In addition to genetically testing our dogs for congenital diseases, we also test our dogs for their coat traits (colour(s), patterns, furnishings, coat type-curl, wave, straight).  This allows us to predict what coats we will have in our planned litters.  The study of genetics has always been a passion, so part of the excitement of breeding is planning out what colours, patterns and coat types we will have in our future litters! Our first and foremost priority when breeding is always health and temperament but we also carefully select our breeding pairs based on their coat traits and map out the colours/patterns/coats in each of our breeding pairs.

Coat Colours & Patterns

The Importance of Genetic Testing

Aren’t Goldendoodles supposed to be “golden”?

Yes and no actually!  It is true that Golden Retrievers only bring shades of cream, apricot and red into genetic mix, but since Poodles come in a multitude of colours and patterns, Goldendoodles can also be many different colours and patterns as well! 

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Poodle colours include: Cream/Apricot/Red, Black, Café au lait (muted brown from birth), Silver beige (chocolate at birth turn to muted brown), Brown/Chocolate, Blue (muted black), Silver (black at birth, turn silver/grey), Brindle, and Sable.  There are also several patterns to their coats: parti, abstract, tuxedo, merle.

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What colours and patterns do we offer at Ridge & Valley Farm?

-          Cream, apricot, red with black points

-          Cream, apricot, red with brown points

-          Chocolate

-          Black

-          Abstracts and Tuxedos

-          Phantoms

-          Blue Merle

-          Chocolate Merle

-          Parti

Light Cream

Molly (F1)- Ridge & Valley Farm

Cream

F1 from Daisy & Rudy's Litter

Apricot

F1B from Molly & Rudy's Litter

Red

F1 from Daisy & Rudy's Litter

Black and Brown- Black is possible in any generation of Goldendoodles as long as one of the parents is black or brown.  Two cream/apricot/red dogs cannot produce black or brown.  Chocolate (or brown) however, is ONLY possible in F1b generations or beyond.  There are no chocolate F1 Goldendoodles since Golden Retrievers do not carry the brown gene (and it is recessive, so you need two copies of it to express it). If a chocolate fades to a muted brown colour then they are considered a Silver beige.

Colours

(please note that some of these colour examples were provided by the generous families from the Goldendoodles Rock & Goldendoodle Owners Facebook Groups)

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Cream, Apricot and Red- All three of these shades are all genetically considered the same colour since it is the same gene. The exact colour/shade of the puppy will depend on the intensity of the expression of this gene. Typically, if both parents are red, you can expect red in the litter, otherwise puppies are typically cream or apricot.

Silver Beige

Photo Credit: dreamydoodles.com

Chocolate

Oaklan (F1BB)- Ridge & Valley Farm

Chocolate

Hazel (F1B)- Ridge & Valley Farm

Black

Puppy from Paisley & Rudy's litter

Sable

Photo Credit: Deedle's Goldendoodles

Brindle (parti)

Photo Credit: Suzanne Phay- Goldendoodles Rock

Silver (parti)

Photo Credit: Ashley Garrard- Goldendoodles Rock

Blue

Photo Credit: Lisa McMillan

Sable and Brindle- Sable and brindle are mixed colours.  Sable puppies start off as a mix of a base colour with black tips.  The base colour can be cream/apricot/red or blue/silver. The black tips will grow out and by the time they are an adult they will look completely different with only darker ears/head. Brindle means stripes. This pattern is often seen in boxers and several other breeds.  We do not offer these colours here but they also stunning!

Patterns

(please note that some of these pattern examples were provided by the generous families from the Goldendoodles Rock & Goldendoodle Owners Facebook Groups)

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Parti- Two copies of the parti (or piebald gene) results in a mostly white dog with patches of colour (cream/apricot/red/black/brown).  Rudy is an example of a red parti. So genetically he is red but his two copies of the parti gene makes him mostly white.  He will pass on one copy of this gene to all of his offspring making them abstracts or tuxedos.  The colour of the patches on the dog will depend on the genetic colours and other patterns the dog carries.  It is possible to have merle partis for example meaning that those patches of colour would be merle patterned.

Blue and Silver- Blue dogs are born black and fade to an ashy charcoal colour (too dark to be silver but too muted to be black).  Silver (or grey) also starts out as black and gradually fades to silver over several years.  With a silver dog you will see silver at the roots if you shave the hair. We do not offer this colour here but they also stunning!

Apricot Parti

Photo Credit: Cindy O'Dell Boling- Goldendoodles Rock

Red Parti

Rudy (Moyen Standard Poodle)- Ridge & Valley Farm

Chocolate Parti

Puppy from Hazel & Rudy's Litter

Black Parti

Puppy from Hazel & Rudy's Litter

Tuxedo-  A dog that is solid in colour but has its white markings in specific locations making it look like it is wearing a tuxedo. These white markings appear as a mostly white chest, belly, legs and sometimes face/muzzle.  The main colour of the dog can be any colour/pattern.

Apricot Abstract

Daisy and Rudy's F1 Litter- Ridge & Valley Farm

Apricot Tuxedo

Photo Credit: Rose Lengacher Graber- Goldendoodle Dog Owner's Group

Red Tuxedo

Daisy and Rudy's F1 Litter- Ridge & Valley Farm

Chocolate Tuxedo

Photo Credit: Amanda Leblanc- Goldendoodle Dog Owners Group

Abstract- These dogs are solid in colour but will have white markings on them.  These markings are usually on the feet, forehead, chest, chin and tip of the tail. These markings are not as widespread as a tuxedo. All puppies that get one copy of the parti gene will have white markings.  The main colour of the dog can be any colour/pattern.

Apricot Abstract

Molly and Rudy's F1B Litter- Ridge & Valley Farm

Chocolate Abstract

Hazel F1b- Ridge & Valley Farm

Merle- Think of merle as marbling.  Merle makes the solid colour of the dog lighter in areas resulting in a marbling effect.  Merle is a dominant gene so it only takes one copy of this gene to have merle patterning.  There are two types of merle patterning, blue merle and chocolate merle. (Two merles are never bred together)

Blue merle is the result of a black dog with merle patterning. The dog will appear black with silver/grey marbling throughout. Paisley and Cosmo are examples of Blue Merles.  They are genetically black but carry the dominant merle gene.  Merle dogs will pass this pattern on to half of their offspring. Since chocolate is only possible in F1b generations and beyond, chocolate merle follows this rule.  Blue merle however is possible in any generation. 

Chocolate merle is a brown dog with merle patterning.  The dog will appear brown with tan marbling throughout.  The chocolate/brown colour often mutes as the dogs gets older to a silver beige colour.

Blue Merle

Paisley- Multigen- Ridge & Valley Farm

Blue Merle

(with phantom markings)

Paisley & Rudy's litter

Blue Merle

Paisley & Oaklan's litter

Chocolate Merle

(with abstract markings)

Paisley & Rudy's litter

Phantoms- Phantoms have a specific location and colour of markings. Think of the Doberman or Rottweiler pattern of markings with eyebrow patches, chest markings, muzzle, under tail and down the legs.  This pattern is rare since it depends on a few genes being present to produce it.  We have several dogs who carry the genes responsible for phantom patterning!

Black/Tan Phantom- Black body with brown markings above eyes (like eyebrows), on chest, muzzle and legs. 

Brown/Tan Phantom-Brown body with tan markings above eyes (like eyebrows), on chest, muzzle and legs.   

Black/Tan Phantom

Photo Credit: Teal Lauren

Brown/Tan Phantom

Paisley & Oaklan's litter

Black/Tan Phantom

Photo Credit: Carol Heller

Brown/Tan Phantom

Paisley & Oaklan's litter