Allergies and Shedding in Goldendoodles – I personally suffer from allergies and I know that it isn’t fun. I would never want to misinform potential owners regarding one of my puppies. While poodles and many poodle mixes are considered non-shedding, this does not mean they are 100% hypoallergenic. Some people can be allergic to saliva, urine, and dander- not the actual hair that is shed. That said, many people with allergies find they can tolerate dogs that are less likely to shed such as poodles and goldendoodles.
This leads me to coat testing, if you have allergies, you are best finding a goldendoodle breeder that does coat testing on their breeding dogs and/or puppies to find out how likely they are to shed. I will be completing coat testing on every puppy and will let potential buyers know what the results are.
In addition, if you would like to send a t-shirt or other article of clothing to be “placed” with a puppy you are considering, we can send it back to you to see if you react to the puppy. This way the laundry detergent used on the clothing will be yours and there won’t be a chance of whomever being allergic to the detergent that I use.
Coat Testing for Shedding can be a slightly complicated. Shedding factor results can vary somewhat dependent on the company doing the testing. Some companies give a shedding score (a scale of 1-4) and others break it down between shedding and furnishings.
Furnishings are the long hairs on a dog’s face – the mustache! A dog with even one furnishing is less likely to shed than a dog with no furnishings. A dog with two furnishings is even more less likely to shed.
A dog can also have a “shedding factor”. A dog with one shedding factor will generally be a light shedder and one with two shedding factors will shed heavier unless, they have furnishings. Furnishings limit the amount of shedding despite two shedding genes.
Freya has two shedding genes and one furnishing gene. She does shed very lightly. Gage has two furnishings, and one shedding- he does not shed. Due to this all the puppies in this litter will have at least one shedding gene. Those with one furnishing and two shedding genes may shed lightly like Freya does. Her shedding is mostly noted when she is brushed. Her hair is very fine and we don’t notice thick dog hairs on our clothing because the hairs are almost like a very fine fabric thread. Freya also has what is considered a wavy coat.
Freya around 5 months old.
All puppies will be coat tested so we will have a general idea of how much they will shed. Again, please be cautious of any breeder claiming pups as 100% hypoallergenic. Just realize non-shedding dogs are less likely to bother people with allergies if they have a low shedding score.
Poodle mixes that are least likely to shed will have two non-shedding genes and two furnishing genes. Although other combinations are also likely to be extremely low shedding. Our other goldendoodle has one shedding gene and one furnishing gene and does not shed.
If you are interested in applying for a Deans Creek Doodle, click here: Puppy Application.
Here is a great article regarding doodles, allergies, and whether or not they are hypoallergenic. Credit given to Kent Family Farms in Canada. Hypoallergenic-Marketing-Scheme-or-Truth
Kent Family Farms also has a page regarding various coat types such as straight, wavy, and curly. You can check it out here: Straight Coated Goldendoodles.