(DOGS) The Labradoodle, a mix between a labrador and a standard poodle, was originally bred for a woman who needed a non-allergenic guide dog.
Now, the man responsible for the breed’s creation says he regrets creating a new breed – and all of the problems that came along with it. – Global Animal
Sydney Morning Herald
If Wally Conron had known what was going to become of the labradoodle, he wouldn’t have bred the dog in the first place. It was 22 years ago and Conron, now 81, was working as the breeding manager for the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia when his boss set him a tough task. A blind woman from Hawaii had written asking if they could provide a guide dog that would not shed hair, because her husband was allergic to it. ”I said, ‘Oh yes, this will be a piece of cake. The standard poodle is a working dog, it doesn’t shed hair, it’ll be great.’ I tried 33 in the course of three years and they all failed. They just didn’t make a guide dog.”
Conron decided there was one possibility left: take his best labrador bitch and mate it with a standard poodle. They created three cross-breed puppies that needed to be boarded out to be trained and socialised but nobody would take them; everyone wanted a pure-bred. And that’s when Conron came up with the name labradoodle. ”I went to our PR team and said, ‘Go to the press and tell them we’ve invented a new dog, the labradoodle.’ It was a gimmick and it went worldwide. No one wanted a cross-breed but the following day we had hundreds of calls from people wanting these master dogs.”
The labradoodle proved to be a brilliant dog for the blind and the woman in Hawaii was happy. So what was the problem?
It’s how the dog has been used and abused and sold under false pretences, Conron says. ”When the pups were five months old, we sent clippings and saliva to Hawaii to be tested with this woman’s husband. Of the three pups, he was not allergic to one of them. In the next litter I had, there were 10 pups but only three had non-allergenic coats. Now, people are breeding these dogs and selling them as non-allergenic and they’re not even testing them.
”All these backyard breeders have jumped on the bandwagon and they’re crossing any kind of dog with a poodle. They’re selling them for more than a pure-bred is worth and they’re not going into the backgrounds of the parents of the dogs. There are so many poodle crosses having fits, problems with their eyes, hips and elbows; a lot have epilepsy. There are a few ethical breeders but very, very few.”
Conron says that despite the fact the dogs have helped so many blind people, he regrets creating the first cross-breed. ”I released a Frankenstein. … People say ‘aren’t you proud of yourself?’ and I say, ‘not in the slightest. I’ve done so much harm to pure breeding.”’
http://m.smh.com.au/world/science/regrets-theyve-had-a-few-20101124-187ho.html
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I wonder.. How do you send saliva to test for allergic reaction? Just curious because I breed Labradoodles and I’d love to know how so that if this was ever requested of me that I’d know how to do it.. it’s never been requested yet and I’ve never had any problems with allergies or shedding my dogs but I’d love to be able to check first with a family before they purchased a dog from me and if they were highly allergic..
Any clue?
btw.. Labradoodles are great dogs.
Having bred Collies many years ago, I know the dedication and work involved in breeding to improve the breed under the specific standard. It amazing me that people would pay more for a “designer breed” with an unknown future than for a dog bred for a good temperment and health record. Before my search for a standard poodle puppy, I researched health issues and temperment to decide if the breed was right for my lifestyle and personality. Then I INTERVIEWED breeders with puppies for sale and avoided any who could not let me meet both parents of my puppy. It paid off and I have a wonderful, healthy, gregarious boy who is living up to all my hopes and dreams. The ones who are in it for the money will sell to anyone and care nothing for any heartbreak the puppy or the buyer experiences.
He didn’t create a new breed! He created a hybrid that yuppies went nuts over. You don’t have a “breed” until you can breed one to another and have them breed true.
Why didn’t he just use a poodle for her guide instead of a labordoodle. That makes no since in the first place. Not all labordoodles are hypo allergenic. Let alone from even a same litter. We have had dogs from a same litter where 3 might be hypo and 4 not.
He stated that the poodles didn’t work as guide dogs so why he had to cross breed. I wouldn’t blame him as much as the fools who totally tried to take advantage of a situation where he was trying to help people. Unethical breeders and stupid/shallow consumers should bear the brunt of the blame.
He did. He tried 33 poodles over the course of 3 years. What the article doesn’t say is why they didn’t work out.
IMO- If you have to figure out a way to successfully “pitch” your pet to someone then that is a sign that you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place!
Crossbreeding dogs would have been fine until he declared it a “breed” and gave the puppy mills the same idea. Why bother keeping track of purebred dogs when you can just make it up as you go along?
Kudos to the gentleman admitting his mistake. Now if only this article would get as much PR as the initial annoucement of a “new breed”. Just shows how gullible people can be, when they are more concerned with having a “status symbol”, than with doing their reseach and selecting a member of the family that will be with them for many years. And how he got 33 standard poodles that failed as a guide dog, I don’t understand, there are many standards that work as guide and assistant animals. Careful selection and temperment testing would have prevented this whole debacle.
wow….great article…and sooooooooooooooooo true…..it only helped perpetuate the cycle of poor backyard breeders who care only for a buck not for the bloodlines and health. It’s unfortunate that it happened and it’s sad that so many other purebreds are being crossed to make designer breeds.
“…despite the fact the dogs have helped so many blind people …” So many? Try so few. From what I have been told, the guide dog school mentioned in this article uses perhaps one Lab/Poodle cross a year in their program, and no other guide dog school in the world does. So that’s a grand total of about 22 Lab/Poodle mixes helping blind people, maximum. Compare that to the tens of thousands being passed off as a “breed” to unsuspecting buyers every year. Now, if they weren’t ending up in shelters, or suffering from painful health problems, I wouldn’t have too much problem with it. But they are, and they do. Poor dogs.
I am sure there are people out there that love their labradoodles very much. There are also a LOT of these dogs that have ended up in shelters because they are not non shedding, like poodles and labs they are slow to mature and are labelled hyper. There is a big lack of research by both pet buyers and the breeders. The genetics aren’t consistent, I’ve never seen two that look alike. What bothers me the most is a little research in the first place would have avoided the issue. There are breeds like the Portuguese Water Dog, Irish Water Spaniel, Airedale Terrier and even Giant Schnauzer that are brilliant working dogs that don’t shed. Do proper research folks, this dog will be with you for the next decade or so, make sire its the right match. And of you must have a labradoodle, save a life and rescue one.
I saved one being dumped on craigslist. She is hyper and slow to mature and quite the shedder. But she is also easily trained and incredibly sweet and patient with everyone including my son. I wasn’t looking for anything else. When I want another dog, I will search the shelters/craigslist for another.
There is also the Barbet who is a breed from the 15th century and is the ancestor of the poodle and many other modern breeds. this dog has the temperment of the lab/golden, i.e. loves kids, dogs and wants to please all wrapped up in a non sheding coat.
What get me is that these “mixes” are being sold at the prices of purebreds. They are not purebred and you never know what characteristics they are going to inherit from which parent. They are just plain mutts, and anyone who pays these high prices are crazy!
I don’t see what the problem is with charging purebred prices, just because the parents are different breeds…if the breeder deserves it. A good breeder is still using good purebred stock, doing all the necessary genetic testing, etc. This is NOT cheap to do, and even charging normal prices, most good breeders lose tons of money (there’s a reason they call it HOBBY breeding). You don’t know exactly what characteristics ANY dog gets from its parents, so that’s a silly argument to make. The problem is not the good breeders, it’s the ones that jump on the fad and breed indiscriminately because of the demand for the public, and there’s LOADS out there in the purebred worlds as well. A good breeder of labradoodles will let a buyer know they aren’t necessarily non-shedding, or non-allergenic, and screens buyers properly.
What is curious is that these breeder are not using the best of each of the breeds repesentation. Any breeder of a pure bred would not condone the use of there hard work to create a cross that has no purpose. There was and is no true type and objective of these crosses that validate their purpose.
Consistency is not what you see with any breeders with these lab or golden / poodle crosses. If the breeders where to actually mesh together and get a goal they would have some validity.
It’s pure breeding that’s the problem with the dog industry, not the mutts. Look at the freaks we keep creating such as ridgebacks, King Charles Spaniels, English Bulldogs, and Great Danes (I could go on). The new found desire for mixed (mixed-up?) breeds, no matter what you call them, is great.
except for the fact the pure breeding is beneficial in the fact the there are less health issues and the dogs will not be suffering as much because of improper breeding. A good breeder has a license and does genetic testing. What is wrong with you? How are those dogs freaks? You obviously know nothing about dogs or genetics!
I’m sorry, did you just say that pure breeding means less health issues? wow
it is a common mith that mutts have less health issues the fact is you cant do a study on mutts for health issues when u dont have enough of that same mix to do the study on while on the other hand with pure bred dogs you have enough of them to figure out what common health issues they have and you understand that your dog may have one of those issues with mutts who knows what they may have
yes when you have a mut no one keeps track of them. so the belief they are healthier.
Well sure cross breeds are healthier. The breeders and owners don’t have to keep any records or validate any health issues. No records no responsibility. Thats not to say there are not pure bred breeders that are do not work towards the betterment of the breed they are producing. There is a big myth out there that cross bred dogs or muts are healthier.
Labradoodles are the ultimate family companion. They adore the attention and company of children and they love to join in and play games. Labradoodles are patient, intelligent, sociable, loving, loyal and kind.
… as are most dogs. So your point (such as it is) is moot.
Thats like saying every red head is hot tempered and every blond is an idiot.
Got that right at least with pure breds you can review what the dog is meant for. Guarding, herding, etc. Not all Labradoodles are great family dogs.
Great so why do breeders mislead buyers about there hypo alergetic and health issues.
For the money, my friend. For the money.
Ethical breeders wouldn’t do this. There’s very little money, if any, to be made breeding dogs with all the health checks, DNA, history & showing in conformation, field, obedience, etc. to assess breeding worthiness. Ethical breeders really do their best to breed out genetic problems, or NOT even breed said dog after spending that time and money. Ethical breeders do it for love of the breed.
The ‘breeders’ who charge what the traffic will bear on designer mutts aren’t going to put that money into the dogs. So, you are NOT going to get the best genetic material in your Whatever/oodle. Hopefully, you’ll get lucky. It’s impossible to guarantee perfection in the creation of any living thing(or have you never seen a kid wearing glasses) but the difference in ethical purebred breeders and those in dogs for the money is what’s put into the dogs.
Labradoodle dogs are not only good companions but also good watchdogs. They are very easy to train being very intelligent.
And they also have agression issues and dominance issues and anxiety issues. Wow that just sounds like some purebreds oh wait its people that largely screw up the dogs. Crossing breeds just means you don’t have to prove the health and vitality. You don’t know if your pups take after the lab or the poodle or the structure will mesh properly. Pretty easy out as I see it. Get yourselves a goal for these poodle cross and you might actually get some respect. Are they 20 lb dogs that are easy going or are they 65 lb monsters that what to bark and nip at anything that moves including the kids in their family.