Labradoodle or Goldendoodle - Which makes the best pet?

If you are keen to own a medium to large sized hybrid dog breed, you’re almost certainly considering dogs that have some poodle ancestry, as the poodle is the most popular pedigree breed involved in deliberate hybrid crossings! However, what the other “half” of the mix is will of course have a lot of effect on the looks, temperament, traits and behaviour of the dog that you end up with, so it is important to do your research and choose carefully!

The Goldendoodle is a dog created from the crossing of a golden retriever and a poodle, while a Labradoodle is of course, a Labrador retriever crossed with a poodle, and it is certainly fair to say that with two retriever breeds involved, the Goldendoodle and the Labradoodle certainly have a fair amount in common with each other.

However, they also have a significant number of differences as well, and working out what these are is the key to picking the right hybrid dog breed for you!

If you are wondering whether the Goldendoodle or the Labradoodle is the better choice of pet for your own family and situation, in this article we will look at some of the similarities, differences and traits of these two hybrid breeds, to help you to make a decision.

Planning for deliberate traits

When breeders deliberately cross any two given dog breeds, they are ultimately aiming to achieve a certain set of traits in the offspring, and this is what selective breeding is all about! However, genetics is not something that we as people can fully control, and with the best will in the world, there is no guarantee that any given puppy will come out exactly as they were planned to!

This means that even comparing a Goldendoodle to a Labradoodle side by side will not tell you everything that you might be able to expect from any other Labradoodle versus any other Goldendoodle; it will only tell you about the two dogs that you are looking at! However, considering the traits of the component breeds in the cross (the poodle with either a Golden retriever or a Labrador retriever respectively) should give you some indications of potential traits that will result in the litter.

Physical size

In terms of the size that the hybrid dog will reach, this depends on the sizes of the parent dogs. First of all, poodles come in three sizes, and how big the poodle parent is will go a long way towards making the offspring smaller or larger.

In terms of the Labrador retriever versus the Golden retriever, they are similar in size, but the Golden retriever is usually slightly taller and longer. A Goldendoodle is likely to be ever so slightly larger than a Labradoodle would be if they were produced from the same size of poodle, but ultimately, it is the size of the poodle component that will eventually dictate the main part of the size variance!

Coat possibilities

One of the reasons why the poodle is such a popular dog for use in deliberate hybrid crossings is due to the nature of their coats; they are fine, tightly curled and tend not to shed very much within the home. This means that they are less likely to drop allergenic dander than many other breeds of dog, but it also means that their coats require lots of grooming and regular attention!

When you then cross a poodle with any other type of dog, there are at least three potential options for the coat of any member of the litter; it will either take after the poodle coat, after the coat of the other dog, or somewhere in between.

This means that a Labradoodle may have a very poodle-like coat, or a short Labrador-like coat or something in between; and for the Goldendoodle, the coat may be poodle-like, or more like the Golden Retriever, ie, long, luxurious and heavy-shedding, or again, somewhere in the middle.

Personality differences

The Goldendoodle and the Labradoodle share a reasonable amount of traits in common, as they share 50% breed ancestry and also, the other element of the breeding is a retrieving dog. The Labradoodle and Goldendoodle actually have more in common than they do different in terms of temperament and how they are likely to feel and behave, but if anything, the Goldendoodle will tend to be more excitable and vocal when young.

The Labradoodle will tend to be slightly more athletic and energetic, and both dogs are apt to be highly personable, friendly, and happy to be around people!

Can you tell how your dog will end up by looking at the puppies?

While it is certainly true that you will not be able to tell very much at all about how a hybrid dog will turn out without looking at them, even once you have seen the puppies, this does not tell you absolutely everything you might want to know about what your future dog will be like!

As deliberate hybrid breeding is a relatively new endeavour, it takes breeders many generations to establish breed lines, and to be able to reliably predict the looks and temperament of the puppies that they will produce.

This means that there is of course an element of chance in the purchase, even if you do your homework properly first; this is something that you must ensure that you are ok with, before you buy either a Goldendoodle or a Labradoodle pup!