Are you welcoming an F1 Goldendoodle puppy into your pack? Wondering what it’s like to parent an F1 Goldendoodle? Or maybe you’re trying to determine what the fluff F1 means!
Then you’ve come to the right place.
With four Goldendoodles in our extended family (three F1 Goldendoodles and an F1B Goldendoodle), I have first-hand experience living the Doodle dog life. Plus, I’m an avid research hound who’s enjoyed the last 10 years becoming an expert on all types of Goldendoodles, including the F1 Goldendoodle.
The two sweeties pictured below (an F1 Goldendoodle puppy and an adult F1B Goldendoodle) grace our family’s lives with love and laughter every day. (A little further down in this article, you’ll meet two more F1 Goldendoodles who are part of our extended family. )
Whether you’re a first time Doodle mom or dad or you’re a seasoned parent of a senior Goldendoodle, my puppers and I hope to help you discover everything there is to know about the F1 Goldendoodle puppy.
So without further adoodle, 😉 let’s get started.
First, let’s unravel the mystery behind those numbers and letters commonly seen printed in front of the words “Goldendoodle puppy.”
What is an F1 Goldendoodle puppy?
An F1 Goldendoodle puppy is the offspring from a purebred Golden Retriever and a purebred Poodle. These puppies are 50% Golden Retriever and 50% Poodle.
Unlike purebred dogs who have two parents of the same breed, Goldendoodles are an intentional crossing of two distinctly different breeds. This makes them a hybrid or a crossbreed rather than a purebred dog.
The numbers and letters—in this case F1—are a common classification system used in science as a way to distinguish hybrids. This generational naming system is not specific to Goldendoodles. It’s used for hybrids of all types—everything from living organisms to plants. And yes, even hybrid dogs.
The “F” in “F1 Goldendoodle puppy” stands for “filial.” This is a term used in biology that refers to a sequence of generations following the parental generation of two different breeds.
The number following the “F” indicates the generation within the sequence. Therefore, “F1” stands for the first generation of offspring from two distinct parental breeds.
So, “F1” is short-hand for “filial 1 hybrid” or “first filial” generation.
This is why “F1” is used to classify the first generation of offspring from a purebred Poodle and a purebred Golden Retriever—two distinct parental breeds.
What’s the biggest takeaway from these numbers?
Purebred Golden Retriever x Purebred Poodle = F1 Goldendoodle puppy
Also, because Goldendoodles are a combination of two distinct parent breeds, there is a lot of variety and not as much consistency as you’d see in purebred dogs. Therefore, if you have a very specific type of dog in mind (size, coat type, etc.), then a Goldendoodle may not be the breed for you.
However, if you love unwrapping a surprise, then the F1 Goldendoodle may be the four-legged friend for you.
A real-life example
Now, because it’s more fun to talk puppies than nomenclature, let’s meet an F1 Goldendoodle puppy.
Sadie, the Goldendoodle puppy in our pack, is an F1 Goldendoodle.
She is the first generation offspring of two purebred dogs of different breeds, which makes her an F1.
Her mom is a purebred English Golden Retriever and her dad is a purebred moyen Poodle.
She has grown and changed throughout puppyhood. That’s because variety runs the gamut across size, coat type, coat color and more for Goldendoodles.
So hold onto your dog leash, let’s explore F1 Goldendoodle puppy sizes next.
What size is an F1 Goldendoodle puppy?
An F1 Goldendoodle puppy can vary in size.
However, smaller sized Goldendoodles are more likely to be F1B or multigenerational Goldendoodles rather than the F1 first generation cross. This is logical because the Golden Retriever parent breed ranges in size from 55 to 75 pounds. So, with a Golden Retriever (a fairly large dog) as one parent, the F1 Goldendoodle puppies will have those size traits.
Interestingly, the Poodle breed standard includes three official varieties—toy, miniature, and standard—according to the American Kennel Club. That’s where the variation in size comes into play for Goldendoodles.
According to the Goldendoodle Association of America, full-grown Goldendoodle sizes are:
Petite ~ From shoulder to paw, petite Goldendoodles stand below 14 inches. They weigh about 25 pounds.
Mini ~ From shoulder to paw, mini Goldendoodles stand over 17 inches but under 21 inches. They weigh 26-25 pounds.
Medium ~ From shoulder to paw, medium Goldendoodles stand over 17 inches but under 21 inches. They weigh 26-50 pounds.
Standard ~ From shoulder to paw, standard Goldendoodles measure over 21 inches. They weigh 51 pounds and up.
A real-life example of an F1 Goldendoodle puppy’s size
Let’s peek in at Sadie again to get a better idea of the size of an F1 Goldendoodle puppy. At 10 weeks of age, this puppy weighed 8 pounds and 9 ounces. As you can see in the photo below, she didn’t come close to filling up a chair.
At almost one year of age, she weighs 40 pounds.
Where did her size come from? She is considered a medium F1 Goldendoodle puppy. As mentioned earlier, her mom is a Golden Retriever and her dad is a moyen Poodle.
The moyen Poodle is a size between the toy and the standard. By the way, the moyen Poodle isn’t a size recognized by the AKC. But it is a size recognized by the FCI, Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI), which is based on Belguim.
Next, let’s take a look at the F1 Goldendoodle puppy coat, colors, and grooming needs.
What does an F1 Goldendoodle puppy coat look like?
As puppies, F1 Goldendoodles have fairly similar coats compared to the variation you see at adulthood. Puppy hair is soft, fine, and usually easy to manage. This is because young Goldendoodles still have their puppy coats. They haven’t gone through the Goldendoodle puppy coat transition, where they blow their puppy coats and get their adult coats.
Over time, the F1 Goldendoodle puppy coat transitions to the adult coat.
The F1 Goldendoodle adult coat may be straight, wavy, or even curly.
As I mentioned, there are two sweet, smart adult F1 Goldendoodles in our extended family. A cream Goldendoodle and a red Goldendoodle. As you can see from the photos below, their adult coats are very different.
Star (pictured below), a cream F1 Goldendoodle, has a curlier coat…
And Ruby (pictured below), a red F1 Goldendoodle, has a loose wavy coat…
It’s worth reiterating that both are F1 Goldendoodles.
I believe that’s part of the fun of parenting a Goldendoodle—variety is the name of the Doodle game.
Why? It comes back to the parent breeds. The Golden Retriever coat is straight and the Poodle coat is curly. Therefore, the adult F1 Goldendoodle coat can lean more to the Golden Retriever side, the Poodle side, or somewhere in between.
An F1 Goldendoodle puppy coat: How one puppy’s coat changed
Next, let’s take a look at an one example of an F1 Goldendoodle puppy’s coat.
As you can see in the photos below, Sadie’s puppy coat was fairly straight, even the hair on her tail was straight. It wasn’t extremely thick.
Then, at around 10 months of age, her adult coat started coming in. At first, the coat started changing along her back and by her tail.
While still very soft, the adult coat was not as puppy fine as her puppy coat.
Also, her adult coat came in much thicker and wavier than her puppy coat. Her eyebrows and furnishings popped up too as she grew, almost springing up over night. And her tail started getting feathers.
Also, you may want to look closely at her eyelashes that frame her chocolate chip eyes. As a puppy, they were almost like eyeliner. And as she grew, her eyelashes grew long too.
As an adult, she has long Goldendoodle eyelashes.
Again, this is just one example of how an F1 Goldendoodle puppy changes. Some will have long eyelashes, some won’t. Some will have loose wavy coats, some curly coats, and some everything in between.
However, no matter the type of coat, all Goldendoodle coat types require frequent grooming. Let’s look at why grooming is such an essential part of caring for a Goldendoodle next.
F1 Goldendoodle puppy grooming
Typically, the F1 Goldendoodle puppy’s coat is fine and easy to manage. However, don’t let that easy-to-care-for puppy hair give you a false sense of security. As puppies grow, they hair changes. That’s why it’s important to start introducing your F1 Goldendoodle puppy to grooming early.
This means introducing your puppy to grooming tools with patience and positivity.
And slowly working up to combing your Goldendoodle puppy making sure every step is happy and positive.
Since the puppy coat is fine, initially, grooming may simply mean using soft brush or comb making sure to pay attention to high friction areas like the “arm pits” and under the ears.
We slowly introduced combing by allowing Sadie to simply sniff the grooming tools. Then we added in massaging the paws, and combing for just a few minutes at a time. By keeping the sessions short and positive, she now enjoys getting brushed and groomed.
As a head’s up, all Doodle dogs, including F1 Goldendoodles, require frequent Goldendoodle grooming at home in addition to professional grooming about every six to eight weeks (or DIY at-home grooming).
Related: How to Groom a Goldendoodle’s Face: What I Learned from a Wahl® Grooming Pro.
Do F1 Goldendoodle puppies shed?
With such fluffy puppy coats, you may be wondering about whether Goldendoodle puppies shed. As a rule of thumb, up until about four months of age, the puppy coat is soft, silky, and fine. There may be loose hairs, of course. And as you comb your puppy, there will be loose hairs in your comb. However, typically, as puppies there isn’t much shedding.
At adulthood, the amount of shedding will depend on how much the Goldendoodle leans toward the Poodle side of the family (low shedding) or the Golden Retriever (high shedding) side of the family.
If “low shedding” is a deciding factor for your family, the F1B Goldendoodle may be a better fit for you. An F1B Goldendoodle puppy is a cross between an F1 Goldendoodle and a Poodle. Since F1Bs have more Poodle heritage, they tend to be lower shedding.
Coat colors of an F1 Goldendoodle puppy
F1 puppies can sport many different Goldendoodle coat colors from ultra creamy to jet black. This is due to the wide variety of coat colors that the Poodle parent breed (and to a lesser extent the Golden Retriever parent breed) brings to the Goldendoodle heritage.
The Poodle parent breed standard includes black, gray, red, apricot, brown, cream, and white coats.
The Golden Retriever breed standard includes a range of golden coats—from light golden, golden, and dark golden.
For F1 Doodles, ivory, cream, red, apricot, multi color, and black Goldendoodles are popular colors.
F1 Goldendoodle puppy personality and temperament
Typically, F1 Goldendoodle puppies are social, smart, eager to please, friendly, and want to fit in with the family.
Like all puppies, they are learning the ropes, and will benefit the most from your positive parenting, your love, time, and attention.
Also, like all puppies, they will have boundless energy and pursue puppy play behaviors that are common for all puppies like play biting, chewing, and exploring the world by putting everything in the mouth!
Your F1 Goldendoodle puppy will drink in your love, time, and attention like a Goldendoodle lapping up fresh water after a game of fetch. They are social puppies and may want to be your shadow.
Also, it’s important to point out that a reputable Goldendoodle breeder will put temperament and the health of the puppy (and the puppy’s parents) above all else.
F1 English Goldendoodle puppies
An F1 English Goldendoodle puppy is the offspring of a purebred Poodle crossed with a purebred English Golden Retriever. The puppy is 50% English Golden Retriever and 50% Poodle.
Therefore, the key difference between an F1 Goldendoodle puppy and an F1 English Goldendoodle comes from the Golden Retriever heritage. An F1 Goldendoodle has Golden Retriever heritage and an F1 English Goldendoodle has English Golden Retriever heritage.
Here’s why:
Some sources divide the Golden Retriever into two groups: American Golden Retrievers and English Golden Retrievers.
American Golden Retrievers conform to American Kennel Club (AKC) standards. English Golden Retrievers conform to KC (The Kennel Club, UK) breed standards.
The KC breed standard includes BOTH shades of gold and cream. However, the AKC Golden Retriever doesn’t include cream coat colors as a breed standard. Also, from my research, English Golden Retrievers tend to have a slightly broader, blockier head, round eyes, and a bit stockier build.
F1 Goldendoodle puppies price
If you’re ready to choose a puppy from a reputable breeder, you should expect to pay at least $2,000 to $3,000. Prices may vary widely depending on the state you’re adopting from, the breeder, and type of puppy. It is critical to do your homework and find a reputable Goldendoodle breeder who puts the health of the puppy (and the puppy’s parents) above all else.
There are also opportunities to adopt Doodle dogs from Goldendoodles rescue organizations that specifically focus on finding homes for Goldendoodles, Doodle dogs, and Poodle mixes. Adoptions fees for a reputable shelter or rescue group range from $200 to $1,000.
While the price of adopting a Goldendoodle is often the first cost puppy parents think about, there are many other long term financial investments when it comes to caring for an F1 Goldendoodle puppy or any puppy. As you’re budgeting for your puppy, be sure to plan for long term care including veterinary care, grooming, dental procedures, food, insurance, and of course Goldendoodle dog enrichment toys, too.
All in all, the actual price of a Goldendoodle is just the tip of the financial iceberg. By having a plan, you’ll be able to provide for your puppy for a lifetime.
F1 Goldendoodle puppy to full grown
Before we wrap up, you may be curious to learn what it’s like to raise an F1 Goldendoodle from puppyhood to full grown.
We’re documenting our puppy’s growing up years to help other Goldendoodle puppy parents. Check out these related stories:
Conclusion
Thank you for taking time to discover all the facts and information about the F1 Goldendoodle puppy. Whether you choose the F1, F1B, F2B Goldendoodle, or some other variety, the qualities of temperament and good health are number one.
And with your time, love, and attention, Goldendoodle puppies will be eager to please you and want to learn how to fit into your pack.