ok, I'm closer, but now more confused

[AllenM]

Hi.

Ok, my wife and I have narrowed it down to either a Labradoodle or Australian Labradoodle. But, I have no idea if LD F1, LD F1B, LD other variation, or ALD.

I am confident we can find the temperament we want from any of these. The problem is which of these breeds should we concentrate on to get the shedding, brushing, allergy, and conformation characteristics we want, conformation both in body structure and coat? So, here are our specific preferences.

Shedding - minimal to none.

Brushing - not daily. 1-2 per week is okay.

Allergy - minimal/moderate to none.

Body structure - do not want poodley. Prefer thicker, larger bone structure and body. Some meat on dem bones! Stockier than a poodle. And, a squarer/rounder/shorter head than a poodle. Not an elongated snout. More like either a golden or lab head.

Coat - I've read and read the descriptions of wooly vs. fleecey and am confused. Curls are fine, but not the open sparse curls of a poodle. If curly, not curls laying tight to the body like a curly-coated retriever. More sheepdog kinda curls are okay too. Straighter/wavy hair is also cool. Below are some web pictures, under two sections, first coats we like and second those we don't.

I'd like to narrow it down to the one breed that is most likely where we can find what we want. I know that there is variation across each of these breeds such that there is an example here and there of each breed matching our preferences. So, my question is which breed is most likely going to provide us the best avenue to pursue?

Of course I'd be happy to answer any questions to help you to help me. Again, I am grateful for your input.

Allen

Below is what we like.






Below is what we don't like.

[Cheyenne1]

well f1b so Im told is more allergy friendly.. the curly the coat the less shedding they do... Those pics look a lot like the F1b's and F1's lds... But still yet... Im new so Im sure there are others on here whom can point you in the right direction... I personally went with an F1b for my kids have allergies and I did not want to mess with all that shedding... Good luck...

[lmtoth2]

It sounds like you would be looking for a F1B or Australian doodle based on the physical description of what you want. You can look for fleece coats because you can get the wooly curly ones too. The problem is that the grooming requirements will be more. We can get away with brushing Dexter about 3x a week when his hair grows in and we don't have major problems.

You could also look at a F1 who has a more fleece coat that may require less grooming.

Dexter (white one in my avitar) is a F1B and has loose fleece coat. Kirby (brown one in my avitar) is half poodle and half irish setter, but his coat is much more poodle (he would be a F1) - he isn't as much fleece as Dex, but his coat is still soft and has very little maintenance. I bet you could find something similar in a F1 labradoodle.

[Tink]

The more poodle you have in the mix, the more apt they are to have the curlier (more brushing needed) coat. BUT, the more poodle they have in them, the more apt they are to be non-shedding as well.
I breed only f1's which means both parents are purebreds... a few don't shed at all, most shed a little. I find it impossible to predict with any certainty which ones will shed once they lose their puppy coat and get their adult coat.

My f1's end up looking like these pictured below at close to a yr old. They will still fill out some, but they have very little wave to their coats.









It sounds like an F1 may not be the pup for you... I'm sure others can share pics of f1b's which would of course be 3/4 poodle/1/4 lab.

[anny51]

Bear in mind that this is a breed 'in the making' and nothing is written in stone. Charley is a 3rd gen ALD and I expected him to have the 'rounded' head and fleece coat .....but he has quite a long muzzle and, to me, shows his poodle heritage, and the lovely soft fleece that he had when we collected him at 8wks has changed into a wavy hair coat (largely non-shedding, thank goodness, and this may well change again). I bought him from a 'professional' breeder who belonged to an apparently reputable association and was promised a quality fleece coat...I went thro a lot of angst over this for a while, but Charlie is my boy and now it doesn't really matter what he looks like . I live in NZ where there are about 3 what I would term fulltime doodle breeders, so have very little choice...I also had the misfortune of not finding this forum till after I'd got him, so maybe there were things I'd missed in the selection process from lack of anyone to advise me Most of the breeders who give their advice so generously on the forum seem to be just the sort of people I would wish to get my next puppy from (may have to emigrate again!) and they will do their best for you, but please try not tobe TOO specific in your description as it may grow up a little different. Hope I haven't put you off...they're terrific dogs and out of the several different breeds I've had over the years I would go for a doodle again (even if it looks like Charlie ) Sorry, this turned out to be longer than I thought! I'll leave you with a picture of C

[MaxandMe]

HI.......i just want to ask a few questions and post a few replies

1. the pics of the doodles you don't like are they from this site? as i did get a pm and it may have hurt someone's feelings
even though that is NOT the intention.

2. THEIR is no guarantee on COAT...many breeders can see a consistency of coat in litters AFTER THEIR BORN HOWEVER
as they mature sometimes a flat coated doodle can become wavy or even curly

3. the build? rhw coat? sometimes they can all look stocky as puppies and some litters will take more of the poodle while
others take after the retriever build. PEanut was the runt a tiny little thing, barely a wave in her coat and BOY did she ever fool us!
build like a TANK aka Tank-a-doodle for sure!! SHE is f1 GD while she doesn't shed, she does require brushing when her coat is more than
1.5in long or she can matt with snow and rain. when her coat is short she tends to curl up a abit hen when it's long it's
wavy to shaggy depending on length. As a puppy she rarely needed brushing once she hit about year old brushing was almost daily
BUT she doesn't kick in our allergies nor my son's asthma
BUT neither does Max the scruffy kind you don't need to brush who shed minimally and stopped at 1.5yrs old

4. rememer COLOR can change too. THERE is NO way to FULLY predict coat and color which can take anywhere from 2 to 3yrs before
you'll know 100% what they'll look like. by 1.5yrs you havea general idea though.

5. I have no advice to offer up but to say make a compromise in areas of coat, color, maintainence of brushing vs having groomer cut coat down.
i understand what you mean by tight curls vs loose wavy curls.
BUT seriously i am one who goes for minimal shedding, minimal grooming (if possible), and BIGTIME for temperament and let everything else fall
into place. I LOVE my doodles just the way they are. I played Roulette and won the jackpot

good luck on your search........let us know what you get
and please if any pics of the ones you don't like are from our forum members are you able to find others on web and replace them?
if not then keep them up there as you are just showing pictorial examples

[lindamarie]

I think this pretty much describes my Bogart..

Body structure - do not want poodley. Prefer thicker, larger bone structure and body. Some meat on dem bones! Stockier than a poodle. And, a squarer/rounder/shorter head than a poodle. Not an elongated snout. More like either a golden or lab head.

He's an F1.......mom was an English Yellow Lab and pop a small standard Poodle.
He has a boxy body and a more labby look.
His shedding is minimal, in that we don't have it on our clothes etc. But we may have what I call "tumbleweeds" that woosh into a corner of our hardwood floors.

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing your doodle........which ever one you get!

[Napathedoodle]

I feel your pain. I've been in your exact predicament. Those where approximately the same things I was looking for when I got Napa. I decided to go with an Australian because I felt it was more consistant and less guessing... but it was COMPLETELY a personal choice. I wish I knew what I know now, then, but I didn't.

So, I would try to find breeders at this point. See if you find any that mesh with you, and that can produce dogs that you like. Each breeder is different, and each breeder has their own "vision" of the labradoodle. So, I would suggest looking at different breeders websites and going from there.

[Tink]

Good point Linda on the English lab rather than field type lab. I should have thought of that and simply didn't. Ava would not forgive me if she knew. lol
Bench/English labs are much stockier and blockier built than field labs for sure.

Edited 'cause I'm a doofus sometimes; and this was one of those times.

[cissy k]

I think the last dog (under the ones you don't like) is actually a fleece coated dog with a puppy cut. If it had long hair, it would probably look like the first dog in the ones you like.

Also, I think the first dog is one of Jaq's. She could probably tell you more about the coat. Finally, I don't think you can get a fleece coat and only brush it twice a week. We have a fleece coated Doodle and we brush her every other day and could easily do it every day. Fleece is higher maintenance.

Finally, be aware that Doodles can lighten significantly. And many develop kemp in their coats which makes them look lighter. We met a couple with a chocolate Doodle who had a ton of kemp. They were disappointed even though they adored their dog. They felt it made her look a lot older than her two years. Semi started out medium brown with dark brown legs and ears and is now toasted marshmallow color on the tips and parchment on the body. If we cut her hair, she would be almost completely parchment. So, I would say she has lightened five or six shades.

Because these wonderful dogs are not bred to any standard (thank goodness), they can change and develop as they grow. A good breeder will help guide you and they are your BEST source. Once we settled on a breeder, I contacted her about a dog on her website. But when I told her all the things we wanted, she helped me prioritize. Then she told me that she had a dog better suited to our needs than the one we had chosen by picture alone. And she was 100% right. We trusted her and she picked out the perfect dog for our family.

So, do your research on breeders and then talk openly and honestly with them. They want to place the right dog with you, too! But looks are not everything. Ultimately, it is personality that is the most important thing. I was set on a black and white parti because have always loved black and white animals. But I went with the breeders recommendation and I am so glad I was willing to be flexible.

Good luck!!

[AllenM]

Originally Posted by MaxandMe

1. the pics of the doodles you don't like are they from this site? as i did get a pm and it may have hurt someone's feelings
even though that is NOT the intention.

I had used words to describe coat preferences, but because the terms are a bit confusing, to me at least, and as I've read on this forum, can mean different things to different people, I also wanted to describe preferences with photos (you know, worth a 1,000 words).

The pictures were not taken from this website. I used two sources. Most of the pictures came from a Google search I did. (I did not research what sites the Google search used.) A few others came from some sites on a list of breeder websites I compiled before the posting. I constructed that list because those are the breeders I would consider buying a pup from. Regarding the photos I used from these sites, I honestly did, when looking at the various sites, stay away from those I recognized as posters here, just to try and avoid any sensitivities. That said, I am a new member of the forum, am not a breeder, and so I don't readily know the names of the websites of the posters here. I am more familiar with your forum names than your websites. With the way I put the pics together, I cannot backtrack and determine which came from where.

I apologize for upsetting anyone here. If there is a photo anyone here would like me to take down, please PM me and I will. Plain and simple. Of course I had no intention of "calling out" anyone's dog and saying I don't like their coat. I thought it was clear that my intention was totally pragmatic ... I am trying to figure out what breed to buy, and thought that with respect to coat, the most informative way to describe preferences was by pictures.

Allen

[kirama]

I spent alot of time looking at pictures of labradoodles, trying to figure out what kind of coat their 'baby coat' would turn out like- after all my research, I have come to the conclusion that if a particular coat is really an important issue, I think you might want to consider an adult dog; or maybe look at various purebred breeds- there is just no guarantee that what you see at 8 weeks is what you will have at 2 years

[cindy456]

I have just recently placed a deposit on a puppy. I have not picked out which one, but trust the breeder to help me to decide on the one for me based on what we want to have. I think that is very important, to find a breeder you trust. This forum helped me to decide what type of labradoodle I wanted, then I went from there and found a breeder that I liked based on her posts and what she had to say to others with questions. I also looked at pictures of previous litters from her and what they looked like as they grew. I am not that picky on coat type or on appearance, I am going more for personality and temperment, but that is my personal preference since I would like (hope) that the puppy I receive will become a therapy dog in the future. I have mild allergies to animal hair, and still have a dog and a cat, so the fact that they are lower allergy producers is a plus. While this may not help you in your search much, you will find the right one for you!

Cindy

[lindamarie]

Originally Posted by Tink

Good point Linda on the English lab rather than field type lab. I should have thought of that and simply didn't. Ava would not forgive me if she knew. lol
Field labs are much stockier and blockier built than field labs for sure.

YEP! Bogart sure looks like a BLOCK!!
SHHHH......won't tell AVA!

I think you meant English labs are much stockier and blockier, right?

[Tink]

ROFL Linda, it's a good thing Ava can't read. She's quite proud of her heritage and here I go slamming the poor girl.
I meant BENCH/English LABS are blockier as in a wider broader head and body. Like this: