When Goldendoodles are void of a facial beard

When Goldendoodles are void of a facial beard


When we think about the Goldendoodle dog, we usually think of them as being one part Golden Retriever and one part Poodle. Since 1999, we have gathered enough researched information from our own experiences to now know Goldendoodle fact from fiction. From Mara's litter (see photos on our website under the link "available doodles"), we have come to know that using a Goldendoodle sire to a Golden Retriever dam will produce Goldendoodles who have twice the Golden Retriever DNA. Not only will it produce Goldendoodles with twice the Golden Retriever DNA, but at least 1 or 2 of the puppies in the litter will have an identical appearance of the Golden Retriever. However, a unique sequence occurs as the puppies become closer to 4-6 weeks of age.

From September 1st, 2007 we have watched each puppy begin to obtain a very simliar appearance and coat as that of our Goldendoodles when they have one parent the Poodle and one parent the Golden Retriever (ie...50/50) with the exception of ONE Goldendoodle (the only female in this litter) who is void of the normal facial beard. She has picked up more Golden Retriever traits BUT has not shed a single hair as of yet. Her body coat in the beginning was smooth like the Golden Retriever but then it began to become thicker. However, as of September 25, 2007 her coat has not become fluffy like her brothers and has remained very similar to the coat of the Golden Retriever. We had encorporated a male Goldendoodle with beautiful sky blue eyes into our breeding program for Goldendoodles in hopes of offspring not only carrying the blue eyed gene but perhaps of having blue eyes themselves. Each puppy in this litter was born with brown eyes, to our dismay. BUT, they do have the blue eyed gene within their genetic structure.

We use to get alot of calls from people who bought a Goldendoodle from other breeders and they had questions about their Goldendoodle not having a facial beard or the shagginess of most Goldendoodles they saw in photos. Their breeder had told them their Goldendoodle was a 50/50 mix or a mix with a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. This litter has proven what we knew all along to be true. You can pretty much be sure that if you own a Goldendoodle that resembles the Golden Retriever in nearly every way....is void of the facial beard.....and has nearly an identical appearance as that of a Golden Retriever...... the sire to that puppy's litter was a Goldendoodle who was bred to a female Golden Retriever. Interestingly enough, when a Goldendoodle is sired to a female Poodle, the Goldendoodles pick up twice the Poodle DNA and each of those puppies will have more of the temperament of a Poodle as well as the body structure of the Poodle and yet when a Goldendoodle is sired to a female Golden Retriever, the Goldendoodles pick up twice the Golden Retriever DNA.

EVERY GOLDENDOODLE IN THIS LITTER EXCEPT FOR THE ONE FEMALE, has begun to obtain a facial beard and shaggy coat. The female has still not shed a single hair. That's the cool part about this litter. It was my original belief that if a Goldendoodle was bred to a Golden Retriever, that the puppies would shed. I still believe that if a Goldendoodle has alot of Golden Retriever DNA in its structure and is bred to a Golden Retriever, that the offspring will shed. But we elected to use a Goldendoodle who had twice the Poodle and had more Poodle within his DNA structure so that we could encorporate enough Poodle into the offspring to reduce the shedding that is very similar to the 50/50 mix. It has now been our exerience that the Goldendoodles that came from a Poodle mother and Goldendoodle father, had more curls to their coat and picked up more of the Poodle personality/disposition.

Our experience has taught us thus far, that If you are a Golden Retriever fan, you will completely enjoy either the 50/50 mix or the mix we are talking about....a Goldendoodle with twice the Poodle sired to a purebred Golden Retriever. We have found also that if you are a Golden Retriever fan, you will NOT be able to appreciate the personality or temperament of any doodle that has twice the Poodle DNA. It has also been our experience that such a mixture does NOT work out that well for those who either have young children in their home or who befriend the entire neighborhood or do alot of socializing. Our experience thus far has taught us that Goldendoodles with more Poodle do much better with families who have adult children...no children or children who are at least over the age of 13. Goldendoodles with twice the Poodle are somewhat skiddish; do not befriend strangers easily and do not want to befriend your entire neighborhood. I won't lump all doodles with twice the Poodle into this category but am just discussing what has been our experience thus far. Althought in 11 years of being a professional breeder, we've had only a couple of rehoming issues and 2 of the rehoming issues was with doodles that had twice the Poodle. To date, since 1996, I can only remember three rehoming issues from the top of my head and we've produced quite a few litters since 1996. 2 out of the 3 had twice the Poodle. The other rehoming issue was from a doodle that had been abandoned at a boarding facility and adopted by an elderly couple. From those three issues, we've discovered it was the owners inability to understand their doodle and their reluctance to actually incorporate obedience training that caused their issue. Had they made the effort to actually use a professional dog trainer to help them with their situation, I believe the placements would have worked out. Some people call a dog trainer and then never use them.
Either the training was going to cost more than they could afford or would cause them to actually make an effort at changing their dogs' behaviour....it's hard to say what the reason was that they did not actually stick with a training program or use a training program.

Those who are experienced with the Poodle....have owned Poodles before or are at least very familiar with the Poodle have the most successful placements with Goldendoodles who have twice the Poodle DNA. We actually only desire people with more Poodle experience to adopt doodles with more Poodle so that they don't become surprised or frustrated with the personality. We encourage everyone with young children or children who are NOT adults, to adopt a Goldendoodle with more Golden Retriever DNA because children usually have alot of friends and children want their dog to participate in activities with their friends. Most doodles that have twice the Poodle do not want to become involved with numerous people at any one time. They seem to be wary of large crowds of people or screaming, running, yelling children. There are some people you can't convince of this but it is those people who have the most placement issues. Those who do not listen to the advice of their breeder always have the most problems.

This is the first time that we intentionally used a Goldendoodle sire with more Poodle traits to breed to a female Golden Retriever. I have always been leery of matching a pair like this because I was not sure about the shedding element. I did want to know, however, if a Goldendoodle would be void of the facial beard, the plume tail and the shaggy coat if it came from this sort of pairing. As such, this litter and our litters that turned out to have more Poodle DNA has taught us a great deal concerning breeding methods and what to expect. We were able to notice the difference in coat type from this most recent litter, at approx. 6 wks of age. This further backs up our original claim that a breeder would be fully aware by age 6 weeks whether or not their doodle puppy will either be void of the facial beard or have a facial beard as well what coat type the doodle would have.
Many people in the past emailed us regarding their doodles purchased from other breeders whose doodle was void of the facial beard asking if their doodle would ever have one and we now can back up our prediction that any doodle with a smooth face and void of the "V" shape by six weeks of age will NOT have a facial beard as an adult and the breeder is fully aware of this fact if they are an experienced breeder. We noticed the difference between this particular female and her brothers right at the time the puppies began to get their fluffy coat and this generally takes place between 4-6 weeks of age. All of the puppies in this litter have the Golden Retriever temperament and disposition but we noticed another difference!

The female in the litter that we are discussing has more of a stocky, Golden Retriever build but she has the long, narrow "field retriever" appearance in her face that we saw in alot of our purebred Golden Retriever litters when we bred them. We do not breed purebred Golden Retrievers that often because my allergies have become much worse as I've gotten older and I've remained more of a Goldendoodle fan just for allergies alone. The males on the other hand have a much smaller body structure and are smaller in size. The female has taken more of her mothers' appearance and size and the males have taken more their fathers' size and body structure but still have the Golden Retriever temperament. The males in this litter are very shaggy and have the full facial beard already! I'd like to also note that many people who are not experienced with the Goldendoodle dog do not realize that there are numerous coat changes and phases before their doodle turns a year of age.

Even the facial beard will change in texture. I always hear people tell me...well...that puppy doesn't seem to have very long hair and it doesn't seem to have a very full facial beard. Yes! That's correct! Because the dog is just a puppy! So many people assume their doodle should automatically have a thick, fluffy coat....a full facial beard and a really thick plume tail. No. That is not what happens.

The Goldendoodle's coat is a gradual process from the day they are born until the day they turn a year of age. Once they are an adult, that's it. The coat is what it is. The coat will always continue to grow and will always be in need of coat maintenence if it is a shaggy dog. That's a given for any dog with such a coat. But we think that if someone really wants a Golden Retriever but can't handle all the shedding that comes with a Golden Retriever, they'll be happy with a doodle that is void of the facial beard and the shaggy coat and has more of the Golden Retriever appearance.
Their coat will not be long and thick or shaggy, nor will they have a shaggy, facial beard. The coat will be easy to maintain and they will not have the shedding coat like their purebred counter part. The doodle that I mention up above will make a perfect companion to your neighborhood...your friends....your children of any age. Now we have given the purebred Golden Retriever breeder something to be jealous of! A Goldendoodle who could very well pass for a purebred Golden Retriever yet NOT shed! You are very welcome.

Author/breeder: Dee Gerrish of Goldendoodle World. All rights reserved. 2007