The popularity of the labradoodle and goldendoodle breeds has been steadily increasing for months, and demand for the breed continues to rise with each passing month. Although we receive a great number of queries about both breeds from potential owners seeking to add a new dog to their family, we have observed an increase in the amount of individuals explicitly requesting a dedicated labradoodle vs goldendoodle comparison post.
We chose to make it the focus of this post after seeing so many individuals contacting out and asking for guidance on both breeds, as well as so many people asking for a straight comparison article. We hope that this page not only answers as many questions as possible, but also helps individuals decide whether the labradoodle or the goldendoodle is the better breed for them.
Although the breeds are quite similar owing to their poodle ancestors, there are some minor distinctions that may make one breed better than the other for you and your particular scenario. Before we go any further, we’d want to state unequivocally that both breeds are terrific family dogs and will likely make a fantastic addition to the majority of households. Because the distinctions between the two breeds are minor, most of our readers will be happy with any dog.
Due to the scarcity of reputable breeders for both labradoodles and goldendoodles, we have seen a number of customers make their selection depending on which breed has a registered breeder nearest to where they reside. In any case, we shall not go to a more in-depth examination of both breeds, their qualities, characteristics, similarities, and differences from one another.
Labradoodle Dog Breed
The Labradoodle breed is a cross between the labrador retriever and the poodle ancestry, as the name suggests. Although there is considerable variety in the breed due to the poodle side being taken from standard, miniature, or toy poodle bloodlines, a labradoodle will generally grow to be bigger than a Goldendoodle due to its labrador lineage. The normal labrador will weigh between 55 and 8 pounds, making it bigger than the usual golden retriever.
Although the labradoodle breed has a reputation for being hypoallergenic, this is not the case, as no dog breed is completely hypoallergenic. The misconception stems from the fact that many people with canine allergies may have a labradoodle in their house without experiencing allergy flare-ups. This is due to a labradoodle’s coat collecting most of its shed and not allowing it to fall around your home, creating flare-ups.
Although one labradoodle from a litter may take its coat from the poodle line and have this benefit, another labradoodle from the same litter may take its coat from the labrador line and have the same allergies as a regular labrador. Furthermore, owing to the age at which many Labradoodle puppies are acquired, it may still be too early to tell if your Labradoodle will inherit the coat features of its poodle or labrador ancestors and if it will cause your allergies to flare up or not.
Although the word “labradoodle” was coined in 1955, the breed did not gain popularity until about 1989, when Australian Wally Conron began breeding them solely in order to eliminate genetic problems from the breed. Since then, the Labradoodle breed has grown in popularity, with nearly exponential growth in the last five years or so.
Having said that, despite the fact that Wally Conron made a concerted attempt to eliminate the breed’s flaws, genetic problems are still rather frequent among labradoodles. Although the majority of labradoodles are healthy these days, a tiny percentage might suffer from hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, Addison’s disease, an endocrine problem, and different eye disorders.
Another thing that appears to be prevalent with labradoodles is that if your dog is going to have genetic problems, they seem to get the most of them rather than just one or two. On the other hand, if a labradoodle is healthy, they tend to win the genetic lottery and have no difficulties with inherited disorders, allowing them to enjoy a normal, fit, and healthy life.
Although the chances are stacked in your favor if you get your labradoodle from a reputable breeder, if your pup develops genetic problems, it might result in some very expensive vet costs. As a result, we strongly advise our readers to consider getting pet insurance for their new labradoodle, at least for the first few years of its life, until it is obvious if your dog will have any of these issues. By the age of three, the eye and dysplasia concerns have generally begun to manifest themselves, indicating whether the dog will have these difficulties or not.
Do Your Labradoodle Needs Pet Insurance?
As previously said, while many labradoodles will be healthy and will not have any significant difficulties with genetic disorders, some may, therefore we always recommend that our readers insure their labradoodle to help decrease any potential treatment expenses. We strongly advise our readers to obtain a no-obligation quote from our recommended pet insurance, as insuring your pet may often be much less expensive than you think, possibly saving you a small fortune in vet expenses.
The look and temperament of the labradoodle breed can vary greatly based on the qualities inherited from its parent breeds. However, this is more common in early generations of labradoodles and less so in multigenerational labradoodles, which will likely have more trustworthy traits from its direct parents. To be clear, some breeders may not inform you if your labradoodle is a first generation pup with straight labrador and poodle parents or a multigeneration dog with labradoodle parents, so always inquire.
However, the majority of respectable labradoodle breeders will only sell pups that have been bred from labradoodle parents for four generations or more, with most using selective breeding to encourage healthy, desired features and qualities in the dog. This also applies to their coat, with most breeders attempting to foster the breed’s wiry, curly, wavy coats in order to make them as allergy-friendly as possible for any future owner.
When it comes to disposition, most labradoodles are sociable, active, good with families, and highly bright. If you decide to add a labradoodle to your family, you will likely have some unique and hilarious experiences. Unlike some dog breeds, labradoodles absolutely love water, so playing in the sea or a river will be commonplace, but it will also make bath time much easier for you as your labradoodle will likely enjoy the process.
Goldendoodle dog breed
The breed is descended from a golden retriever parent and a poodle, as you would have guessed from the name, and with golden retrievers and labradors sharing a common ancestry, it is not unexpected that the goldendoodle and labradoodle are so similar. As previously said, a goldendoodle is smaller than a labradoodle due to most golden retrievers peaking out at approximately 75 pounds and not expanding to the size of your ordinary labrador, however this may be a benefit depending on your scenario.
The goldendoodle breed is also subject to the misconception that it is a hypoallergenic dog breed, which it is not. This is due to the same reason why the misconception about the labradoodle breed is so prevalent. If your goldendoodle gets its coat from the poodle line, it is typically exceptional at collecting shed and may avoid allergy flareups for certain goldendoodle owners. However, the breed sheds all year, and if you have severe allergies, they may still cause flare-ups.
Monica Dickens founded the goldendoodle breed in England in 1969, but it did not gain popularity until the early 1990s. However, the goldendoodle breed has grown rapidly since then, with popularity rising in the last five years or so. Unlike the labradoodle, the goldendoodle was created expressly to try to produce an allergy-friendly dog breed for use as guiding dogs. Because the breed was designed to be as hypoallergenic friendly as possible from the outset, the goldendoodle lines shed somewhat less than the labradoodle lines, making them slightly healthier if you have dog allergies.
Unfortunately, the goldendoodle breed has certain genetic problems as well, and while the majority of goldendoodles are healthy, some are prone to hip dysplasia and a variety of eye diseases. Due to water not draining fast and the breed’s love of swimming, the goldendoodle is also at a slightly greater risk of ear infections or yeast infections in the ear. Although it is far more uncommon, certain goldendoodles can also suffer from Von Willebrands disease. As a result, we would strongly advise any of our readers considering adding a goldendoodle to their household to consider acquiring pet insurance to aid with any potential veterinary expenses in the future.
Our Recommendation For Goldendoodle Pet Insurance
A decent pet insurance plan is frequently far less expensive than most people believe, especially when using our suggested pet insurer. When you consider the possible veterinarian expenses for any hip dysplasia treatments or medications, a pet insurance plan makes sense and may frequently save you a significant amount of money over the length of your Goldendoodle’s ownership.
Although the goldendoodle breed is not as ancient as the labradoodle breed, Monica Dickens and her team established criteria for the breed from the beginning owing to having a defined purpose for the breed. If you get your puppy from a reputable breeder, this will result in a more uniform appearance and temperament throughout the goldendoodle lines. Goldendoodles are highly clever, affectionate, active, and family-friendly, making them a perfect family companion for the majority of households.
Due to the lack of black or chocolate generics from the labrador breed, goldendoodles are always a shade of yellow or gold in appearance. Their coat is constantly wavy because it was intended to gather as much shed as possible while also helping to prevent allergy flare-ups. This is mostly owing to the fact that many goldendoodles are not a 50/50 mix of a poodle and a golden retriever, but are instead closer to sixty to seventy percent poodle. There is no assurance.
After all of that, we just want to make it clear that there is no assurance in the features, characteristics, and temperament of your goldendoodle or labradoodle, especially if it is from a newer line or a first-generation with the two-parent breeds as its direct parents. However, as previously stated, the majority of respectable breeders would only sell puppies with at least four generations of parents from either the goldendoodle or labradoodle sub-breeds, as well as selective breeding within the lines.
This contributes to the production of an amazing dog that will make a wonderful new addition to the vast majority of homes. If members of your household suffer from allergies, a goldendoodle is typically a better alternative since a labradoodle is more likely to inherit a coat from the labrador line and so be less allergy-friendly than most goldendoodles. If you want to breed labradoodles or goldendoodles yourself, bear in mind that predicting the traits of puppies is extremely difficult unless you know the direct lineage of the dogs you are mating, and even then there is no assurance.