The
History of The Labradoodle
The Labradoodle is a unique dog,
with a fascinating history. Their story begins in Australia.
Now a definitive date as to when breeding began is still in question,
however the consensus among experts is sometime in 1988 or 1989.
It all started with an inquiry from a visually impaired women
in Hawaii, who wanted a guide dog that wouldn’t cause her
husband’s allergies to flare.
The reason she chose Australia
was the quarantine rules. Australia is an island with very strict
quarantine laws; stricter than the quarantine laws in Hawaii.
Therefore, dogs exported to Hawaii could go home with no quarantine.
Now in response to the women’s
request, roughly thirty Poodle hair and saliva samples were sent
to Hawaii to test for allergy friendliness over a two year period
of time. Unfortunately, none of those original samples proved
successful.
Following the failure of those
samples, a man named Wally Conren suggested to the Manager of
the Australian Guide Dog Association crossing a Labrador Retriever
and a Standard Poodle. Approval was granted and his first litter
produced three puppies. Wally gave the resulting cross the name
still in use today—Labradoodle.
Now from those three puppies, hair
and saliva samples were sent to Hawaii for testing once again.
And this time, the samples from a puppy named Sultan were successful!
After the success of the first
mating, Mr. Conren bred Labradoodle to Labradoodle, and called
the subsequent offspring, “Double Doodles.” Next, he
crossed the Double Doodles and called the offspring “Tri
Doodles.” These were the precursor to what we call today
the Australian Multi-Generational (or Multi-Gen) Labradoodles.
When Wally Conren retired, a veterinarian
named Kate Schoeffel (Kate’s Family Pets) from Condoblin
New South Wales, Australia, who had been in touch with him, started
her own breeding program mating Miniature Poodles with Labrador
Retrievers. Her success was such that she is still breeding her
Miniature first generation Labradoodles.
A couple of years after Mr. Conren’s
initial success, a man who bred puppies for pet shops started
to breed these rather handsome Labradoodles. And with what we
would today call 20/20 hindsight; he bred the Labradoodle back
to a poodle, and Labradoodle to Labradoodle.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t good
at record keeping since his primary goal was breeding family
pets. He didn’t recognize the non-shedding and hypoallergenic
potential of these dogs. He did however continue breeding his
first and second generation Labradoodles for a few years before
finally retiring.
The Australian Guide Dog Association
was having very little success as well, because they too didn’t
recognize the mutated gene which develops the allergy friendly
Labradoodle of today.
However, even with the limited
success the few original pioneering breeders had at the time,
interest in the Labradoodle was strong enough for a few visionaries
to start breeding them with an intentional plan in mind. Within
a few short years, other breeders followed, and what they developed
is the Australian Multi-Generational Labradoodle we recognize
today.
The primary draw to the Labradoodle
was the low and non-shedding coats, but as people quickly discovered,
they possessed a wonderful disposition. The Labradoodle’s
future was set.
Australian Multi-Gen Labradoodle
breeder Judy Hickey of Snug Harbor Labradoodles provides her
characterization of the dogs, “There’s an intuitiveness
to the Australian Multi Gen Labradoodles. "They have a very
human-like nature and if you look at either Tegan Park or Rutland
Manor websites, they call them “clown-like.” And that
was sort of a depiction until I had them myself. Then I discovered
they are very funny! They have a childlike playfulness about
them.”
These dogs became so adaptable,
their intelligence and resolve attracted people and trainers
who wanted dogs for sports, guidance, and therapy.
Because of the growing popularity,
the crossing of a Labrador Retriever and Poodle without regard
to genetics, bloodline, or temperament began. These breeders
called their puppies Labradoodles, with the resulting puppies
having unpredictable physical and temperament characteristics.
Because of this random breeding,
the need to develop a standard initiated the formation of two
Breeding and Research Centers for Labradoodles in Australia.
In 1989, Rutland Manor Labradoodle
Breeding and Research Center organized in Darnum, Victoria. Their
sires and dams being only health tested Labrador Retrievers,
Poodles, and 3rd generation Labradoodles. Tegan Park Breeding
and Research Centre in Seaspray, Victoria was established at
this time as well. They also carefully controlled their breeding
program, using only the finest genetically healthy dogs.
In 1998, Tegan Park introduced
the "Miniature" Labradoodle to the public. When a Miniature
and Standard Labradoodle are crossed, the medium-sized Labradoodle
is the result. And today three sizes are currently recognized;
the miniatures at 14 - 17 inches tall, mediums at 18 - 21 inches,
and the standard at 23 - 26 inches.
Now very early generation Labradoodles
had a wide variety of coat types. Some curlier coated puppies
matured into a low allergy coat, while others started as low
allergy but by 8 months of age had shed into one that was not
low allergy. In addition, some puppies grew up looking like Golden
Retrievers with a thinner coat, while others took on the look
of a Labrador Retriever.
Both Rutland Manor and Tegan Park
bred away the shedding coat and as a result, shedding coats are
generally rare in Australian Multi-Generational Labradoodles.
Today, Australian Multi-Gen Labradoodles are bred for either
Fleece or Wool Curly coat. .
Labradoodle and Goldendoodle breeder
Michael Waggenbach, of Sunshine Acres, adds this comment about
Labradoodles, “They’re a dog that is not fearful of
change and is not going to be afraid to step across a street
with a person behind them. Those are strengths of the Labradoodle.
The other strength of the Labradoodle is it’s a very strong
dog, physically strong.."
Australian Multi-Gen Labradoodle
breeder Judy Hickey of Snug Harbor Labradoodles adds this bit
of advice, “I think the biggest thing for the public to
know is to be careful when you’re getting an Australian
Labradoodle. If that’s really what you want, make sure the
lines actually come from Australia.”
In addition to the multi-generational
Labradoodle breeding, there is the F1 and F1B breeding style,
which is also an acceptable form of breeding, recognized by the
Australian Labradoodle Association (ALA) and the International
Labradoodle Association (ILA ). These are also wonderful family
pets.
The Australian Labradoodle Association
(ALA) and the International Labradoodle Association (ILA ) are
the two primary breeding registry organizations upholding the
breeding standards of the Labradoodle breed. There is also the
Australian Labradoodle Club of America (ACLA) whose focus is
solely the Australian Multi-Generational Labradoodle.
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Mike &
Tracy Cutler
Stratford,
SD
(605) 380-3604
cell
tcutler@nrctv.com |
