HISTORY OF THE GOLDEN DOODLES

The original Goldendoodle was a hybrid cross of a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. The exact date of conception is unknown as a handful of breeders emerged in the late 1990's marketing this new breed. The idea was no doubt inspired by the creation of the Labradoodle and its success as a compatible dog for many people who experience mild allergies to dogs. Several different names were being used to describe the breed such as GoldenPoos, GoldiePoos, and PoodleReivers, but the name "Goldendoodle" was the one that stuck. The gorgeous low to no shedding coats were attracting those who loved the temperament of the Golden Retriever, but detested the amount of hair left behind and/or the allergy issues it presented.

The public's  immediate adoration of the standard Goldendoodle (a standard Poodle crossed with a Golden Retriever) has grown to epic proportions as "Designer Dogs" became the latest fad. The key word here is "fad", meaning something that causes lots of attention, but soon loses its appeal. The Goldendoodleʼs appeal hasn't  faded, but instead has continued to grow.

As the breed continued to develop, requests for different sizes became common and breeders answered this by downsizing even more (both minis and standards). There are now four categories for sizes - petite, mini, medium, and standard. Breeders also began experimenting with broadening the colors by using Poodles of many different colors. The most common colors are blonde, golden, and red. Other colors achieved are black, chocolate, silver, white, parti, merle, and phantom.


The creation of deeper generations has shown great progress in achieving better results with non-shedding coats. The F1B was created by crossing the first generation (F1) Goldendoodle with another Poodle. The addition of more Poodle genes in the mix increased the non-shedding possibilities. Some breeders are now crossing two Goldendoodles resulting in what is termed the "multigen" Goldendoodle. This generation shows even more promise in working towards a guaranteed non-shedding coat. The less shedding, the more hypo-allergenic the Goldendoodle becomes.


The hybrid vigor (increased health benefits of crossing two completely unrelated breeds) that has been appealing to those who have suffered through inherent health issues with their pure breed dogs is another wonderful benefit of the Goldendoodle. As long as responsible Goldendoodle breeders continue to cross unrelated lines of Goldendoodles in their production of the multigen, this hybrid vigor benefit will not be lost.


Goldendoodles are extremely social, outgoing, non-aggressive dogs that thrive on human companionship. They have a great desire to please and to learn. Coupled with the low to non-shedding coats, this temperament has proven to make Goldendoodles perfect candidates for service work.  The Goldendoodle is a new breed in the grand scheme of breed development. Most AKC recognized breeds took decades to develop and even more decades to earn AKC recognition. It seems that breeders are mixed in their ideas and goals about working towards "purebred" status with the AKC.