Goldendoodle Varieties Guide: Generations and Sizes and Colors, Oh My!

This designer dog has become so popular in recent years that you’ve begun seeing them everywhere. These highly sought-after Golden Retriever-Poodle mixes have become somewhat of a commodity. Luckily, there are so many different varieties of Goldendoodles that each one of them is truly one of a kind. Between the different generations, sizes, and colors of Goldendoodles, you can rest-assured knowing that yours probably won’t look or act like any other Doodle out there.

Table of Contents

• Generations
  • F1 (First Generation) Goldendoodles
  • F1b (First Generation Backcross) Goldendoodles
  • F1bb (First Generation Backcross Backcross) Goldendoodles
  • F2 Goldendoodles
  • F2b Goldendoodles
  • F3 and Multigen Goldendoodles
• Comparing Generational Coat Types & Amount of Shedding
• How Big Will a Goldendoodle Get?
• Goldendoodle Colors
• Where to Get Goldendoodle Puppies

Generations

Generally speaking, Goldendoodles tend to have better health genetics due to hybrid vigor, less shedding, more appealing physical features, and a more desirable temperament than most dogs. But the amounts and levels of each – namely, the characteristics of the pup’s coat – depends on its generation.

Let’s take a quick look at the Goldendoodle generations and what each of them means:

	1st Parent	2nd Parent	% Golden Retriever*	% Poodle*
F1 Goldendoodle (first-generation)	Golden Retriever	Poodle	50%	50%
F1B Goldendoodle (first-generation backcross)	F1 Goldendoodle	Poodle	25%	75%
F1BB Goldendoodle (first-generation backcross backcross)	F1B Goldendoodle	Poodle	12.5%	87.5%
F2 Goldendoodle (second-generation)	F1 Goldendoodle	F1 Goldendoodle	50%	50%
F2B Goldendoodle (second-generation backcross)	F1 Goldendoodle	F1B Goldendoodle	37.5%	62.5%
F2B Goldendoodle (alternate cross)	F2 Goldendoodle	Poodle	25%	75%
F3 / Multigen Goldendoodle	F1B Goldendoodle or higher	F1B Goldendoodle or higher	Varies	Varies

F1 (First Generation) Goldendoodles

No matter the generation, Goldendoodles are not purebreds, or bred from parents of the same breed. F1 Goldendoodles in particular are hybrids between Golden Retrievers and Poodles, receiving half their DNA from each parent.

F1b (First Generation Backcross) Goldendoodles

When we are talking about backcross Goldendoodles, we mean the pups are the offspring of an F1 Goldendoodle and one of the F1’s parent breeds.

For example, an F1b would be the result of an F1 Goldendoodle crossed with a Poodle (or a Golden Retriever in rare cases). But due to the demand for non-shedding and more hypoallergenic dogs, breeders typically backcross an F1 Goldendoodle with a Poodle. The result of this (mathematically speaking) is a dog that is 1/4 Golden Retriever and 3/4 Poodle.

This generation seems to be more desirable than any other generation of Goldendoodle, so expect F1b Goldendoodle puppies to cost a little more money.

F1bb (First Generation Backcross Backcross) Goldendoodles

F1bb or first generation backcross-backcross Goldendoodles are the result of an F1b Goldendoodle and a Poodle (or a Golden Retriever in rare cases). But again, due to the demand for non-shedding and more hypoallergenic dogs, breeders typically backcross an F1b Goldendoodle with a Poodle. The result of this is a dog that is 1/8 Golden Retriever and 7/8 Poodle.

F2 Goldendoodles

F2, or second generation Goldendoodles are the result of two F1 Goldendoodles.

F2b Goldendoodles

F2b, or second generation backcross Goldendoodles are the result of an F2 Goldendoodle and a Poodle (or a Golden Retriever in rare cases). Backcrossing to Poodles is typically more favored so the pups can be low-shedding.

Alternatively, an F2b Goldendoodle can be the result of an F1 and F1b Goldendoodle.

F3 and Multigen Goldendoodles

F3 (third generation) or Multigenerational (“Multigen”) Goldendoodles are the offspring of two F1b-or-later Goldendoodles.

Here’s a great infographic for easy reference:

Comparing Generational Coat Types & Amount of Shedding

Many people are initially drawn to their cuteness, and are later surprised to learn the hypoallergenic benefits that come with Goldendoodles.

	F1	F1b	F2
Coat Description	Coats are usually more wavy than curly, which grows to a typical length of 3-5 inches. May or may not have an undercoat.	Coats are more likely to be curly than wavy, and grows to a typical length of 3-5 inches. May or may not have an undercoat.	Coats can vary greatly – curly, wavy, and anywhere in between – with varying lengths. May or may not have an undercoat.
Grooming/Coat Maintenance*	High care	Very high care	Moderate to very high care
Shedding	Some to light-shedding	Very light to non-shedding	Very light to non-shedding
Allergy Friendliness	Great for people or families with mild allergies	Recommended for people or families with moderate to severe allergies	Recommended for people or families with moderate to severe allergies

Be sure to visit this page to see survey data from hundreds of Goldendoodle owners. The data shows how F1, F1b, and F2 Goldendoodles differ regarding amount of shedding, hypoallergenic-ness, and ease of grooming.

How Big Will a Goldendoodle Get?

Puppies are distractingly cute to begin with, so make sure you’re going into the adoption process well-informed. The last thing you want is to bring your new puppy home, only to discover in a year that he is much bigger (or smaller) than you expected.

This is actually what happened with me. Before bringing Chloe home as a 12-week old puppy, the breeder called her a “Mini Goldendoodle.” Blinded by my own rose-colored glasses, hearing the word “mini” had me expecting a full-grown dog topping out at around 25 pounds. Low and behold, a year later she had grown to about 36 pounds and was much taller/longer than I had initially wanted! Luckily, I know now that I’d much rather prefer a dog her size (~40 pounds) due to my active lifestyle, so it worked out. 🙂

-Whitney, Doodle Doods founder

Luckily, there are a few different standardized sizes of Goldendoodles. This makes it easy to choose a size that best suits YOU, while also getting the desired temperament and physical traits.

Let’s have a look at the typical size predictions of Goldendoodles:

	Toy Goldendoodle	Mini/Medium Goldendoodle	Standard Goldendoodle
Weight	10-25 pounds	25-50 pounds	50-90 pounds
Height*	15 inches or less	15-20 inches	20-26 inches
Age at Full-Grown	7.5-11 months	11-13 months	12.5-16 months

Goldendoodle Colors

Depending on the coat colors of its parents and even grandparents, Goldendoodles can turn out to be black, white, cream, golden/caramel, red/apricot, chocolate, or a mixture of any of those.

Golden, caramel, red, and apricot tend to be the most common Goldendoodle coat colors. They can also have more of a creamy beige/tan coat. But Goldendoodles don’t just come in solid colors. Depending on how their genes are expressed, they can end up with an array of different, beautiful coat patterns such as black and white parti, white and apricot parti, caramel and white parti, and blue merle.

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Where to Get Goldendoodle Puppies

Due to the growing demand and competition for Doodles, they are unfortunately rarely available to rescue from shelters or families (especially puppies), though it is possible.

That said, puppies are easiest to buy from a breeder. There are many high-quality, reputable breeders out there who have been breeding healthy Goldendoodles for years, and they all specialize in breeding different generations, sizes, and colors of them.

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I hope this article helped you get a better idea of the different varieties of Goldendoodles and which might suit you and your family best.

Attributions:
Pin it Image by Farm Doodles, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Pin it Image by localpups, used under CC BY 2.0 / Enhanced from original
Pin it Image by bark, used under CC BY 2.0 / Enhanced from original