Goldendoodle Coat Types

Goldendoodles & Bernedoodles come in a variety of coat colors and textures. Textures can be curly, wavy, straight, or have improper flat coats and smooth faces like Golden Retrievers. The look of your Goldendoodle/Bernedoodle is not determined by the generation but rather due to the following 3 genes:

The 3 contributing genes to a Goldendoodle’s & Bernedoodle coat type are: Coat Curl, Coat Length, and Furnishings.

COAT CURL (The Curl Gene – KRT71)

Goldendoodles/Bernedoodles can have straight, wavy or curly hair depending on what type of curl gene they inherit from each parent. Even if 2 parents have wavy coats, they can still carry a curl gene and have curly pups in a litter. It’s important to ask your breeder what the coat possibilities are and if they’ve tested for curl

COAT LENGTH (THE LONG HAIR GENE – FGF5)

Since Poodles and Goldens/Bernes both carry long hair genes, all Goldendoodles/Bernedoodles have longer coats, unlike a Labradoodle who can carry a short coat length given by the Labrador Retriever. Long coat length is a recessive gene meaning you need both copies to produce a long doodle coat which you find in all Goldendoodles/Bernedoodles but not in all Labradoodles.

IMPROPER COAT GENE (THE FURNISHINGS IR IC TEST – RSPO2)

This gene causes the greatest variation in the look of a Goldendoodle/Bernedoodle. The term “Furnishings” refers to the longer hair on the face ie. Moustache, eyebrows, which give the doodle that “scruffy dog” look. Furnishings are a dominant trait so you only need a copy from 1 parent to get the look but you need to do DNA testing of the parents to ensure you don’t get pups that are minus furnishings or affected with “improper coat”. Here are some examples of goldendoodles with furnishings:

Goldendoodles with Furnishings

(Goldendoodles with Furnishings)

Below are examples of Goldendoodles who do not carry furnishing and a called “improper coats”. They tend to have more shedding than Goldendoodles who carry furnishings.  We do not breed this type of coat. If you like a shorter coat but don’t want shedding, please see Rylie, our Meet our Moms in a short coat.  No shed, just clipped short.

Improper Goldendoodle Coats

(Goldendoodles with Improper Coats)

TEXTURES

Goldendoodles have 4 main coat types: flat, straight, wavy, or curly. The flat coat is also called the “improper coat” which was previously described and the dog does not have furnishings.

Here’s a look at the remaining 3:

STRAIGHT COAT

If a Goldendoodle/Bernedoodle gets a non-curl gene from each parent, it can have a rather straight coat. Unlike the flat coat, it is accompanied by furnishings and a “fluffy” texture.

WAVY COAT

When a Goldendoodle/Bernedoodle gets one curl gene from one parents and a non-curl gene from the other, they will have a wavy coat.

CURLY COAT

Curly coats present themselves when each parent of the Goldendoodle/Bernedoodle throws a curl gene.

We do not produce curly coats here at Goldendoodle Acres! 

If you like a non-shed coat but don’t want a long coat to care for, consider just clipping your Goldendoodle’s/Bernedoodle’s hair short, like our Rylie pictured below.  She looks like a Golden but doesn’t shed.