Doodle genetics

Every Doodle Is Half Poodle. The Coat Proves It.

Coat color, merle risk, fading, and dilution in Goldendoodles, Bernedoodles, Cavapoos, and Labradoodles trace back to the same loci this site documents for Poodles. We don't claim expertise on the other half of the cross — but the poodle half is not a mystery, and it drives the coat.

Start with your cross

Pick your breed mix for the questions its owners and breeders actually ask — each answered through the poodle genetics behind it.

Goldendoodle

The most-searched doodle cross. Merle, fading, and dilution questions, answered from the poodle side.

Bernedoodle

Tricolor looks meet merle genetics. The pattern you see can hide the allele you need to test for.

Cavapoo

Small cross, same loci. Merle questions come up here too — and the Cavalier side never supplies the allele.

Labradoodle

Bred and priced on coat. What DNA panels can and cannot tell you about furnishings, curl, and shedding.

Every doodle article

The full collection, newest last. Each one routes back to the poodle genetics core — because that's where the answers live.

  1. The Poodle Half of Your DoodleHalf of every Goldendoodle, Cavapoo, and Bernedoodle is poodle — and it drives the coat.
  2. Merle Goldendoodle Genetics: What the Poodle Parent Actually ContributesGolden Retrievers do not carry merle. Every merle Goldendoodle traces it to poodle ancestry.
  3. Can Two Cavapoos Make a Merle Puppy?Merle is not Cavalier genetics. How to actually check where it came from.
  4. What a Doodle Coat Panel Can and Cannot Tell YouOne result is reliable, one shifts the odds, and several are not supported by evidence.
  5. Merle Bernedoodles and Phantom Merles: Reading the M Locus in a CrossWhy a phantom coat can hide a merle allele from the buyer’s eye.
  6. Chocolate Doodles That Turn Silver: B Locus, Dilution, and Café-au-LaitBorn dark and lightening, or born pale? The two mechanisms, told apart in seconds.
  7. Can a Goldendoodle Be Brindle? The K Locus AnswerNeither parent breed carries brindle. What the striping implies about the pedigree.

From reading to predicting.

The articles explain the mechanism. The calculators run the math on your actual pairing — and the books go deeper than any article can.

Try the calculatorsModel any pairing across every locus at once — color, merle, and health risk. Free.Go deeper with the booksThe three-volume series: every locus, full pairing matrices, and health genetics in 1,140 pages.

Want the poodle genetics behind all of this? Start with the guided poodle path.