Welcome to our GoldensDoodles of TN blog.
With over 18 years of breeding goldendoodles, I hope to post blogs that you find informative and enjoyable.
My first blog is about explaining what a multigenerational goldendoodle is and the benefits of a multigen versus F1 or multigen versus F1b.
See also: FAQ’s
WHAT GOLDENDOODLE IS THE BEST FOR ALLERGIES?
WHAT GOLDENDOODLE HAS THE LEAST SHEDDING?
A multigen is a doodle whose parents are both doodles (one may be an F1, but both parents will not be F1’s as some flat coats will result in each litter). An F1 goldendoodle’s parents are 100% golden retriever and 100% poodle. An F1b goldendoodle is an F1 goldendoodle bred back to a poodle.
We now specialize in multigens, and the only F1’s we presently have are our parent dogs used in our breeding program to create multigens.
Most of the information you may find on the internet is about F1’s and/or F1b’s.  Very little information is found about the multigens since it takes years to develop a breeding program of multigens from one’s own line.  However, there are a handful of us who have been breeding for a substantial amount of time and have developed our own multigen lines.
Our experience is that F1’s have less predictable coats and often are not as allergy friendly as the F1b’s and multigens.  Breeding F1’s requires having standard poodle and golden retriever breeding dogs. Many breeders of golden retrievers and poodles will not sell breeding rights to what they term “designer dog breeders,” which means in order to have tested golden retrievers and tested poodle breeding dogs from tested parents, we would need to own poodles and golden retrievers in addition to our goldendoodles. So, we are able to offer goldendoodles with less shedding as well as having fewer dogs in our program, which means more attention to our “breeding staff.”
The thought that F1’s have “hybrid vigor” and are thereby the healthiest has, unfortunately, been proven erroneous as reports have become known of goldendoodles – generally age 6 – 8 – having succumbed to the cancer that is prevalent in the golden retriever (hemangiosaracoma).
The F1b’s produce coats that are generally less shedding than the F1, but each litter can still have F1-like coats in it. We like the F1b’s and have produced many litters of F1b’s. It does require that we have F1 parents and poodle parents, again adding extra breeding dogs (poodles) into our program and limiting the number of dogs we can keep back from our litters. Remember, you need an F1 and a poodle to produce an F1b.
In addition to producing what we feel are more predictable coats for less shedding and better for allergy sufferers, by focusing on producing multigen goldendoodles, we are able to have only goldendoodles in our breeding program and can keep back puppies from our own tested and proven lines. We have dogs in our program who are 5th generation from our original breeding dog (SadieKay is from our original stud dog, Crimson, father to Minnie, who is mother to Maggie, who is mother to SadieKay). With each generation, we select the cream of the crop from the cream of the crop, thereby strengthening the line by breeding only tested dogs from tested parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. We know not only the health but the temperament and personalities of the line of dogs we have created, which helps us in matching the best puppy to each family. Before selecting a puppy from our litters to retain as a future parent dog, we perform DNA tests on the puppy candidates to determine which puppies carry the proper genes for the coat type and coat color we desire so that we are sure to pick not only the healthiest puppy, but the puppy(ies) that will produce the coats and colors that we are able to offer to our adopting families.
We have a lot of families come to us for a puppy that will be a service or therapy or companion dog for a child with special needs. Many of those families tell us that their children have allergies and are seeking an allergy-friendly, low shed puppy and the multgen fits that bill perfectly. Many of these service dogs accompany their families wherever they go, so the low shedding factor is appreciated not only by the family, but by the owners and patrons of the establishments they frequent (restaurants, grocery stores….).
We hope this helps you to understand about F1’s, F1b’s, and multigens.  If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to direct them to us at: goldendoodlesoftn@gmail.com
