Let’s talk Labradoodle coats and what determines coat quality; is it the generations or grade? Definitely not! Although hair coats are most likely with earlier generation crosses, it is a lot more complex than that and coat texture (whether straight, curly, fine or coarse) and quality (whether it is prone to shedding unnoticeably or a lot) rests on a complex combination of genetics.
There are a great degree of subtle variations in Labradoodle coats as there are multiple genes that combine to determine
- Length of coat fibre
- Curl
- Shedding
- Undercoat (presence or absence of double coat)
Usually we refer to three coat types – fleece, wool and hair coats. Fleece and wool are considered to be non-shedding and hair coats are more likely to shed or have noticeable coat loss. But, in my experience, all coats will have some coat loss, especially apparent when you groom or comb your puppy as the process lifts any dead coat that is trapped at the base of the coat and collects in the comb or brush. This is normal and removing the dead coat is an important part of maintaining tangle free labradoodle coat condition.
There are also rarer variations and we have recently highlighted what we refer to as some flat coated labradoodle puppies from Amalie Trick-or-Treat’s litter with Amalie Darkest Peru. These pups have a blend of soft and non-shedding fleece plus straighter and coarser hair fibres – they are lovely coats that stand out because they are a little bit different. They are easy to manage and are reminiscent of Golden Retrievers but with far less shedding. There is no Golden Retriever in our lines but the Labradoodle did have Curly coat retriever infused into early lines and occasionally you will see open faced puppies that resemble the breed. See the chocolate labradoodle below.
And check Lucy’s video all grown up: Lucy with the wind in her hair.
Here is Lucy, from 4 weeks to nearly 12 months and her luscious flat coat. She is a blonde Chewbacca that has all the labradoodle attributes of cleverness, tenderness and affection, loyalty and fun. She is an Amalie Labradoodle and is one of Cher’s puppies. Both her parents have fleece coats but grandma has a hair coat and so does her auntie, Amalie Trick -or-Treat.
We have flat coated puppies currently available – they are black and tan phantoms…. Yes – they still require grooming and clipping but not as frequently. Their coats are easy to manage.