Labradoodle
Labrador Retriever × Poodle
Knowledge · Designer dogs
Cockapoo & Co: designer dogs
Designer dogs are now among the most popular dogs. They are the result of a deliberate cross between two classic purebred dogs. The aim: to combine the desired traits of both breeds in one dog. This is only optimally achieved in the F1 generation.
The challenge: papers offer no certainty here, and how breed shares and any foreign shares are distributed cannot be predicted.
What is a designer dog?
A designer dog is the result of deliberately mating two different purebred dogs. Unlike a random mixed breed, the parent breeds are chosen on purpose. Designer dogs are not breeds recognised by the FCI or national kennel clubs. For this reason there is neither a stud book nor a pedigree from a breed club.
The generations at a glance
| Generation | Mating | Expected breed shares |
|---|---|---|
| F1 | Breed A × breed B, both purebred | 50 % / 50 % |
| F1b | F1 × parent breed, usually Poodle (backcross) | 75 % / 25 % |
| F2 | F1 × F1 | 50 % / 50 % on average, varying from puppy to puppy |
| F2b, F3, multigen | further generations | variable |
Popular crosses
Most designer dogs have a Poodle as one parent. Its curly, low-shedding coat is meant to combine with the temperament of the second breed.
A) Poodle crosses
Goldendoodle
Golden Retriever × Poodle
Cockapoo
Cocker Spaniel × Poodle
Cavapoo
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel × Miniature Poodle
Maltipoo
Maltese × Miniature or Toy Poodle
Bernedoodle
Bernese Mountain Dog × Poodle
Aussiedoodle
Australian Shepherd × Poodle
Sheepadoodle
Old English Sheepdog × Poodle
B) Other popular crosses
Puggle
Pug × Beagle
Pomsky
Pomeranian × Siberian Husky
Chiweenie
Chihuahua × Dachshund
Jug
Jack Russell Terrier × Pug
Determining the genomic background
Generatio’s breed analysis compares your dog’s genome with reference populations of the individual breeds. For designer dogs, it answers two questions.
F1, F2 or a more distant mix?
The great variety of F1 phenotypes makes it difficult to tell from appearance whether you really have an F1 hybrid.
- F1: is confirmed when the two stated parent breeds are shown in roughly equal shares and the similarity assessment only returns breeds that match the parent breeds or are closely related to them.
- F2 and later: the breed shares depend on the particular crosses (see The generations at a glance).
Only a DNA-based breed analysis can provide clarity here.
Does the inbreeding & diversity assessment match?
Combined with the inbreeding & diversity assessment, the classification can be confirmed. A true F1 hybrid inherits a different breed from each parent, so its genome is particularly mixed. In true F1 hybrids:
- the genomic inbreeding coefficient (GIC) should be close to 1 %,
- heterozygosity (HE) should be above 30 %.
If the GIC values are clearly higher and the breed analysis does not indicate an F1 situation, the result points to an inbred mating of the parents.
Health and coat: what else genetics reveals
Two sales arguments come up particularly often with designer dogs: that crosses are healthier than purebreds, and that doodles are suitable for allergy sufferers. Both are only partly true.
Healthier through crossing?
An F1 cross often benefits from the heterosis effect: recessive hereditary diseases whose variant is carried by only one of the two parent breeds usually do not appear in the puppy. This does not apply to every variant, however. One example is the MDR1 defect, which is common in the Australian Shepherd and the Old English Sheepdog, among others. Even a single copy, as an Aussiedoodle or Sheepadoodle can inherit from one parent, makes the dog more sensitive to certain drugs. Genetic testing of the parents therefore makes sense for designer dogs as well.
What coat will my doodle have?
Whether a doodle sheds, has curls or grows a beard and eyebrows is controlled mainly by three genes: furnishings (RSPO2), curly (KRT71) and a gene for shedding (MC5R). In an F1 the coat is hard to predict, because the variants of both breeds come together. A genetic test shows the variants as early as the puppy stage.