It's not you. Some doodles do genuinely look like poodles. Especially the ones that are 75% poodle. I can for sure ID a well bred poodle, but I'm not always sure when there are so many out there that are poorly bred that don't conform to the poodle standard. A well bred poodle will be a square dog while most doodles that I see are not square. Poodles will also have more of a jaunty, flowing, effortless way of walking. Most doodles have a more clumsy walk. I have only seen one doodle that truly had poodle structure and movement, though I can't be 100% sure it wasn't a poodle since its owners just sat in their car while they let their dog run around without being supervised. Most doodles will have that feathering on the tail, but I imagine a poorly bred poodle could have it, or a poodle puppy. A dog in a teddy cut is just really hard to identify though.

 

Look at body structure. Poodles tend to be square equal height at shoulder to length. Also poodles tend to be more leggy type looking, they also tend to have more for lack of a better word thinner and longer faces than lets say Golden's. About the tail, they do tend to be more fluffy than feathered, except when the dog has a wavy coat, which sometimes does happen. Poodles should be more ballerina like, so thinner and daintier than a Golden. Less like bull dozer and more like a ballerina. I understand grooming does not tell you what breed a dog is. Most of the poodle type dogs you see will be doodles unless you live near a good breeder especially if they are multi colored.

I hope this helps.

 

I second what Raindrops and EVpoodle said. There have only been 2 times where I could not tell a dog was a Doodle(one of them is 75% poodle and the other one I had saw walking with its owners on the sidewalk). I will show you 2 pics of Sisko. When he was a puppy, his tail was feathery, but I think he is almost done with his coat change and now his tail looks like a Poodle. Please give me a little bit, I need to find a way to pull them up😳

 

I'm not sure why this is, but so many of the doodles I've encountered have extremely close-set eyes. But a fluffy face can intensify this effect.

As for poodles....there's really nothing quite like their bounce. Spend enough time with one and you'll be able to spot it a mile away. Peggy's been compared to a gazelle.

 

Most poodles have much more vertical tail carriage than retriever/poodle mixes.

 

I agree with Raindrops and PeggytheParti that one definite way to tell a purebred poodle is what I call the "poodle strut." They walk like they are almost floating on air, there's no other breed that has the purebred poodle strut. It's actually beautiful. When I first got my toy poodle I would just stare at his legs during our walks, I couldn't believe that they were floating in unison like that!

 

I'm sorry Pytheis, I lost the first photo 😞 Sisko's tail used to be feathery, but has changed, so now it's curly. But what Sisko looked more like a doodle when he was a puppy.

 

An illustrated Breed standard for Poodles

http://poodleclubofthelehighvalley.com/IllustratedStandard.pdf

Not easy to tell with so many of every persuasion sporting the unshaven look, but as mentioned above, and, almond shaped eyes with a look of intelligence, ear set, tail set, and ATTITUDE. Poodles do prance and strut. The movement of a well bred poodle is like watching a beautiful horse. The horse people will need to specify. I think of Thoroughbreds, Arabians, wild horses.

And here's the various designations for the various crossings, basically by percentage of breed:

A F1 puppy is the result of a purebred retriever that was bred to a purebred poodle. A F1b is taking a dog that is itself a 50%-50% retriever/poodle cross (F1) and breeding it back to a “parent” breed (by “parent” breed, we mean either a retriever or a poodle, not its actual parent). Generally, a puppy that is F1b will be about 75% poodle and 25% retriever. Now here is where the numbers get a little more confusing…

You’re likely to hear varied information on what is a F2, F3, Multi-gen, etc. What are these? When we say F1b, that denotes that there was a backcross to a “parent” breed, hence the b. So, an F2 means that 2 first generation Doodles were bred together. F2 could also technically refer to a litter produced from a F1 dog bred to a F1b dog (although many refer to this as F2b to denote a higher percentage of poodle in the mix).

Most Doodle breeders consider a F3 as a breeding between F1b to F1b or F2 to F2 or any combination of higher generation Doodles. To save on too many confusing letters and numbers, anything F3 and above is often referred to as Multi-gen to denote that there are multiple generations of Doodles involved.

 

I have more trouble with goldendoodles than labradoodles. Most of the labradoodles I've met have weird hair, coarser and straighter than you'd see with a poodle. They look a lot like a wire haired pointer to me. Even with trimmed faces, the head and muzzle are broader and blunter than a poodle would have.

Some of the goldendoodles I've seen have looked very similar to poodles. The hair was fluffy and curly, similar to a poodle. The faces are a bit broader than a well bred poodle, but not always drastically so. I think the crosses in my area tend to run 75% poodle, so its not surprising they'd look very poodly

 

All very interesting points. Most of the dogs I see are thick and heavy-set. Definitely not what I’d call graceful or agile. They look similar, in my opinion, to the build of a Portuguese Water Dog. They also walk as though they’re heavy, no prancing, like a lumbering St. Bernard. Maybe I’ve only seen doodles then.

 

I think you have. Doodles look like a bear when walking or running, and poodles look like a graceful race horse or gazelle. Mind you, a poorly bred poodle will have a thick face and body, and won’t be prancing gracefully. In that case it’s harder to tell but the tail might give it away. These dogs will still have fairly curly hair on the tail as adults, nothing like a doodle tail.

 

Definite poodle strut. It’s like they r walking in heels. 😂 Don’t tell teddy 🤫

 

"one definite way to tell a purebred poodle is what I call the "poodle strut." They walk like they are almost floating on air, there's no other breed that has the purebred poodle strut. " That's actually written into the standard. The poodle standard says: Gait: A straightforward trot with light springy action and strong hindquarters drive. Head and tail carried up.

It's that springy action that really defines poodle movement.

 

Lol!! Maybe they'll add my "poodle strut" description to the standard...copyright of course, haha!

 

I just did a google image search for "labradoodle," expecting to see the wiry coats I've seen out and about. But they all look like goldendoodles, too. I'm baffled.

¯\(ツ)/¯

 

I've noticed a lot of the golden/labradoodles have strange rear structure and look like they have weak rears. Which makes it look like they have little rear drive in their gait. But it may just be impacted by early neutering or the frequency of hip dysplasia. They walk like a heavy dog. Poodles should walk like they are very well supported. Effortless and springy. Misha mesmerizes people when he walks. He exudes pure joy.

 

That's precisely how my Sasha is, and he looks almost the same.

 

A GoldenDoodle I met at the Park a couple of years ago looked perfectly Poodley from a distance. But when I went to pet it, it had flat, straight hair on it's back.
So weird, I almost couldn't touch it. AAAACK!

 

Poodles are a cross between mountain goats and ballet dancers.

Then there's the pogo stick resemblance....

 

A bit of history

Born in 1989, Sultan was the first ever labradoodle, serving as a guide dog rather than a designer pet.(Supplied: Guide Dogs Victoria)

Sultan travelled to Hawaii to work as a guide dog.(Supplied: Guide Dogs Victoria)

A young Wally Conron with Brandy (left), labradoodle pups - Simon, Sheik and Sultan and their standard poodle father, Harley.(ABC RN: Fiona Pepper)

Dog-genetics researcher Jessica Hekman says the labradoodle caught on as a breed because of its 'cool' story.(Supplied: Guide Dogs Victoria)

Realistically, probably not The First Ever poodle/lab mix bred, but Sultan (first photo) is from Wally Conron's guide dog breeding program, which is attributed to starting the craze.

 

Born in 1989, Sultan was the first ever labradoodle, serving as a guide dog rather than a designer pet.(Supplied: Guide Dogs Victoria)


Realistically, probably not The First Ever, but this pup is from Wally Conron's guide dog breeding program, which is attributed to starting the craze.

That's what I thought labradoodles looked like. Weird that all my google searches turn up the same fluffy dogs I think of as goldendoodles.

I actually like that wispy, wiry hair. I think it's really cute. But if I wanted a wiry breed, I'd get a German Wirehaired Pointer like my childhood dog. She was so funny and clever, and such a lovely size.

 

Copying this link from a thread a few months ago about doodle breeding, focus on breeders doing health testing and trying to "set" a breed standard.

Poodle Forum

www.poodleforum.com

In doing the vetting for breeders to be added to The List, it's not unusual to see "Hybrid" as a breed designation.

and just found this, which may touch a bit on the above link, and may also explain additional variations in looks and temperament of labradoodles. I haven't done any follow up on this one yet.

Australian Labradoodles vs Labradoodles - What is The Difference? - Labradoodles & Dogs

If you are thinking about adopting a Labradoodle puppy for the first time, then you might find the terminologies a bit confusing. Most people think that a Labradoodle is just a crossbreed of a Labrador and a Poodle. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Labradoodles are also known as “Designer...

labradoodlemix.com

 

Would you believe I'd never before researched the "Australian" part of the name? It all makes much more sense now! Thank you!

 

I agree that structure and gait are more indicative of poodle purity than coat texture. My girl is pure standard and does not have correct coat texture on her hips and tail, but sure has all of the poodle attitude and “strut”! I actually posted a question to this group when she was much younger asking why her her tail was so floppy and would it improve. I couldn’t understand why I could not create the poms. I was correctly informed, much to my dismay, that by her age it would not change. I had to shave it last fall due to a severe allergic reaction and I like the way it looks with a just few months of growth much better and plan to keep it this way. It finally looks a bit fluffy instead of droopy with e shorter length😉

 

I love the comparison to ballerinas and gazelles After that I next look at the narrowness and length of muzzle. Other things then just sort of flash by like narrowness of rib cage, from the side the depth of chest sliding up to the skinny waist. Others have mentioned the rest.

I've only been fooled 3 times by an adult standard size dog. (Puppies are harder to tell.) One was by a very fat poodle, 2nd one had me puzzled as they said 100% poodle and it made me wonder if they had been lied to or given false papers, but there was one goldendoodle that fooled me.

I have discovered that doodles can look like just about anything. Realize that no top poodle breeders will allow one of their dogs to be bred to anything other than another well bred poodle. So any doodle will have come from a substandard poodle to begin with. If anyone finds a really good poodle breeder (who has dogs that have won confirmation ribbons from the best shows and become an American Kennel Club “Champion of Record” ) that will allow their magnificent poodle to be bred with some other breed, or even a substandard poodle, then I will gladly eat my words. I will even pay you $100

 

Both Goldendoodles and Labradoodles are really popular where I'm from. Since they are a crossbreed, I think it highly depends on the amount of genetics a dog has that depicts what they look like. There are various generations of Goldendoodle that either give them a flat, wavvy, or curly coat. I think there are three aspects why people really like these dogs: they look like a teddy bear, get some nonshedding features, and are partially hypoallergenic.
I think the reasons that doodles first came around is because they wanted a hypoallergenic guide dog that has an outstanding temperament. I think they are good dog breeds and have nothing against them.

 

......
I think the reasons that doodles first came around is because they wanted a hypoallergenic guide dog that has an outstanding temperament. I think they are good dog breeds and have nothing against them.

I do apologize, but this displays lack of knowledge about breeding. Sorry. Doodles are basically 'mutts'. They are not a dog breed, although many of the 'doodlebreeders' claim otherwise, and charge an arm and a leg for these popular designer dogs. I am continuously astounded that anyone would pay even close to what a well bred poodle costs for them. You are free to be as insulted as you want.

I have an amazing Standard Poodle, Service Dog,from a top breeder, who has more than an outstanding temperament. The original breeder of doodles has apologized time and again and said he wished he had never done it.

I finally gave in and got a standard poodle because of allergies, even though I thought at the time they were 'frou-frou' dogs. I have had horrible reactions to some doodles, as well as labs and goldens, etc. I am find with my Spoo, as long as he does not play contact type play with other dogs and get their dander, hair, etc all over him, I am fine. Otherwise I have to bathe him afterwards to able to be with him, so avoid them. I will never have any other breed.

Yep. I know a family that paid $6,000 for theirs. Eeeeeesh.

And I also find that doodle owners tend to blame the poodle part for all their dog's neuroses. Sad that they blame the breed and not the breeder.

Totally agree, as no well bred poodle breeder would allow their poodle to be cross bred. (See above where I offer $100) So it has to be from an inferiorly bred poodle.

I so wish we could actually bring in that original doodle owner into the discussion.

 

I used to feel the same way until I got a poodle...

I haven’t been around too many multi-gen Australian labradoodles, but the doodles I’ve met have a wide range of temperaments and looks regardless of whether they were F1, F1b, F2, or a “double doodle”. In general, the goldendoodles seem to be a bit more easygoing, but I don’t know if that’s actually a thing or just my experience.

My old boss thought I was crazy for getting a poodle since he had labs his whole life and he described his labradoodle as neurotic. He believed that the neuroticism had to come from the poodle side since labs weren’t that way.. I’m glad that I could eventually convince him otherwise by introducing him to my poodle.

I don’t take issue with the dogs themselves, it’s more the irresponsible breeding practices that are somewhat common... I’ve seen people charging $5000 for puppies without health tested parents. It also seems as though the only traits that matter are size and color, neither of which should be a priority when establishing a new breed in my opinion. Then there’s the lack of education on the part of some breeders when it comes to the maintenance of the dog’s hair. Lots of groomers in my area dread doodles because they’re usually matted and the owners get upset when they shave them down.

Again, that’s not to say that all doodle breeders and doodles are this way.. I know several doodles that have great dispositions and are very well taken care of, but it’s definitely a trend you see whenever a breed becomes popular.

As far as the differences between poodles and doodles, I usually go by the strut as well. Seems like I’m not the only one... People usually think Snoop is a goldendoodle because of her puppy coat and undocked tail, but the poodle demeanor is a dead giveaway.

 

Yep. I know a family that paid $6,000 for theirs. Eeeeeesh.

And I also find that doodle owners tend to blame the poodle part for all their dog's neuroses. Sad that they blame the breed and not the breeder.

 

I do think that they could eventually be an established breed. All breeds were essentially mutts at one point, but it takes mindful breeding to achieve this.

I think that’s what the people breeding Australian Labradoodles are trying to achieve (they also introduced other breeds like cocker spaniel and Irish water spaniel into the mix) but who knows how regulated the term really is.. From what I understand, these puppies are more likely to have predictable looks and temperaments since they have much longer breeding lines.

 

I do think that they could eventually be an established breed. All breeds were essentially mutts at one point, but it takes mindful breeding to achieve this.

How will they be able to do this? Each mix would have to be from an established lineage on both sides. Quite a puzzling feat. Especially if top breeders of each breed will not allow their best dogs to be cross bred?
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A Designer Dog-Maker Regrets His Creation
The inventor of the Labradoodle believes he created a Frankenstein.

Posted Apr 01, 2014

A Designer Dog-Maker Regrets His Creation

The inventor of the Labradoodle believes he created a Frankenstein.

www.psychologytoday.com