What is a Doodle?

Doodles are a wonderful hybrid of dog. They are often called a type of “Designer Dog”. Take any purebred breed and cross it with a poodle and you have a doodle of some sort. There is a huge interest and popularity of the new poodle mixes. This is due to the smart, kind, family orientated nature of this non-shedding dog. These hybrid crosses are not mutts, as the ancestry of a mutt is unknown.

What about the Canadian Kennel Club?

Doodles are not a recognized “breed” as of yet, therefore not listed with the Canadian Kennel Club. National kennel clubs have a registry of breed standards of over hundreds of dogs. The dog world when referring to a purebred dog is one belonging to the breed standards from such organizations as the American Kennel Club or Canadian Kennel club. The CKC is a membership organization and is incorporated under the Livestock Pedigree Act as the sole registry body for purebred dogs in Canada.

All of the hundreds of breeds today, were at one point “mutts”. After careful breeding by conscientious individuals to create a dog type that is desired by owners, a new breed can be developed. Breed standards are agreed upon, and the Kennel Clubs are approached to recognize this new dog as a “breed”. This can take many years.

Creating a new breed is not a bad thing. It has happened hundreds of times by loving, caring dog breeders over the last hundred years. The main reasons for these crosses seems to be that people generally like the purebred (i.e. Golden Retriever) but want a dog that is hypo-allergenic. It must be noted that crossing a dog with a poodle does not guarantee against allergies. That being said, the shed factor will be reduced in offspring.

How is it that we can have so many breeds of dogs?

Dogs can evolve and change their characteristics in future generations very quickly. What other breed of animal has so many differing characteristics? Compare the size, coat, nose length, ears, color eyes and temperament of a Great Dane to a Chihuahua ; the huge difference in the characteristics among domesticated dogs is not seen in any other type of animals. Domesticated cats, horses, cows and pigs do not differ that much in body type. Research is being done to investigate what is about dogs that allow us to create such vast changes in body characteristics in a relatively short amount of time.

What about Doodle genetics?

Hybrids are not free of genetic anomalies such as hip dysplasia, although the chances of a problem are much lower.

With a hybrid, it cannot be guaranteed the exact temperament and physical attributes of the dog. The characteristics of either purebred parent can be found in the offspring. It is important to research both breeds, to make sure that you accept any of the attributes of the parents in your pup. There is no guarantee which characteristic will be expressed in the offspring.

Explain the Doodle generations please.....

F1 = 50% pure bred + 50% poodle

• a first generation doodle is a cross between a pure bred (i.e. golden retriever) and a poodle. The imagedirectly below, shows a golden retriever and a poodle and their 5 month old Goldendoodle offspring on the right

F1B = Doodle to Standard Poodle

• a second generation doodle can be one of two crosses. A backcross doodle (F1B) is a cross between a first generation doodle (F1) and a poodle.

F2 = F1 Doodle / F1 Doodle

• this other second generation cross is rare. It is referred to as a true F2 doodle, and is the product of two first generation doodles (F1 x F1). There can be many inconsistent coats with a true F2, and that is why an F1B is more widely known. There can be F3 Doodles which are = F2 Doodle bred with a Doodle that is F2 or higher

Coats & Grooming

The coat is one of the unique features that set Doodles apart from any other breed as it is allergy friendly, but not guaranteed to be totally hypoallergetic. You have options with grooming your dog's coat. Many leave it long and just carefully trim around face. During the warmer months, having it clipped down to less than an inch can help keep your dog cool.

What is allergy friendly?

Allergy friendly means that 99.9% of people with asthma and/or allergies will not have reactions to the dander or the coat of a Doodle. The small populations of people that have allergies to Doodles are most likely allergic to dog saliva, and will generally react to any breed of dog, shedding or not.

A Doodle is perfect for people who suffer from asthma (nearly 100% success) and allergies (nearly 95% success), and for people just wanting less mess in their homes.

Coat Type

Coat types are still very sporadic with many dogs showing a combination of multiple types. As a rule, more curl equals less shedding and more wave equals higher shedding . Doodles may have some low hair loss between winter and summer. As in people, Doodles will have some hair loss due to natural breakage.

Depending upon the Doodle Mix the coat will be different. The makes sense, as a Golden Retriever has a much different coat from a Labrador retriever. A Labradoodles will be more wiry whereas the Golden Doodle hair is going to grow 4 to 6 inches long and has a wavy look or a cur.

As the Doodle pup develops their adult coat, they might lose some hair. Their coat could change becoming either slightly darker or lighter. As they grow, the coat will get longer which will straighten the curl somewhat.

As the genetics in the Doodle breeds become cohesive over the next few years, most breeders hope that the ideal 3 coats will be:

Type	Shed Factor	Curl Factor	Texture
Fleece	Minimal Allergy friendly	Light loose spirals Wavy	Soft and fleecy 3-6 inches
Wool	None shedding Allergy friendly	Tight curl	Similar to purebred poodle
Hair	Light shedding Less allergy friendly	Flat Medium waviness'	Fluffy longer coat

Coat Colors

Depending upon the color of the parents a Doodle can have a variety of solid colors, variation and or mix of a solid. Many breeders feel that any only solid colors are preferred and consider a mix of color undesirable. It is normal that all colours may show weather bleaching or discoloration over the top coat. This is called sunning and is quite expected and acceptable for outdoor dogs.

Solids :The solid colors include Chalk (white), Cream, Apricot/Gold, Red, Chocolate, Café, Black, and Silver. Minimal white on the chest and toes can be acceptable.

Eye colour should complement and blend with the face colour. Ghost is a hazel colour range much the same as it is in humans. Flecking with different shades of hazel with green and a blue/green make this eye colour quite unique. Ghost eyes must always remain soft in appearance.

Parti: Parti can be any colour except Phantom with white on the face, head, and body.

Phantom: Any shading or two tone coloration such as black with lower legs showing a soft toning of silver or gold, or a dog born dark with a golden shading at the roots or a slight brindling effect..

Color	Tone	Notes	Pigment	Eye color
Red	• Solid even rich red • Lighter at roots than tips	Can fade with age	Black	Dark brown
Gold/apricot	• Light red, auburn • Lighter at roots than tips	Can vary in shades Can fade with age	Black	dark hazel to brown eyes if they have black pigment
Blue	• Dark to medium smoky blue • Undesirable rare color	Born back with blue skin	Black	Dark brown
Silver	• Can take 3 years to color • Smokey grey to light platinum • Uneven layering of silver color	Born black with grey skin	Black	Dark brown
Milk Chocolate	• Lighter even brown	Born black	rose	dark eyes or "ghost" eyes.
Dark Chocolate	• Dark rich even color • Rare color	Born black	black	Dark brown
Lavender	• Smokey even lavender chocolate giving pink or lilac appearance	Born chocolate	Rose	dark eyes or "ghost" eyes.
Parchment	• Smokey creamy beige • Rare color group	Born milk chocolate	Rose	dark eyes or "ghost" eyes.
Black	• Black with no other tones		Black	Dark brown
Caramel, Cafe	• Rich apricot/gold		Rose	dark eyes or "ghost" eyes.
Chalk	• Chalky white		Rose Or Black	dark hazel to brown eyes if they have black pigment dark eyes or "ghost" eyes with pink pigment
Cream & Apricot Cream	• All shades and all combinations of cream		Rose Or Black	dark hazel to brown eyes if they have black pigment dark eyes or "ghost" eyes with pink pigment