Goldendoodle and Labradoodle Shedding - Are They Truly Hypoallergenic?

 The Labradoodle is a mix of Labrador Retriever and Poodle, while the Goldendoodle is a mix of Golden Retriever and Poodle. And while Poodles are very low shedding dogs, both Labrador and Golden Retriever sheds quite a lot. Especially the Labradors shedding is extreme.
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Idealy the mix should inherit the Poodles almost non shedding coat, but is it always true? Well, of course it is not. The Labradoodle can inherit the Labradors coat and Goldendoodle can inherit the Golden Retrievers coat, which means, that they will shed quite heavily.

To understand the chances of a Labradoodle or Goldendoodle shedding ammount, it is important to know a little bit about the genetics of crossbreeds. I will try to make it as simple as possible, but if you will be interested in this topic in more details, there will be link to my video about this topic in description.

You might already heard about the crossbreeds generations. The first generation is called F1 and it is a cross of pure Poodle and pure Labrador, which will create the F1 Labradoodle. The offsprings have equal chances of inheriting Poodles or Labradors coat, but most commonly, the shedding will be slightly higher than Poodles and slightly lower than Labradors shedding. The F1 generation has typically the highest chance to shed a lot.

Since the low shedding coat is desirable trait, the crossbreeds with higher shedding coats are not used very often for further breeding, which is why further generations such as F2 or even F3 typically do not shed very much.

There is also F1b generation, which is a cross of F1 Labradoodle and pure Poodle, which gives the dog 75% of the Poodle genes and 25% of Labradors genes and it is more likely that the pup will have the Poodle like low shedding coat.

The example would be the same with Golden Retriever and Goldendoodle. The breeder should always tell you, what generation is your furute Doodle. So just remember, the F1 generation has the highest chance of shedding heavily, while other generations typically sheds a little.

The genetics are not always black and white and any doodle can be born with the coat that will sheds a lot, so it is always a little bit of lottery when buying a crossbreed. But on average, both Labradoodles and Goldendoodles are shedding rather low ammount of hair.

You can always just look at the coat type and you will get the idea of the ammount of shedding. Good identification sign for goldendoodles are their facial hair and face in general. If the dog has a lot of furnishings such as mustache, goatee and visible eyebrows, they will most likely have the Poodles low shedding coat. On the other hand, if they lack this furnishing and they have open face like Golden Retriever, than they have much higher chance of shedding. In general, the more curly the coat is, the less it sheds. If it is wavy, than it might sheds more.

Labradoodles come in three coat types. We can name them as wooly, shaggy and straight. The wooly, or curly coat is the least shedding. Straight coat is similar to Labradors and it sheds quite a lot. The shaggy coat is somewhere in the middle.

So to answer the questions from the beginning of the video. How much does these Doodle crosses shed? As you already know it depends on the coat type and it is vastly influenced by the generation of the cross. On average, both Labradoodles and Goldendoodles are low shedding dogs, but they still shed a little bit of fur. But again, it is always a loterry with any crossbreed and you never know what you will get.

And can they be at least better for allergy sufferers? Well, of course they can. Since they typically shed only a little, it is always better for people with allergies. But it is important to say that there is literally no dog breed or cross that is 100% hypoallergenic. All of them produce some dander, but also urine or saliva, which all trigger the allergy. It is always adviced to spend some time with the dog and see if they will trigger the allergies or not. There is no other way how you can make sure of it.

When we compare the Labradoodle and Goldendoodle and their shedding level, than it all comes down to its parents shedding level. And since the Labrador Retriever sheds considerably more than the Golden Retriever, even the Labradoodle has higher chance to sheds more than the Goldendoodle.

If you are unlucky and you bought a Doodle that sheds a little bit more than you would like to, there are some ways how to minimize it. The most obvious way how to do it is brushing. Brushing will not only keep the coat tangle and mat free, it will also remove any dirt and most importantly loose and dead hair. If you want to minimize the shedding as much as possible, you will have to brush their coats on daily basis.

Another way is to cut the hair. A regular haircut makes grooming more manageable which results in less shedding and less hair. It is always recommended to use the services of professional groomer who will tell you what haircuts are the best for your dog.

Bathing will also remove all the dead hair and minimize the shedding. But be careful with it. It is not recomended to bath your dog too often as it will remove all the natural coat oils as well. I would not bath the dog more than once a month and i personally do not bath the dog if it is not absolutely necessary.

One of the shedding trigger is stress. If the dog is not happy and for whatever reason is in stress they will most likely shed a little bit more than usual. This can be caused by not enough exercise, by leaving the dog alone for long time regularly, by not enough mental exercise, by moving to new place or by changing the dogs owner. The happier the dog is, the less it sheds. But to be honest, this will affect the shedding only a little.

Bad nutrition is another trigger. Make sure your dog has balanced diet. You should feed the dog with dogs food only and not human food. And do not overfeed the dog.

And the last trigger are health problems. It can be allergies, parasites such as fleas, bacterial or fungal infections, kidney and liver diseases, thyroid and many many other health problems. Many ilnesses trigger the shedding. So if your dog starts to shed a lot seemingly from a nowhere, you should discuss it with your veterinarian.

The tips to reduce the shedding are not only valid for Labradoodles and Goldendoodles but for all dogs in general.

So now you know that there is no such thing as absolutely hypoallergenic dog and that some Labradoodles and Goldendoodles can shed quite a lot. But it not a common thing for these crosses as majority of them are rather low shedding crosses.