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Here at Maverick Ranch we currently breed one generations of Doodles - the F1 which is a first generation cross between two purebred dogs. F1 and F1b are arguably the most popular doodle generations. We plan on breeding F1b litters in the future.

 

Goldendoodle Generations 

Golden Retriever X Poodle = F1 Goldendoodle

F1 Goldendoodle X Poodle = F1b Goldendoodle

F1b Goldendoodle X Poodle = F1bb Goldendoodle

F1 Goldendoodle X F1 Goldendoodle = F2 Goldendoodle

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When it comes to selecting a doodle for your family, many people want a specific generation because they read online that F1b's have better non-shedding coats than F1 puppies. Please take all of that information with a grain of salt, as doodle litters can be very different from each other, even if they are the same generation and breed. Even doodle puppies in the same litter can have completely different coat types. An F1 puppy can have the same or a better low-shedding coat than an F1b puppy, it all depends on the parent's coat alleles and what alleles each puppy inherits. Remember, when it come to coat types, coat genetics are much more reliable than what generation a litter is.

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COAT TYPES IN DOODLES

 

There are many different alleles that play a role in determining what kind of coat type a doodle puppy will possess. Many people look at a litter of doodle puppies and assume all puppies in a litter will have the same level of shedding, the same coat type, the same coat texture, and the famous doodle furnished look, but this is not the case. Many breeders and puppy buyers assume that the higher the generation of doodle, the better the coat will be. For example, most believe that the F1b will always have a better coat than the F1, but this is not the case. The main genes that impact a dog’s coat include the Coat Length Gene, Coat Texture Gene, the Furnishing Gene, and the Shedding Gene. There are still some components of dog coat genetics that aren’t completely understood yet, but this is a guide to the current basic understanding. 

 

If you have basic understanding of dominant/recessive alleles and how a Punnett Square works, the following paragraphs should be easy to follow. If you remember from biology lessons, for every gene we inherit one allele from our mother and one from our father. 

 

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Coat Length Gene

In dogs, the short hair allele (Sh) is dominant and the long hair allele (Lh) is recessive. Because the short hair allele (Sh) is dominant, a dog only needs one copy of the short hair allele to have short hair. For a dog to have long hair, a dog must receive two copies of the long hair allele (Lh), one from each parent, to have long hair. Poodles, Golden Retrievers, and Bernese Mountain Dogs have long hair, therefore all Goldendoodles and Bernedoodles should always have two long hair genes (Lh/Lh). For some doodle hybrids the coat length gene produces short hair furnished puppies, such as an F1 Labradoodle, because the puppy inherits the dominant short hair gene (Sh) from the Labrador Retriever parent. 

 

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Coat Texture Gene 

The Coat Texture gene determines whether a dog’s coat will be curly, wavy, or straight. In dogs, curly hair (+) is dominant and straight hair (-) is recessive. The Curl gene is an incomplete dominant gene, meaning dogs with only one copy of the curl gene (+/-) can express a variety of coats that range between curly and straight.  This is because the curl allele will allow influence of the recessive straight hair allele, and the level of influence will vary from dog to dog. Many doodle breeders will state that the puppies that are the curliest will have the best non-shedding characteristics, and this is not true. The curly gene is universal in dog genetics, and it is wrong to think that just because a dog has two copies of the curly allele (+/+), it will shed less. In fact, there are many curly breeds of dogs that shed a lot, such as the Curly Coated Retriever. 

 

Poodles can have either two copies of the Dominant Curly allele (+/+) or one copy (+/-), while Golden Retrievers  have straight hair, meaning they will always have two copies of the recessive straight hair allele (-/-). Because Poodles can have either one of two copies of the curl gene, there could be a variance in the amount of curl a litter of F1 puppies shows. For example, if you breed a poodle with only one curl gene (+/-) to a Golden Retriever  (-/-) the resulting litter will have approximately 50% with one curl gene (+/-) and 50% with two straight hair genes (-/-). Some F1 Goldendoodle puppies will have very loose waves and some will have tighter curls, and it all depends on whether they have a dominant curl allele, and if so, how much the straight allele is allowed to influence the curl allele because of the incomplete dominance of the gene. In general dogs with two curl alleles (+/+) will typically have a tight curly coat and dogs with only one curl allele (+/-) typically have a looser curl or wavy coat. It’s also important to mention that a dog can have two straight hair alleles (-/-) and still have a wavy/curly coat type if it the dog carries the furnished allele, because the furnishing gene can influence the texture of a dog’s coat as well. 

 

 

Furnishing Gene

The term “Furnishings” refers to the long hair on the extremities of dogs including head and tail (ie. mustache, long eye brows, etc). The Furnishing gene is responsible for giving doodles the bearded fluffiness that they are known for. Furnishings are a dominant allele, so a dog only needs to receive one copy to be furnished. There are three identified furnishing alleles: Strong Furnishings (F), Weak Furnishings (Fw), and Unfurnished (IC) – dominant in that order.

 

 Poodles are a furnished breed. All purebred Poodle genotypes should be FF, but there are some pet poodle lines that have been known to carry weak or unfurnished alleles. Never assume that just because it's a Poodle that it is homozygous FF. Purebred Golden Retrievers are unfurnished dogs, and are always homozygous recessive IC/IC. So, if you breed a Poodle (FF) to a Golden Retriever (IC/IC), the resulting puppies will all be furnished (F/IC). So in General, if you breed an F1b Goldendoodle litter, the poodle parent should be F/F and the F1 Doodle parent will be F/IC. Due to genetic inheritance approximately 50% of an F1b litter will be F/F and approximately 50% will be F/IC (the same as an F1 litter). Remember, just because a puppy is an F1b, does not mean it will have a better non-shedding coat in comparison to the F1. 

 

Once doodle breeders get into breeding generations past F1 or F1b, it can be hard to predict the coat genetics of the litter without testing for coat alleles. Many F2, F3, multigen, ect. litters can produce unfurnished puppies. For example, if we bred two F1 Goldendoodles together both parents should be F/IC, so approximately 75% of the litter would be furnished (F/F or F/IC) and 25% would be unfurnished (IC/IC). The coat of an unfurnished doodle puppy would resemble the coat of a purebred Golden Retriever (no mustache, long eye brows, ect.). Make sure when purchasing a doodle puppy, the breeder understands coat genetics, and can be sure you won’t end up with an unfurnished puppy. 

 

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Shedding Gene

A shedding gene has recently been identified as one gene that can impact the degree of shedding in certain breeds of dog. However, the overall degree of shedding for a dog is dependent on a combination of genes. The current understanding is that a dog’s shedding comes from the Shedding Gene and the Furnishing Gene combined. For the shedding gene there are two alleles, one that is associated with high shedding (SD) and one that is associated with low shedding (sd). The dominant shedding allele (SD) is an incomplete dominant, so it will allow the recessive non-shedding allele to penetrate it. So, a dog that has a genome of sd/SD will shed, but how much will depend on the furnishing gene, and the overall quality of the coat.

Some breeds have two high shedding alleles (SD/SD) and some breeds have two low shedding alleles (sd/sd). 

 

We could assume that Golden Retrievers and Bernese Mountain Dogs carry two high shedding alleles (SD/SD) and Poodles have two low shedding alleles (sd/sd), but this is not always the case. Unlike furnishings and curl genes, Golden Retrievers and Poodles can have any combination of high and low shedding alleles. Dogs that carry two copies of the SD allele have been associated with higher shedding than sd/SD or sd/sd dogs. However, the overall degree of shedding is dependent on whether the dog is furnished or not. Dogs with furnished hair tend to be low-shedders regardless of their genotype at this gene. Dogs that carry one copy of the high shedding allele (SD) and one copy of the low shedding allele (sd) can vary from relatively low shedding to moderate shedding, depending on their furnishing alleles. 

 

 

How do we figure out what a dog’s level of shedding will be?

Goldendoodles are classed as low shedding dogs. We don’t like the term non-shedding, and will not use it to describe any dog, even if it’s a poodle with two furnished alleles (F/F) and two low shedding alleles (sd/sd). So, if every dog sheds to some degree, how do we know what the level of shedding will be. Based on the information we just explained about coat genes, we can make an educated guess on determining the shedding rate for the doodle puppies we produce. If you look at dog shedding on a scale of 0 being very low shedding and 4 being high shedding, we give each dog a point for every unfurnished (IC) allele they carry, and one point for every high shedding allele (SD) they carry. It has been noted that the furnishing gene seems to have a slightly higher effect on non-shedding characteristics than the shedding gene does. Please note that all furnished doodle puppies should be low-shedders, but this 0-4 scale helps us determine which doodle puppies will have the best non-shedding characteristics. 

 

Shedding Scale

Alleles: F=Furnished  IC=Unfurnished  SD=High Shedding  sd=Low Shedding

 Example Ratings: 

(F/F) + (sd/sd) = 0

(F/IC) + (sd/sd) = 1

(F/F) + (sd/SD) = 1

(F/IC) + (sd/SD) = 2

(F/F) + (SD/SD) = 2

(IC/IC) + (sd/sd) = 2

(F/IC) + (SD/SD) = 3

(IC/IC) + (sd/SD) = 3

(IC/IC) + (SD/SD) = 4

  

 

IN CONCLUSION:

• Curlier coat does not equal lower-shedding

• Not all puppies in a litter will have the same coat characteristics

• A higher generation of doodle does not mean the puppy will shed less

• All doodle puppies will shed to some degree

• Not all doodle puppies are furnished

• All furnished doodles should be low shedding, but the level will vary depending on the furnishing alleles and shedding alleles