# Did I get a Goldendoodle or Golden Retriever?



## TeddyBear01 (Aug 17, 2017)

Also here is a picture of his now "racing stripe" and yes he sheds A TON! Since the day we got him at 9 weeks old


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

Its kinda hard to judge, but I do think he looks like he could be a doodle-maybe a lab/poodle instead of a golden/poodle? Or maybe a purebred golden parent and a half golden/half poodle parent? It will be interesting to see how he looks as he matures-his coat will be a definite giveaway. And as a professional groomer, I can tell you doodles DO shed and they are NOT hypoallergenic-doctors will back me up on that-(no matter what the "breeder" tells you-they often like to tell you what you want to hear, whether its true or not, just to make the sale.) So it doesn't surprise me at all that he sheds like crazy. The amount of shedding a doodle does depends on the type of coat it gets. Some shed just as bad if not worse than a purebred golden, others shed minimally. Honestly, the heavier shedders, usually have easier coat to maintain (doesn't usually mat as badly), so if that's the case with your puppy, count your blessings!  He's cute, whatever he is! If you are really curious, they sell dna kits. I think you can get them on Amazon.


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## TeddyBear01 (Aug 17, 2017)

Goldens&Friesians;7222721 said:


> Its kinda hard to judge, but I do think he looks like he could be a doodle-maybe a lab/poodle instead of a golden/poodle? Or maybe a purebred golden parent and a half golden/half poodle parent? It will be interesting to see how he looks as he matures-his coat will be a definite giveaway. And as a professional groomer, I can tell you doodles DO shed and they are NOT hypoallergenic-doctors will back me up on that-(no matter what the "breeder" tells you-they often like to tell you what you want to hear, whether its true or not, just to make the sale.) So it doesn't surprise me at all that he sheds like crazy. The amount of shedding a doodle does depends on the type of coat it gets. Some shed just as bad if not worse than a purebred golden, others shed minimally. Honestly, the heavier shedders, usually have easier coat to maintain (doesn't usually mat as badly), so if that's the case with your puppy, count your blessings!
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 that's what I was thinking and I already knew of the shedding before I got a Goldendoodle I talked to a couple owners who warned me it isn't always true. I'm just hoping he starts growing more and more hair I want him fluffy no matter the texture. I've seen some beautiful long hair golden retrievers and it makes me hope his hair grows straight more like that since he has the feathering on his stomach and arms and his tail is feathering and unraveling. I can't wait to see what he turns out to be.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Since a goldendoodle is a mixed breed... you are not guaranteed a specific thing when you get a pup.

It's not that different from the neighbor's lab getting a visit from a husky. You are going to get a mishmash of things.

Your dog looks like a poodle mix. Head, nose, ears look like a poodle donated genes to the mixture.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Out of curiosity- if you wanted a Golden coat, why did you buy a doodle dog?


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## TeddyBear01 (Aug 17, 2017)

Prism Goldens said:


> Out of curiosity- if you wanted a Golden coat, why did you buy a doodle dog?


 actually I didn't even want a Golden Coat i wanted the wavy fleece coat of a Goldendoodle, but I'm accepting what type of coat my dog could naturally have so I don't mind if he has more of a Retriever coat at all. By looking at pictures of different coats I've grown to love straighter coats


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## TeddyBear01 (Aug 17, 2017)

Megora said:


> Since a goldendoodle is a mixed breed... you are not guaranteed a specific thing when you get a pup.
> 
> It's not that different from the neighbor's lab getting a visit from a husky. You are going to get a mishmash of things.
> 
> Your dog looks like a poodle mix. Head, nose, ears look like a poodle donated genes to the mixture.


 thank you ! That kinda helped me with my choice and me wondering. And yeah a lot of Goldendoodle owners said I should of got a second generation


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

I'd be happy he got more of a golden coat. I feel bad for all of the poodles mixes that always have fur in their eyes. Poodle type coats require so much more maintenance and grooming. I can't imagine having to send my dogs to the groomers that often and I'd be too terrified to trim the face myself.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

You might be lucky and he will have more of a golden coat. I have a friend that is a groomer, she refuses to do anything doodle - she says their coats are impossible and the owners do not no how to keep them up.

When ever you have a hybrid, you never know what you will end up with.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

Whenever you get a mixed breed you don't know what you'll get temperament, coat, structure, etc. I've seen Doodle types that look like Poodles and even one that looks like a giant Terrier mix. Temperaments vary widely and physical health due to poor conformation has been an issue.


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## heidi32 (Apr 25, 2020)

TeddyBear01 said:


> I don't really know what I got I thought I was getting a Golden Doodle but he looks solely like a Golden Retriever ! He even is having feathering of the tail at 4 months old! But what makes me think he has poodle is his abnormally long legs and curls when wet and behind his head and on his neck he has wavy curls?. I didn't really get to see the parents and I have very vague paperwork. But he really acts like a Goldendoodle retriever and looks like it. I'll let you be the judge.
> All of these pictures are at different weeks of age but today he is 17 weeks old!


I have a goldendoodle and my boy Charlie looks a lot like yours. I know that when we bought Charlie his dad was a full golden retriever and his mom Macy was a golden retriever/poodle mix. Looks like that might be the same case for you. Here is a picture of Charlie at 4 months.


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## Weber77 (May 23, 2020)

It's up to you, for sure, but for me my goldendoodle became the best friend ever. They are very smart and like active style of life. Retrievers are a little bit lazier and like laying in the bed with the owner. I wanted a dog to make my life more energetic, to be able to fishing with the dog and so on, so I choosed goldendoodle and never regretted. The choice was hard between breeds goldendoodle or labradoodle, but after reading a lot of websites with the comparation of these breeds I made a decision.


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## Shanaynay (10 mo ago)

TeddyBear01 said:


> I don't really know what I got I thought I was getting a Golden Doodle but he looks solely like a Golden Retriever ! He even is having feathering of the tail at 4 months old! But what makes me think he has poodle is his abnormally long legs and curls when wet and behind his head and on his neck he has wavy curls?. I didn't really get to see the parents and I have very vague paperwork. But he really acts like a Goldendoodle retriever and looks like it. I'll let you be the judge.
> All of these pictures are at different weeks of age but today he is 17 weeks old!


My Golden doodle looks exactly like yours! He's about 12 weeks now, his fur on his back is kind of starting to get curly and he has the curly tail but his head is so soft and fluffy. For the most part the coat is straight. The mom and dad are both Golden Doodles. All of his litter mates were much smaller, black, and curly all over. They were totally mixed with the poodles features. But my boy looks like an actual Golden Retriever.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Shanaynay said:


> My Golden doodle looks exactly like yours! He's about 12 weeks now, his fur on his back is kind of starting to get curly and he has the curly tail but his head is so soft and fluffy. For the most part the coat is straight. The mom and dad are both Golden Doodles. All of his litter mates were much smaller, black, and curly all over. They were totally mixed with the poodles features. But my boy looks like an actual Golden Retriever.


He had a poodle face though....


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Weber77 said:


> It's up to you, for sure, but for me my goldendoodle became the best friend ever. They are very smart and like active style of life. Retrievers are a little bit lazier and like laying in the bed with the owner. I wanted a dog to make my life more energetic, to be able to fishing with the dog and so on, so I choosed goldendoodle and never regretted. The choice was hard between breeds goldendoodle or labradoodle, but after reading a lot of websites with the comparation of these breeds I made a decision.


I'm sorry but I can't move past this post without commenting. There's so much misinformation, in the post itself and in the link, that it's not even funny.

Golden retrievers are _lazy_? Come on. Goldens were bred to be working dogs and hunting companions. That is what they are meant to do. If you get a well-bred golden retriever, you get a dog that wants to work, that will throw all its energy into its job, and that will get involved willingly in whatever activity the human wants to do. They are highly trainable, unlike a lot of the doodles I've met. My daughter, who trains agility dogs for a living, would strongly dispute the claim that doodles are smart. Some of her most difficult clients are doodles.

As for the link in the above post: I don't even know where to start. It's ill informed, uneducated and downright false, for the most part. To start with, it describes goldendoodles and labradoodles as "breeds". They aren't. They are a mix of two breeds. The post mentions looking for a "registered breeder" and a "reputable breeder". Since doodles aren't purebred dogs, breeders cannot be registered with a breed registry. So good luck finding that registered breeder. And no reputable breeder would ever deliberately produce mixed breed dogs - which is what doodles are.

And while the article mentions Wally Conron as the creator of the doodle, it omits to also mention that Conron is on record as stating that he bitterly regrets his creation, which he describes as a "disaster", because they are now mostly bred unethically and for profit only. He's also on record as saying he's ashamed of the "designer dog" movement that his creation triggered.

The article does talk about the many inherited and genetic problems that plague doodles, but it doesn't say why this is the case, namely that the poodles and retrievers used to create doodle lines necessarily come from less-than-stellar breeders, because no reputable breeder will allow their dogs to be used to produce mixes. It also talks of the doodle coat as being a benefit of the "breed", but doesn't add that many groomers hate grooming doodles because the coat is so difficult to care for and mats so easily.

I could go on, but I won't. I will say, however, that I own two dogs. One is a purebred poodle and the other is a purebred golden retriever. Why anyone would deliberately mix these two breeds is completely beyond me. They are polar opposites in terms of personality. Poodles aren't for the faint of heart. I can't imagine a large dog with our poodle's personality: it would be an absolute liability. As for coats, give me the golden retriever coat any day of the week. I brush my golden every now and then, bath him occasionally, and trim his feet from time to time, and that's it. But the poodle ... he has to be brushed very frequently to prevent his coat from matting, and needs to be bathed every couple of weeks or so, to prevent odour. And he has to be groomed professionally every six to eight weeks, to keep his coat in good order. I love both our dogs, but for very different reasons. I love the biddabIe nature of my golden retriever, his willingness and his enthusiasm for life. I love the poodle's ability to manipulate and calculate, his stubbornness and his need to be convinced beyond a doubt that what the human wants is actually better than what the poodle wants, before he will agree to do it. I would never, ever want a mix of the two. It would be truly awful.

So for anyone wanting to buy a doodle, my advice would be: think carefully. You're not guaranteed to get a dog with the personality of a golden retriever and a non-shedding coat like a poodle - far from it. Most doodles shed to some extent, and have coats that need extensive care. And the mix of poodle-retriever often results in a dog that is less trainable and less biddable than a golden retriever. Above all, you lose the predictability that comes with a purebred dog. What you're actually getting is a very expensive mixed breed dog. And you're supporting unethical breeding practices as well.


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

I can see poodle in there. That's the problem with doodles....you just never know what you'll get. Get him used to a brush now. Every groomer I know says doodles always have the most matted coats because that combination of shedding/non shedding creates bad matting issues.


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