When Do Goldendoodles Shed Their Puppy Coat? Simple Age Guide For Coat Change

Written byChris Allen Updated

Goldendoodles are the second most popular Poodle Mix breed dog according to real world search trend data. They come second only to the eternally popular Labradoodle.

Goldendoodle puppies of all sizes tend to have incredibly soft and beautiful fur. Their coats are renowned for its smoothness and luxury feel. All types of Goldendoodle have soft coat, from Teacup Goldendoodles right through to the English Creme Goldendoodle.

when do goldendoodles shed their puppy coat
When do Goldendoodles lose their puppy coat?

But when do Goldendoodles shed their puppy coat? Breeders and Goldendoodle owners say the Goldendoodle puppy coat change occurs at 5-8 months. It can be sudden or gradual. Sometimes the softness of the fur will change significantly. Some owners report not even noticing. It all depends on the coat type.

Goldendoodle puppy coats are typically softer than the adult coat.

Goldendoodle Coat Types and Important Details

When you consider Goldendoodle coat types you need to know the following:

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The three common coat types are wavy, straight, and curly.

  1. Wavy coats: the most commonly desired coat for a Godlendoodle (or English Goldendoodle)
    • Also referred to as fleece coats
    • Typically very low shedding
    • Regular grooming to prevent deep knots and hair clumps
    • Less dense than cirly coats
    • Low allergy
    • Typically 4-7 inches (10-18 centimetres) in length if left untrimmed
    • But shorter around the face
  2. Curly Goldendoodles are the most like a Poodle coat. Densest curls by far of any Goldendoodle coat type
    • Can be loose barrel curls, or tight kinky curls
    • Low to no odour
    • Hypoallergenic
    • Typically non shedding
    • Will stop growing eventually if left alone
  3. Straight coat Goldendoodles are the most like a Golden Retriever
    • Expect troubles with shedding
    • Expect allergy sufferers to have a rough time with a straight coat Goldendoodle
    • A positive is much lower maintenance

Regardless of the coat type you would expect a softer puppy coat from 0-8 months, then a transition into the final Goldendoodle adult coat from then on.

As a general rule the replacement adult Goldendoodle coat will be stiffer and denser than the Goldendoodle puppy coat.

Check our 35 Indoor Dog Games and Activities to keep your Goldendoodle busy inside!

Which Goldendoodles Get Puppy Coats?

All sizes of Goldendoodle from large standards, to miniature or teacup Goldendoodle will all experience some form of coat change.

behaving badly Goldendoodle
The dog suddenly jumps onto the new couch. (Image: Instagram/@wallydoodledoo)

When I spoke to breeders to interview them about the way they can predict the coat type for Goldendoodle puppies, they told me an interesting message.

“For F1b or F2 Goldendoodle puppies the change can be pretty subtle. Our F1b tend to have soft fur even as adults. When the change does hit it is not always obvious to the dog parents.”

Two of the breeders I spoke to both mentioned that many owners of their Goldendoodle puppies don’t actually notice the coat change.

“Also for Goldendoodle puppies that swim or are hiking and active, the coat change can be invisible as the cleaning after swimming removes and hair that is lost.”

Which coat type will my Goldendoodle puppy have?

The transition to adult coat can be seamless, or it can reveal a surprising final Goldendoodle coat type. There are clues from early puppyhood that you can follow to take the best educated guess about which type of coat your Goldendoodle puppy will have.

Goldendoodle puppy on car seat
Puppy with wavy hair on the car seat. (Image: Instagram/@friedchickendoodle)

We wrote a thoroughly researched article telling you what strategies the experts use to predict Goldendoodle coat type from puppyhood.

Remember that nature is a lottery, and there still can be surprises!

When To Start Grooming A Goldendoodle?

I surveyed a variety of Goldendoodle owners, breeders and groomers for this article about when to start grooming a Goldendoodle.

when to start grooming goldendoodle puppy

The results of my Goldendoodle grooming survey can also be seen in this pie graph graphic.

You can see that the experts agree that a Goldendoodle puppy should start being groomed around 5 months of age. Their reasoning was linked to “When do Goldendoodles shed their puppy coat?”

An ideal situation is that Goldendoodles are used to grooming before they lose their coat. If the transition from puppy coat to adult Groodle coat is a difficult one, it is really handy to have a dog that is very used to grooming.

Goldendoodles can have trouble with their paws. Have you ever seen a Goldendoodle lick or chew its paws? This is often a sign that something is wrong. Early exposure to paw touching can make it so much easier to four out what is causing Goldendoodle paw licking and fix it.

At the least consider getting your Goldendoodle used to bathing and shampooing (as needed only) from a young age.

Should I use special shampoo for the Goldendoodle Puppy Coat transition?

When a Goldendoodles does lose its puppy coat around 6-12 months of age you will be ready for an adult Goldendoodle shampoo.

Goldendoodle enjoying bath
It seems like the dog is enjoying his bath session. (Image: Instagram/@adoodlenamedannie)

There is little harm in using up the rest of your puppy shampoo. Although it is probably easier to just use a natural, excellent smelling shampoo that is friendly to both puppies and adult Goldendoodles.

We reviewed and tested the 6 best Goldendoodle Puppy and Adult shampoos here. (Spoiler alert though, the winner was Natural Dog Shampoo with Colloidal Oatmeal (Lavender Oil Edition)

When Do Goldendoodles Shed Their Puppy Coat? Simple Age Guide For Coat Change 1When Do Goldendoodles Shed Their Puppy Coat? Simple Age Guide For Coat Change 2

Check Price and Reviews on Amazon

Or you can read our favourite tested best Goldendoodle shampoos here. It is a pretty detailed review!

Conclusion

So when do Goldendoodles shed their puppy coat? Goldendoodles get their adult coat starting from around 6 months of age. It typically takes place over a few months up to a year. The transition can be gradual or very obvious. There are ways expert predict a Goldendoodle puppies coat type even from a young age.

For more Goldendoodle information check out

Can dogs see in the dark? We did the research!

My name is Chris Allen and I am the creator of Oodle Life. As a family dog expert, author and dog lover - I write about the wellbeing and training of family dogs. My wife and I love playing with our active miniature Labradoodle Max. We want all puppies to be healthy and happy, have lots of fun and be part of the family.