Australian Labradoodle Generations
Many people get confused by Labradoodle generations and it’s not surprising! The Labradoodle generations are determined by F1, F2, F3 etc., so let me explain.
First generation
A first generation Labradoodle is known as an F1 – this is the product of mating a Labrador Retreiver with a Standard or Miniature Poodle. As first generation hybrids, these dogs are believed to have the added health benefits associated with hybrid vigour. It is believed in animal breeding that the first cross between two unrelated purebred lines is healthier and grows better than either parent line – I am not 100% convinced tht this is true which is why it is so important to health test the parents for the problems associated with their breed. ie: Labradors can have hip problems, miniature poodles can have problems with their eyes, standard poodles also suffer hip displacia etc. As you have seen on the previous page the coat type on the F1’s can vary considerably, but is generally described as scruffy! This also changes a lot during the first year – so you can have a fairly smooth puppy at 8 weeks and by the time your pup is a year old its coat has developed and it can be really scruffy!!
Second generation
An F2 Labradoodle is often the result of a mating between two F1 Labradoodles. In this instance the resulting F2 puppies are generally the least uniform of all the crosses and the coat and appearance of each pup can vary considerably.
Third generation
F2’s are also produced by mating an F1 with an F3 or 4 etc., this is because one of the parents is an F1, the puppies generation can only move up one place and they will thus be F2’s. An F2 produced by mating an F1 with an F3 or F4 will generally have a ‚better‘ coat, than that of an F1 x F1. An F1B/F2B/F3B etc Labradoodle is the result of an F1 (or F2 or F3 etc) Labraadoodle parent being mated by either a Poodle or Labrador – this is usually a Poodle and is done to improve the coat quality ( to make it more curly, less shedding).
An F1B/F2B/F3B etc Labradoodle is the result of an F1 (or F2 or F3 etc) Labradoodle parent being mated by either a Poodle or Labrador – this is usually a Poodle and is done to improve the coat quality (ie: to make it more curly, less shedding).
Multi-Generation Labradoodle
There is a lot of discussion about what is a Multi-Generation Labradoodle generally this refers to the Australian Labradoodle which has been bred for many generations and with three different breeds used in the breeding programme. It is thought to be sixth generation onwards. The Multi-Gen is often referred to as any fourth generation Labradoodle or above.