The black goldendoodle: five things you didn’t know

The Goldendoodle is a designer breed, or crossbreed of two different breeds, the Golden Retriever and the Standard Poodle. The first Goldendoodle came about in 1969 when a lady, Monica Dickens decided to create a breed with the great qualities of the Golden Retriever and the Poodle. The Poodle is known to have a lot of fun, energetic qualities, it is highly intelligent and the best quality is that it is essentially a non-shedding breed. The Golden Retriever is also very intelligent, loyal, sweet and generally, a gentle natured dog. The Goldendoodle breed did not become popular until the 1990&rsquo-s, but since then, it has become a favorite family pet for many households. The Goldendoodle comes in a couple different colors, with the two primary being a sandy color and black. If you have ever seen a black Goldendoodle, then you know how beautiful they are, but here are five things you didn&rsquo-t know.

1. Three types of coats

Goldendoodles can come in a variety of types of coats. There are typically three, and they include, 1. straight, which would be a dog that took more after the Golden Retriever side of the family, 2. a wavy coat, which is a combination coat of both sides, the curly Poodle and the straight Golden Retriever, and 3. a curly coat, which means they inherited mostly the genes of the Poodle side. You can never be sure which coat they will get since you don&rsquo-t know how much of each side of parents&rsquo- genes the litter and individual pups will get.

2. Temperament

Although both types of dogs, the Golden Retrievers and the Poodles both have good dispositions by nature, what type of personality your pup will have as it grows into adulthood, is hard to determine. Some of their temperament will be determined by what type the parents have, and which side of the lineage the pup will inherit most. It also determines on how you raise your pup. If you raise him to be obedient, and he&rsquo-s well socialized, you will have a happier, more well adjusted and happy dog. Breeders should not try to guarantee anything about your black Goldendoodle&rsquo-s temperament and what they will be like as an adult. But they should be able to tell you what type of temperament the parents both have, and be able to let you see the parents to judge for yourself, whether they seem to be good, well-behaved dogs, friendly and gentle.

3. Black comes from the Poodle side

When you choose a black Goldendoodle, it is from the pup&rsquo-s Poodle parent, male or female, where the color stems from. Black Poodles can help to create a multitude of colors in Goldendoodle puppies. They are the ones responsible for puppies that exhibit, black, chocolate, gray, and silver colors to the Goldendoodle. The colors are determined by the intensity of the genes they inherit from the parents. If the Poodle&rsquo-s gene pool is intense and dominate, it will produce more of the Poodle-side colors. If the Golden Retriever gene pool is the dominate gene side, a litter may produce more sandy, reds and cream colored pups.

4. Black Goldendoodles are often mistaken for Poodles

When people see a black Goldendoodle, it is due to the dark black fur that gives them more of a Poodle appearance, and many people will often mistake them for being just a regular Standard Poodle. This is especially true if the coat happens to be on the wavy to curly side. If the dog happens to have inherited more of the Retriever&rsquo-s straight fur, people might actually question what type of dog it is, but still might guess that it does have some Poodle in it.

5. May not shed, or may shed a little

Poodles are known to be non-shedders, or hypoallergenic dogs. This is a big reason why they are often bred with other breeds, like the Labs as well. This is the quality many breeders want when they combine breeds with the Poodle, however, just because there is Poodle blood in the mix, it does not mean there is a guarantee that the offspring will not shed at all. Again, this depends on the gene pool and how dominate each side of the genes are, whether the pups inherit more of the Poodle&rsquo-s side or the Retriever&rsquo-s. Regardless, at the very least, a pup may grow into a dog that sheds a little, which is still a big difference from the full breed Golden Retriever, which are known to be big shedders.

Goldendoodles make great family pets. They are great with other pets, children, and the elderly. When trained right, these dogs are some of the best dogs to fit into just about any type of family and lifestyle. Due to all the good qualities the two breeds combine in a Goldendoodle, Goldendoodles are often chosen to work as therapy dogs and seeing eye dogs. And being low, to no shedding dogs, many people who normally couldn&rsquo-t have a therapy dog due to allergies, can get a Goldendoodle and do just fine.