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Labradoodle Characteristics:
Our first generation
Mini Labradoodles (as any) will not have consistent characteristics. While
many Labradoodles display desired traits, their appearance and behavioral characteristics
remain, to some extent, unpredictable. The best thing about a Labradoodle is
whether they take after the Poodle or the Labrador, you can be certain that
you'll have a wonderful and loyal friend for life. They more than likely will
display the drive to retrieve and love to play indoors or out. A Labradoodle
will be easy to train and eager to please. Like most Labrador Retrievers and
Poodles, Labradoodles are generally friendly, energetic and good with families
and children. Labradoodles often display an affinity for water and strong swimming
ability from their parent breeds. Like their parent breeds, both of which are
amongst the world's most intelligent dog breeds, Labradoodles very often seek
commands and find pleasure in learning.
Grooming:
Your
Labradoodle will need to be brushed weekly and trimmed every 2 to 3 months.
History:
The first known
use of the term "Labradoodle" was by Sir Donald Campbell to describe
his Labrador/Poodle cross dog in his 1955 book, "Into the Water Barrier".
However, the Labradoodle became better known in 1988, when Australian breeder
Wally Conron crossed the Labrador Retriever and Standard Poodle at Guide Dogs
Victoria. Conron's aim was to combine the low-shedding coat of the Poodle with
the gentleness and trainability of the Labrador, and to provide a guide dog
suitable for people with allergies to fur and dander. He'd received a request
from a vision impaired woman in Hawaii for a guide dog that did not aggravate
her husband's allergy to dog hair. Originally he planned to train a Standard
Poodle, but hair and saliva samples of thirty-three different poodles sent
to the woman's husband all caused an allergic reaction. A Labradoodle litter
was bred, and the husband did not have an allergic reaction to one of the puppies
from the litter. This puppy, Sultan, was successfully trained by Guide Dogs
Victoria, and became the first Labradoodle Guide dog. Although Guide Dogs Victoria
no longer breed Labradoodles, they are bred by other guide and assistance dog
organizations in Australia and elsewhere. The Association for the Blind of
Western Australia have introduced Labradoodles into their training program,
and their first, Jonnie, graduated in November 2010. Labradoodles are now widely
used around the world as guide, assistance, and therapy dogs as well as being
popular family pets. Some breeders prefer to restrict breeding to early generation
dogs (i.e. bred from a Poodle and Labrador rather than from two Labradoodles)
to maximize genetic diversity to avoid the inherited health problems that have
plagued some dog breeds.
What will they look like?: A
typical Labradoodle can have fur anywhere from wiry to soft, and may be straight,
wavy, or curly. Our Labrador Vanna has fur like that of velvet. Houdini and
Sebastian have soft wavy curls whereas Copper has tighter curls so depending
on the stud we use, your Gypsy Ridge Labradoodle will more than likely have
velvet soft wavy to curly fur. Many Labradoodles do shed, however much less
than that of a Labrador Retriever. Our 2011 litter produced only
one little boy who was 22 pounds at 5 months and the family who adopted him
reported that “he’s the smartest dog in the world” and couldn’t
be happier with him. This little guys name is Oscar. Oscar is from our Labrador
Retriever Vanna and our 3 pound Poodle Copper. Starting in 2013, we will be
using our tiny Sebastian as our Labradoodle stud trying to keep the beautiful
(soft wavy) white coat.
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