Bernedoodles make a great mix between a Bernese’s fun personality and a Poodle’s shaggy looks. The resulting breed can be used as a therapy dog and can be trained to help older people. So if you’re looking for low shedding dogs that are allergy-friendly, the Bernedoodle is your answer!
In this article, we’ll take you through the different Bernedoodle generations and compare them. We’ll also give you some tips on how to raise your newly adopted Bernedoodle.
Why Do Bernedoodle Generations Differ?
So, a breed generation emerges when you mix two different dog breeds, which gives you a dog that’s half of a particular breed and half of the other breed. Breeders then take this first-generation and mix it with other species or generations to create dogs with different mix percentages of each breed.
The different generations influence the dog’s physical attributes, personality, and activity. However, artificial mixing can also be a cause of potential health risks.
What is the F in Bernedoodle Generations?
The letter F precedes a number, and both are used as a notation for a specific dog breed. For example, the F stands for (Filial Breed). This is an indication that the dog in question came from two purebred dogs of different breeds.
What is a Backcross?
A backcross in Bernedoodle breeding means that this generation results from mixing a Poodle with another Bernedoodle generation. This is indicated with a lowercase “b” in the generation’s name.
Backcrossing is only done with poodles since this is the kind of backcrossing that produces attractive attributes to adopters.
Bernedoodle Generations
We’ll lay out some of the most popular Bernedoodle generations below. Of course, some generations may be more popular than others. Usually, the more popular generations indicate that they have a lower potential health risk.
The F1 Generation
This is the first generation Bernedoodle, and it has a pure Bernese Mountain dog parent and a pure standard Poodle parent. This means that this generation is 50% Bernese and 50% Poodle.
This generation exhibits great hunters, friendly family pets, and high levels of intelligence, which is a mix of the traits of both parents.
The breed physically looks like something that lies precisely between a Poodle and a Bernese dog. The colors are similar to a Bernese, but the hair is closer to a Poodle’s.
A dog of this generation will require grooming about two times a week. It has a lifespan of about 15 years and weighs anywhere from 4 to 75 pounds.
These dogs shed less than their parents. They’re also more hypoallergenic, which means people with dog allergies are less likely to be affected by them.
The F1b Generation
This generation emerges when an F1 parent is mixed with a Standard Poodle. It’s also quite popular and has more Poodle than Bernese in it. Specifically, it’s considered to be 25% Bernese and 75% Poodle.
This generation can live up to 16 years and is considered healthier than its parent breed. The dogs are obedient, active, and family-friendly. They’re also able to live in colder climates due to their longer coats. However, these long coats do require more regular grooming.
These dogs can weigh anywhere between 45 and 60 pounds, and their size can be between 16 and 18 inches.
Another great trait about these dogs is that they’re very hypoallergenic. They’re also among the least shedding mixes of the entire first-generation Bernedoodle.
The F1bb Generation
This mix results from mixing a standard Poodle with an F1b generation dog. The resulting generation is 87.5% Poodle and 12.5% Bernese.
Since this mix is predominantly Poodle, it may be an even better choice when it comes to shedding and causing allergies.
The dogs have super curly coats but still don’t shed, so you won’t have to go around the house picking up loose hairs.
The F2 Generation
The F2 is the second generation Bernedoodle. This generation is the result of mixing two F1 parents. This means that the resulting dog will be 50% Bernese and 50% Poodle. However, unlike the F1 generation, this mix is less prevalent.
The dogs here are more likely to suffer from health problems and may die younger. Therefore, ethical breeders refuse to produce this mix.
They look similar to the F1 dogs. However, their coat length and shedding are very unpredictable, which is another reason many breeders refuse this mix.
The F2b Generation
This generation is a mix of an F2 parent with a Poodle parent. It results in a blend that’s 62.5% Poodle and 37.5% Bernese.
These dogs are known as teddy bear Bernedoodles, and they have wavy fur coats that are predominantly black and white. They do, however, show a variety of other coat colors that may be more interesting than different generations.
This generation has better hypoallergenic and shedding features than the F1 and F2 generations; however, the F1b generation still wins when it comes to these two traits.
Health and Lifespan of Bernedoodles
The generations we mentioned above are generally the most popular, which means they’re mostly healthy and live long years.
Since the Bernedoodle mix is still relatively new, it’s hard to say for sure how long the life spans of the different generations can be. However, rough estimations have been made, and the estimated lifespan is between 12 to 18 years.
It’s also been noted that smaller-sized dogs tend to be healthier and live longer than larger ones.
We have written more about how long bernedoodles are expected to live in a separate post.
Bernedoodle Personality Traits
The Bernedoodle’s personality mixes the good traits of two good boys. The Poodle is known for its high intelligence, quickness to learn new commands, and obedience. The Bernese dog is most famous for its hunting capabilities, loyalty to owners, and protectiveness.
Bernedoodles combine different percentages of these traits to give you a super god boy that’s allergy-friendly and low-shedding.W
We have more details on Bernedoodle traits in a separate post.
Conclusion
Bernedoodles are the perfect mix of cute and agile. They’re also a great mix of intelligent and hunting dogs. People love these dogs because they have all these personality traits in addition to hypoallergenic and low-shedding characteristics.
Also, the generations can have really attractive-looking coats with different lengths and curliness. However, some generations may not be perfectly healthy, and we should work on discouraging the breeding of these generations.