breed genetics

Genetics determine everything when we’re looking at the purebred dog, but if we’re talking about Oodles a (poodle cross), you’ve likely noticed some confusing genetic markers. Have you heard someone say I have a F1 Oodle and wondered what the heck that was? Have you wondered why some Oodle breeds have more open coats that are flatter and longer; whereas, other Oodle breeds have very curly looking coat?

This is all genetics at play, and since Oodles aren’t a purebred dog and are in a continual state of development, you’re going to hear a lot more references to F1, F1b, F2, F2b, F3 and Multi-Gen.

Just about everyone has heard of Mendel and his peas, probably sometime about primary school. You learned an introduction into genetics and how traits are passed down. The terms many breeders use to refer to their Oodles is a reflection of this study of genetics. An F1 puppy is the result of a particular purebred dog breed that was bred to a purebred poodle. A F1b is taking a dog that is itself a 50%-50% choice breed/poodle cross (F1) and breeding it back to a “parent” breed (by “parent” breed, we mean either a selected breed or a poodle, not its actual parent). Generally, a puppy that is F1b will be about 75% poodle and 25% particular choice breed. 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 Oodles 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 Oodle breeders consider a F3 as a breeding between F1b to F1b or F2 to F2 or any combination of higher generation Oodles. 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 Oodles involved.