The History of Australian Labradoodles

What is the difference between the Labradoodle and the Australian Labradoodle?

There’s actually a BIG difference between these two similarly named Poodle and Lab hybrid mixed dogs.

Both the straight Labradoodle and the Multigen Labradoodle only have Poodle and Labrador Retriever genetics. Some Labradoodles have multiple generations of Labradoodle to Labradoodle breedings but regardless.. there’s still only two pure breeds that makeup their DNA.

The straight Labradoodle includes the following breeds:

• Poodle.
• Labrador Retriever.

THE AUSTRALIAN LABRADOODLE DIFFERENCE… 

The Australian Labradoodle is actually a mix of several pure breed infusions done over a 30 year span of time that includes the Lab and the Poodle and was more recently renamed to “Cobberdog” by Beverly Manners the originator of the mix in Australia however, most American breeders still call their dogs “Australian Labradoodles”.

The “Australian Labradoodle” was originally developed and named by 2 dog breeders in Australia, Beverly Manners of Rutland Manor and her daughter Angela Cunningham of Tegan Park. They started where Wally Conron left off with the first generation Labradoodle mix and over 30 years they infused 4 more pure breeds into the mix that were carefully selected for their qualities and potential to produce a more allergy friendly, non-shedding coat and a service and therapy type temperament.

The Australian Labradoodle came to the USA in the 1990s and the UK in 2006 and became very popular throughout much of Europe. Today the Australian Labradoodle continues to work in service and therapy and as a beloved family pet in all corners of the globe.

HOW DID THE LABRADOODLE GET ITS NAME?

As the story goes… the origins of the first straight Labradoodle litter (just the Poodle and Lab mix) started once upon a time in the 1980’s in Australia with a guide dog trainer by the name of Wally Conron and he was the “puppy breeding manager” for the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia when one day his boss set forth a challenge for Wally which was to help find a blind woman from Hawaii a suitable seeing eye dog that wouldn’t shed because her husband was allergic to dogs.

To quote Wally Conron from an article on Psychology Today’s website ..

Wally thought to himself, “Oh yes, this will be a piece of cake. The Standard Poodle is a working dog; it doesn’t shed hair so it’ll be great.” However, I tried 33 dogs in the course of three years and they all failed. They just didn’t make the grade as guide dogs. Meanwhile, the woman in Hawaii was getting older and my boss was getting on my back.”

Desperation and pressure finally drove Wally Conron to consider an alternate course of action, he decided to take his best female Labrador Retriever and breed her to a male Standard Poodle which resulted in a litter of three puppies but only one of the 3 tested as hypoallergenic.

Wally believed with their long waiting list of families wanting to foster guide dog puppies, he wouldn’t have a problem finding foster homes for his 3 crossbred puppies. Usually, their dogs would be fostered with a family to be trained and socialized before being enlisted in the guide dog program.

Unfortunately, nobody wanted them, they wanted to wait for a purebred dog.

So, this was the moment where Conron came up with the creative and equally silly name for these new Poodle/Lab hybrid puppies… he called them “Labradoodles” and Wally said in an interview “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.

The silly gimmick of a name also worked — because “during the weeks that followed, our switchboard was inundated with calls from potential foster homes, other guide-dog centers, vision-impaired people and people who were allergic to dogs who wanted to know more about this new “wonder dog.”

READ THE WHOLE WALLY CONRON INTERVIEW: HOW WAS THE LABRADOODLE BREED CREATED? A meeting with Wally Conron, creator of the Labradoodle

OUR LOVABLE LABRADOODLES (Australian or not) ARE HERE TO STAY!

The Labradoodle may not be a pure bred or eligible to compete in the AKC show ring but the average Joe has spoken loud and clear and year after year… the Labradoodle and the Australian Labradoodle have continued to be one of the most popular and beloved dog breeds available and not only because they don’t shed but due to their extremely sweet, family friendly, smart and intuitive disposition as well.

Both the Labradoodle and the Australian Labradoodle make great family dogs, service dogs and therapy dogs!

 

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