Generations Explained
Something that's important to understand is that all Goldendoodles and Irish Doodles will have long coats once they reach adulthood. This is because Poodles, Golden Retrievers and Irish Setters are long coated, and as the gene for long coats is recessive putting recessive genes together can only result in the expression of the recessive gene.
Some people mistakenly believe that Poodles' coats are short and curly, they are only short if they are clipped short!
F1- First Cross- Golden Retriever x Poodle. Coats are typically long and wavy, amount of shedding is variable. We have found that the amount of shedding tends to be linked to the Poodle used in the mix and here at Kizzabella our Poodle boys tended to produce puppies which are low to non shedding regardless of generation. However this cannot ever be guaranteed and we don't allow puppies to go to homes where non shedding is very high on their wish list as we can't guarantee their puppy won't shed to some degree.
F1b-Backcross- Goldendoodle x Poodle (or occasionally Golden Retriever but the results tend not to be as desirable in terms of looks or coat type) Coats typically long, thick fleece type to curly. Generally this generation tends to be lower shedding but again this is not guaranteed.
F2-Second Generation- F1 Goldendoodle x F1 Goldendoodle-This cross is not recommended as it can theoretically produce puppies that have 100% Golden Retriever traits or 100% Poodle traits or anything in between so produces the least predictable results before the litter are born. Coats vary from flat, high shedding ‘hair’ coats with uncharacteristic smooth faces, to tight Poodle curls and anything in between.
Multigeneration (Multigen)-further generations have varying outcomes in terms of looks and coat types, however an experienced breeder who has carried out coat testing should be able to give an indication of how an individual puppy's coat is likely to develop. Here at Kizzabella we are now concentrating on breeding multigens both Goldendoodles and Irish Doodles, understanding how to consistantly breed puppies who have the typical, gorgeous, long wavy or fleece coat types and typical teddy bear look, as well as the wonderful archetypal Doodle temperaments! Almost all of the photos on our website are of our multigens.
There's some very common misconceptions surrounding the different generations. An F1 isn't simply 50% Poodle and 50% Golden Retriever. This is due to a phenomenon known as genetic recombination, which means that it's not simply a case of traits being passed from parents to offspring. What actually happens is that the genes combine to produce traits that are unique to that individual and not just those found in their parents. Due to genetic recombination, Goldendoodles and Irish Doodles display traits that are different to those from the Golden Retriever, Irish Setter and Poodle. An F1 is not more likely than any other generation to display Golden Retriever or Irish Setter traits despite this being a common belief, it's more complex than that! Equally, F1 puppies aren't more healthy than later generations! Please see our Health page for further information on the extensive steps we take to best ensure that our puppies are as healthy as possible.
If bred correctly, the temperament of all of the above should be gentle, kind natured, biddable and intelligent.