The Goldendoodle, also known as a Groodle, is a designer dog created by crossbreeding a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. First widely bred in the 1990s, they are bred in three different sizes—each corresponding to the size of Poodle used as a parent.
Goldendoodles often demonstrate Golden Retrievers' intuitive and human-oriented nature in addition to the intelligent personality and "allergy-friendly" coat of a Poodle.
History
In the 1990s designer dog breeders in Australia and the United States (Ryan Harvey) started to widely cross Golden Retrievers and Poodles, adopting the term Goldendoodle to describe the cross. The name Doodle is also used to describe this breed. The name Goldendoodle is derived from "Golden" (from Golden Retriever) and "Labradoodle" (itself a portmanteau of Labrador Retriever and a Poodle). Deliberately breeding Poodles with Golden Retrievers actually preceded the 1990s. An example of this was done by Monica Dickens, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens, who crossed the two breeds in 1969. The cross can result in a healthier animal than both parent breeds, but can also produce puppies who are susceptible to health problems from both parents.
The original aim of the Goldendoodle's breeders was to produce an alternative to the popular Labradoodle. Initially Goldendoodles were only bred from standard-sized Poodles, but designer breeders also started using small varieties of Poodles to create a smaller crossbreed. As they are a hybrid cross, they are not recognized by the AKC or British Kennel Clubs. Goldendoodles have been developed beyond the F1 (Golden Retriever crossed with a Poodle) and are now available in deeper generations created by crossing two Goldendoodles. These are called multigenerational or multigen Goldendoodles.
Characteristics
Appearance
The appearance, sizes and coat of Goldendoodles can vary considerably according to their breeding generations and what type of Poodle parents they have. While most Goldendoodles share common traits, each Goldendoodle might have its own unique appearance and temperament.
In general, Goldendoodles have round skulls, broad muzzles, heavily feathered tail, drop ears, and oval-shaped eyes. Goldendoodles’ retriever parentage makes their body long and muscular, and likely to have a deep chest and wide stance.
Goldendoodle can be bred from any one of the Standard, Miniature or Toy-sized Poodles, the resultant offspring coming in several sizes: the Standard, Medium and Miniature Goldendoodles. The Standard Goldendoodle typically stands and weighs , the Medium Goldendoodle typically stands and weighs , and the Miniature Goldendoodle typically stands up to and weighs
Goldendoodle is a long-haired dog breed and their coat can vary considerably, there are three main coat types: straight, wavy and curly. Wavy coated Goldendoodles are a combination of the Poodle's curly coat and the Golden Retriever's straight coat. Their coat is wavy, with loose, shaggy curls. This type of coat is the most common amongst Goldendoodles. Curly coated Goldendoodles resemble the coat of a Poodle. Their coat is thick and curly. Goldendoodles' coats come in varying colors, with the most common colors being cream, red, black, gold, apricot, brown, or a combination (parti-colored).
Goldendoodles are often claimed to be 'hypoallergenic' or 'non-shedding', but this depends on how many furnishing genes they carry. If they inherit just one furnishing gene, their shedding is often in lesser quantities than many other dogs. If they carry two furnishing genes, they likely will not shed allowing them to be considered hypoallergenic for many allergy sufferers, however some people are allergic to even non-shedding dogs. Research has shown that hypoallergenicity can not be an official dog breed characteristic. AKC also asserts that "there is no such thing as a completely hypoallergenic dog".
It used to be thought that the higher the percentage of Poodle is in a Goldendoodle's heritage, the less likely it is to shed. It was also thought that curlier coated Goldendoodles tend to shed lighter and produce less dander. However, it has now been determined that the number of furnishing genes a particular dog carries determines the shedding factor.
Behavioural
Similar to most crossbreed dogs, Goldendoodles tend not to have the same predictable temperament or patterning aspects that the constituent breeds have. Based on genetic theory, well-bred Goldendoodle should express behaviours intermediate to their parent breeds.