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Breeding Practices
Healthy Parents, Healthy Puppies
Our Philosophy
We think of the canine world as a long table of workers, coming together to create your perfect puppy. Trainers foster behavior, veterinarians enable wellness, and groomers keep our friends beautiful and mat-free. So what does the breeder bring to this table? Easy!
Careful and ethical selection.
Our job is to ensure the puppies entering this world come from the best possible breeding parents to maximize lifespans, long-term health, and to reduce the chances of premature tragedies. Ethical breeders are the foundation on which the rest of the table works, so we allow only the best into Red String Farmstead's breeding program!
Our parent selection choices are prioritized by three categories, in order of importance:
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Health Testing
Temperament
Aesthetics
Health Testing
Joints, Organs, & Genetics
To maximize our puppies' long-term health, we conform to the veterinary consensus on health testing in parent dogs: Professional breed-relevant tests that includes hips, elbows, heart, patella, eyes and genetic panels for breed-relevant diseases. As such, our health testing is equal to or typically exceeds the breed-specific standards governed by the American Kennel Club's (AKC) Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) and many of our pure-bred parents have CHIC numbers.
Health testing cannot totally prevent later health problems, but it's an important foundation and we've reduced the anxiety and guesswork by transparently presenting each parents' testing scores, searchable AKC and CHIC numbers, and links to their OFA pages!
Temperament
Nature & Nurture
Your puppy's temperament is primarily determined by two factors: genetic disposition, which comes from both parents, and environmental conditioning from its mama. Temperament a vital factor in our pairings to ensure the biddable, happy, child-friendly puppy your family deserves!
Genetic Disposition: We only select moms and dads with an observable behavioral lineage for family friendliness. If we don't feel fantastic about the parents' lineage or behavior, we won't breed them. Further, we only breed parents whose temperaments are complimentary.
Environmental Conditioning: A dog mama's history, learned behaviors, and stress levels directly shape her puppies through maternal programming during their early life. The puppies truly mirror her, so she's our most pivotal factor in planning for good temperaments!
Aesthetics
Coat Type, Colors, & Patterns
While looks come after health and temperament, coat type is still very important for reducing the risk of allergies and shedding. We use in-depth coat and color genetics to achieve the outstanding allergy/shed outcomes, colors, and patterns that Doodle lovers like us enjoy and need!
Coat Type by Generation | Goldendoodles
F1 Gen
A 50-50 mix of the hyper-intelligent and intuitive Poodle and the biddable and athletic field line Golden Retriever, resulting in more adventurous pups and a higher ratio of smooth/wavy coats (fewer curly coats) per litter.
The F1 Gen has a slightly higher risk of shedding and allergies, so if your allergy requirements are more flexible and you want a smoother coat, this is the generation for you!
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F1B Gen
25% Golden Retriever and 75% Poodle, F1Bs come in a wider variety of colors, and an increased chance of fully furnished, curly coats. This means less risk of shedding and allergies than the F1, although the risk is not zero. If you have moderate-severe allergies, the F1B is a much safer option.
Multigen
A strategic pairing between two 3rd or 4th generation Goldendoodles. This gives us maximal control over size, structure, furnishings, colors, and patterns to produce the quintessential teddy face, eyebrows, non-shedding, and allergy sensitivity the Goldendoodle is known for with predictability and consistency across the whole litter.
If you have moderate-severe allergies, this is your #1 choice.
Coat Type by Generation | Bernedoodles
F1B Gen
We believe the 75% Poodle to 25% Bernese Mountain Dog (BMD) ratio is the perfect sweet spot for capturing the gentleness and loyalty of the BMD while dramatically reducing the stubbornness factor that comes with working dogs.
Like the F1B Goldendoodle, our F1B Bernedoodles have more curly coats per litter and are far less likely to shed because of their increased furnishings, so they're a fantastic choice for those with allergy and shedding fears!
Multigen
Just like the Multigen Goldendoodle, this is a cross between two 3rd or 4th generation Bernedoodles, which allows us to bring the size down safely, maintain the teddy face, and preserve the beloved tri-colored patterns.
The Multigen Bernedoodle is the best Bernedoodle option for moderate-severe allergies.
NOTE: Many Doodle breeders claim that their dogs are 100% hypoallergenic and non-shed, which is scientifically impossible regardless of generation. Like other breeders, we strive to selectively breed for positive allergenic outcomes, but this cannot be guaranteed.
Colors & Patterns
Goldendoodles
For our Goldendoodles, we prioritize red-related colors, like intense solid red, classic golden/apricot, and red-and-white, often with parti, tuxedo, or accent markings that punctuate these colors well.
What to Expect:
Colors: Red, apricot, cream, white, black, occasional merle
Patterns: Solid, solid with accents, parti, tuxedo
Solid Red
Red w/ White Accents
Red & White Parti
Apricot
Black
Merle
Tri-Colored Merle
Phantom Parti
Phantom Merle
Phantom
Bernedoodles
Our primary focus for Bernedoodle colors is achieving classic tri-coloring or bi-coloring, which requires a delicate handling of black, brown, and white genes. Traditional tri-coloring rarely occurs consistently throughout a given litter due to the variety of possible patterns, which makes all of our Bernedoodle litter truly striking an unique.
What to Expect:
Colors: Black-based or chocolate-based
Patterns: Tri-color, tri-color with merle, bi-color, bi-color with merle, parti, phantom, sable, tuxedo
Dispelling Myths About Merles
Because it touches on health, temperament, and aesthetics, we'd like to dispel some common myths about Merles and our choice to breed them.
"Merles Create Risk of Deafness and Blindness"
This is a misconception. Dogs that carry a single copy of the Merle gene display the beautiful, marbled pattern without the severe health risks associated with the trait. The severe structural risks to sight and hearing are uniquely concentrated in "Double Merles," or dogs that inherit two copies of the gene by having two Merle parents.
Each of our dog parents are genetically tested to ensure that no pairing carries more than one copy of Merle, so there is no risk of Double-Merle-related illnesses in our puppies.
"There is no such thing as a Merle poodle" or "A Merle poodle is just a Doodle"
This is a misunderstanding rooted in pedigree history, not biological reality. While the Merle gene was not historically part of the foundational Poodle gene pool, it was later introduced via an intentional later breeding and repeatedly crossed back to the Poodle over generations. The Merle gene was retained and the Poodle genetics were fully restored.
This means that our Merle Poodles carry an "introgressed Merle gene," but are 100% Poodle on advanced DNA panels. While legacy registries like the AKC do not officially recognize Merle as a standard show color, these dogs are entirely and verifiably Poodle by every biological metric.
Screenshot from Maple's Embark Report
"Breeders use Merle as an excuse to charge more money."
Unfortunately, this part is true. Many Doodle breeders add a surcharge for Merle puppies, often without rigorous genetic testing against Double Merle and with a mindset that prioritizes looks only.
We price based on health and temperament! When we produce high-demand colors like Merle or intense-red, it's a cherry on top... not the whole sundae! We will always charge a flat-rate for an entire litter, regardless of aesthetics and that includes Merles!
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