Sometimes our visitors ask us why we chose to breed Goldendoodles out of the many dog breeds available? Its a great question! There are so many wonderful breeds of dogs with such a variety of characteristics. How does anyone narrow down the options to make that big decision!?
For us, it was important to find the best all around family dog breeds. With a young child, we wanted to find dogs that were great with kids, fun to play with, have a gentle happy disposition, be trainable, low maintenance, and house-friendly!
Our first dog as a family was our Goldendoodle Buddy! After researching many dog breeds, and having different kinds of dogs growing up, all the information pointed to that iconic, 'best all-around' winner, the Goldendoodle. What makes a Goldendoodle special? Start with the amazing temperment of a Golden Retriever, which have a high level of awareness, empathy and emotional IQ. They seem to understand what their owner is thinking. They're fun and playful but careful not to be too rough or knock over the vases! They are very consistent in their personality and responsiveness.
The American Kennel Club describes the Golden Retriever breed this way, " The Golden Retriever, an exuberant Scottish gundog of great beauty, stands among America’s most popular dog breeds. They are serious workers at hunting and field work, as guides for the blind, and in search-and-rescue, enjoy obedience and other competitive events, and have an endearing love of life when not at work. " Having a Goldendoodle, I can see how their mature, considerate, and responsible nature makes them perfect as guide dogs for the blind and in their many other roles.
The Goldendoodle breeds the Golden Retriever to a Poodle which adds the characteristics of high intelligence, agility, endearing emotional qualities, beautiful coat and, very importantly, non-shedding! The AKC description for a Poodle is " eager, athletic, and wickedly smart “real dogs” of remarkable versatility. "
The first generation Goldendoodles, know as "f1" Goldendoodles, have that beautiful Goldendoodle look and reduce shedding but still have a light shed. When an "f1' Goldendoodle, like our Buddy, is then bred back to a pure Poodle, like our Trixie, the puppies are "f1b" which then are completely non-shedding! The result is puppies with a gorgeous coat, amazing capabilities and personality traits, and a "house-friendly" non-shedding dog that is very low maintenance!
Another very important benefit of getting a Goldendoodle is the reduced risk of genetic health risks. Pure bred dogs that are bred to achieve certain characteristics sometimes increase the risk of the puppies having a genetic defect. Dogs bred for a larger size can get hip dysplasia. Bulldogs and pugs bred for a flattened muzzle can have breathing difficulty. Cavaliers can develop syringomyelia. The German Shepherd look of a sloping back can caused reduced range of motion.
Unfortunately, getting a mixed breed dog resulting from uncontrolled breeding also has risks. An AVMA genetic study showed that while pure breed dogs are 2.8x as likely as mixed breed dogs to have a recessive disease, mixed breed dogs are 1.4x as likely to be a carrier of a recessive disease.
So what's the best decision? Getting a mix of two pure breed dogs optimizes to reduce both risks. It reduces the chances of a recessive disease showing up in a puppy by instead inheriting the healthy dominant gene of the other pure breed. It also reduces the chances of the puppy being a carrier of a recessive disease from the uncontrolled breeding that happens in mixed breeds.
Making the choice for the perfect dog for you can be a challenging decision! But if you're looking for an all-around great family dog that is gorgeous, has a great personality, is playful yet careful, and is low maintenance, non-shedding and house-friendly, and also minimizes the chances of genetic risks, we can't think of a better choice than an f1b Goldendoodle!
-Mike