Goldendoodle

The Goldendoodle 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 first litter of Mini Goldendoodles was created by Amy Lane of Fox Creek Farm in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. The litter arrived on 1/11/02 and consisted of 10 puppies. Two of these puppies were retained for future breeding and one of them produced the first litter of F1B Mini Goldendoodles. The term “Goldendoodle” was coined by Amy Lane. Amy Lane also created the first, and to this date, the only kennel club for Goldendoodles called the Goldendoodle Association of North America, Inc. This is a non-profit organization that guides the development of the Goldendoodle and also provides a registration service to document the lineage of Goldendoodles.

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.

References

Wikipedia. “Goldendoodle”