficult to maintain if left either curly or shaggy. I would personally say that the curly coat is the most difficult to maintain with the shaggy coat being second and the smooth coat being the easiest.
Just as the Poodle coat is a challenge to maintain, the Goldendoodle must be shaved down entirely if you are desiring to own a maintenence free dog. Even then, I would not say that the Goldendoodle is ENTIRELY maintenence free with a shaved down coat. Our Poodles and our Golden Retrievers enjoy rolling around in the dirt! They don't think twice about sitting in the middle of a bucket full of water! They love to splash in kiddie pools and they don't mind being dirty. But if you intend to keep your doodle in the house....YOU are going to mind the dirty antics of a doodle. And I say that with a grin on my face. The Goldendoodle (and I speak about my own...not anyone elses.) absolutely does not mind finding the first mud puddle to splash in....the first mound of dirt to roll in or even rolling on a dead bird or rodent. But the first thing YOU are going to want to do is give that doodle a bath before letting it come inside and lay upon your bed or light colored carpet. So many people think these fluffy, low shedding lovely doodle dogs are Foo-Foo dogs when in fact, they are the biggest tom boys..male or female...I've ever seen. So the fact that they are tomboy type of dogs and the fact that most have either a curly coat or a shaggy coat, coat maintenence can be an issue for someone who doesn't either have the time or desire to deal with it. From personal experience who has a few adult Goldendoodles, their coat grows very fast! I began shaving down their coats in April and by August, I was having to start all over from square one. The facial beard is one of the areas difficult to keep clean. When a Goldendoodle with a facial beard eats or drinks...everything just clings to it. After drinking water from a bowl, the water will literally drip from every strand of hair around their mouths. It is easier to care for the coat when it is shaved down or at least trimmed short... 1 inch OUT from the skin.
It is easy to see where the shaggy or the curly coat doodle gets its coat from. The Poodle has a similar upside down "V" shape to their face when their facial coat is trimmed. It is easy to see where a Goldendoodle gets its narrow face, slender legs or slender body structure from....the Poodle. When a Goldendoodle has more of a square head or shorter legs or a heavier, more filled out body structure...it is easy to see that the doodle has picked up more Golden Retriever. Both dogs have specific characteristics and when we dissect a Goldendoodle as an individual dog, we can see clearly which traits are more dominent. But most people assume these traits can be determined at birth or as a newborn and this simply is not the case...for any hybrid for that matter. Breeders can't possibly know the shape of the muzzle; the length of the legs; the exact coat type or which traits a doodle will have more of until the Goldendoodles become a bit older. When a Goldendoodle is younger than six months, we can see that they are still growing into their face and their bodies. Sometimes their long legs are simply long because they haven't finished growing yet and other times, long legs as a four month old can indicate long legs as an adult. The shaggy coat Goldendoodle takes the longest to "bloom" where its coat and characteristics are concerned. Why this is, I don't have the answer. I just know it to be a fact. The coat continues to go through multiple changes from birth to the age of one year. One thing is for certain! If your doodle does NOT have a facial beard by the age of six months, it will never have one. That is a fact and inexperienced breeders can promise you the moon and the stars but it will never happen. If a Goldendoodle does NOT have a some indication of a facial beard by 8 weeks of age.....I can guarantee you it will never have one. Each coat type has specific traits which is a dead give away for an experienced breeder. Despite the naysayers claiming that a Goldendoodle is nothing more than a high priced "designer" mutt.....the fact of the matter is, the Goldendoodle is a "breed" of its own that is very fascinating to learn about. As the years go by, more and more people are making the Goldendoodle dog a part of their lives and those people use to be purebred dog owners of specific types of dogs. I've been told many times by people over the years...."I never thought I'd own anything other than "XYZ" type of dog until I purchased a Goldendoodle...now, I don't know how I could ever live without one!" It's something I hear over and over and over again. I've been asked, "what is the difference between a Goldendoodle and a Labradoodle?"...well....for starters, I'd never own a Labradoodle OR a Labrador for that matter....look in any newspaper and you will see nothing BUT Lab this and Lab that. Labs are some of the most OVER bred dogs in our society. You will NOT find as many Golden Retriever breeders as you will Labrador breeders. You will NOT find as many Golden Retriever mixes as you will find Labrador mixes. Of course there will be fans of the Lab who will disagree with me...and fans of the Golden Retriever who WILL agree with me. One of my most favorite mixes is a Goldendoodle bred to a Golden Retriever. Why? Because it sets the temperament of the doodle offspring and causes the temperament to lean more towards that of the Golden Retriever. We were very impressed with our first litter, which is why in 2008 we created another. It will be a mixture that I will focus more on as time goes by. My least favorite mix of the Goldendoodle is the Goldendoodle/Poodle mixture. I say this only because I am a Golden Retriever fan and always have been. I can definitely see the temperament difference between the two mixtures. Goldendoodles who are a 50/50 mixture or a Goldendoodle/Golden Retriever mixture are more laid back than a Goldendoodle/Poodle mixture. I have all these mixtures and can back this up with fact. Our Poodles and our Golden Retrievers have a very impressive history of ancestors....with over 400 OFAgood, champions. Both sides have an impressive history of utility dogs; companion dogs; show dogs and Master Hunters. Despite such an impressive lineage on both sides, we see that the Goldendoodle/Poodle mixture tends to display some neurotic tendencies such as barking more; sometimes having a dominant need for affection and attention; sometimes having a higher drive. Their structure also tends to bend toward that of a purebred Poodle. Let there be no mistake...we love them dearly...but my preference leans towards the doodles with more Golden Retriever tendencies merely because I'm a Golden Retriever fan. Those who love the Poodle and who are fans of Poodles will completely enjoy the Poodle/Goldendoodle mixture. Those who lean more towards the Golden Retriever, however, can not appreciate their quirky personality and vice versa.
The smooth coat Goldendoodle is the easiet of the three doodle coat types to maintain. We have come to learn that the smooth coat doodle does shed slightly more than the curly coat or the shaggy coat, but they shed less than the purebred Golden Retriever. The smooth coat Goldendoodle is a favorite for those who enjoy the Golden Retriever, but do not desire the heavy shedding of a purebred Golden Retriever. The temperament of a Golden Retriever is set, in the smooth coat Goldendoodle. Let me make it perfectly clear that a smooth coat Goldendoodle CAN NOT be achieved through a 50/50 mixture. I've never seen it occur since 1999 through all of the litters we've created. We have created Goldendoodles in every imaginable way and have never witnessed a smooth coat coming from a Goldendoodle/Poodle mixture or a 50/50 mixture. A true smooth coat Goldendoodle occurs through the following mixtures:
A. Two shaggy coat Goldendoodles bred together.
B. A curly coat Goldendoodle bred to a shaggy coat Goldendoodle
C. Two curly coat Goldendoodles bred together.
D. A curly coat or shaggy coat Goldendoodle bred to a Golden Retriever.
E. A smooth coat Goldendoodle bred to a Golden Retriever.
The smooth coat Goldendoodle is the most similar to the purebred Golden Retriever of all coat types. There are, however, differences. A smooth coat Goldendoodle can have long slender legs similar to the purebred Poodle; can have a slender muzzle similar to the Poodle but definitely has no facial beard whatsoever...at any time. There may be some curls about the ears and head and fluff about the neck; its tail will still be a nice plume tail and there will be some feathering about the legs and under-belly....but do not let your breeder tell you that your Goldendoodle who is showing no shag or facial beard will "grow into it". That is absolutely not true. We can definitely tell by 6-8 weeks of age whether a Goldendoodle is a smooth coat simply because the facial beard is void. The smooth coat doodle can come in any color; have any markings anywhere upon its body and can also have light colored eyes. The most common color of eyes for a Goldendoodle is brown. Blue eyes is the least common and most sought after and green eyes is highly sought after but also second to the least uncommon color for eye color. All are beautiful but I tend to favor doodles that are unique in their coloring, markings and eye color mainly because just like purebred dogs at a dog show tend to look like clones of each other....Goldendoodles also can have a tendency to have a redundant appearance. Their all great, don't get me wrong....but I do like to see Goldendoodles that are NOT so common in eye color or coat color or having uncommon markings...simply because I lean towards having things that others do not.
I do want to make it clear about the difference in the personality and behavior between the curly coat doodle and the smooth coat or shaggy coat or even the shaggy coat with curls. The temperament or personality difference is NOT based solely on the fact the offspring comes from a particular pairing..ie...Goldendoodle/Poodle; Goldendoodle/Golden Retriever; Goldendoodle/Goldendoodle or Golden Retriever/Poodle. We notice the difference in personalities and traits based on coat type and the reason for this is because if we were to do a DNA analysis of each coat type, I am sure it would validate what it is I am saying and what I know to be true. A Goldendoodle/Poodle pairing will have both the shaggy coat as well as the curly coat. There will be temperament/trait differences between the two types basically because the shaggy coat doodle has picked up an equal amount of Poodle and Golden Retriever and the curly coat has picked up more Poodle, just as we see sometimes the curly coat coming out of a 50/50 mix with the majority of the offspring being the shaggy coat...that curly coat doodle will behave differently simply because it has picked up more Poodle DNA. Experience has shown this to be true and I am definitely positive that DNA analysis would prove me to be correct. Don't get me wrong...all coat types are wonderful dogs. It is just that Poodle people will appreciate the curly coat more than the Golden Retriever people will and vice versa. Golden Retriever fans will appreciate the smooth coat tremendously unless they want the Retriever temperament but the shaggy coat...then, of course, the smooth coat would not fit into that desire. Someone wanting the look of a Golden Retriever with lesser shedding, will be happy with the smooth coat. Another important fact is that your doodle with more Poodle will NOT shed less than a 50/50 mix or a doodle that comes from a Golden Retriever/Goldendoodle mix. The curly coat and the shaggy coat sheds euqally. The smooth coat just a tad bit more...but entirely less than a purebred Golden Retriever.
Don't get sucked into the non-shedding...hypoallergenic sales tactic. I had emailed a breeder once asking why the heck she was claiming her Goldendoodles were "non shedding, hypoallergenic" Goldendoodles since there is no such test available through any canind DNA laboratory to prove her claim and she emailed me back saying that because SHE didn't have allergy issues with her Goldendoodles...they were hypoallergenic! Say what?? Just because SHE didn't have an allergy issue?? What about those who have triggers that differ from her own? Every allergy sufferer will suffer differently and we all have different triggers that set off our allergy issues. That is horribly irresponsible of that particular breeder (who is in Florida by the way) who is making such claims in her advertisements over the internet. The reality and the facts are this:
A. All Goldendoodles shed whether you like it or not and regardless of how many people tell you that they do not! It's just a marketing scam.
B. There isn't a hypoallergenic dog on this planet...period! All dogs, even those without hair or fur will track pollen into your home via their pawpads and their coat just like WE do all the time with our shoes, clothing, hair and skin.
Goldendoodles have become extremely popular regardless of their coat type, but the main thing to remember is not to fall for the hypo-allergenic, non or never shedding coat. Every Goldendoodle sheds, but they do shed differently than any other type of dog. Adding more Poodle to the Goldendoodle's DNA does NOT cause the dog to shed less. It just causes the dog to be at a higher risk for genetic ailments. The more the Goldendoodle is back bred, the higher risk they are for health issues simply because of the fact breeders who create "multi generation" Goldendoodles cause their dogs to come out of a limited gene pool. This is the category that purebred dogs fell into and today, we see many purebred dogs having multiple health issues because dog fanciers inbred their dogs too closely to each other, limiting the gene pool.
