Australian Labradoodle FAQs
History
The Labradoodle story begins with Wally Conron, the head breeder of the Australian Guide Dog Association, who coined the name in 1989 when he bred a litter of Labrador Retriever - Standard Poodle cross pups. Pat Blum had lived with vision impairment for many years, but never could apply for a Guide Dog because of her husband's problem with allergies. Pat approached Wally and was overjoyed when the AGDA agreed to breed a litter of Labradoodle pups, hoping the Poodle cross would lessen the likelihood of an allergic reaction.
Harley the Standard Poodle was bred to Brandy the Labrador Retriever and three pups, Sultan, Sheik and Simon were conceived. As Pat and her husband lived in Hawaii, fur samples of the 3 pups were sent to Pat at different ages. Sultan's coat was the only one that caused no problem at all. Sultan trained well as a Guide Dog and was united with Pat for the first time at eighteen months old.
Labradoodles became very popular among the blind in Hawaii, and Wally has said that 29 of the first 31 Labradoodles he bred were successfully trained as Guide Dogs, although only one in ten were reliably allergy friendly. The Australian Guide Dog Association continues to breed one or two litters of Labradoodles a year due to their popularity. Dr. Kate Schoeffel, a friend of Wally Conron, is an honours geneticist and Vet in Condoblin, New South Wales, Australia. Kate was the first to breed pet Labradoodles, and still breeds miniature Labradoodles to this day.
In the early 1990's two associated kennels in Australia, with a background in Spoodles (Australian for Cockapoos, a Cocker Spaniel - Poodle mix) began to breed Labradoodles to Labradoodles and Labradoodles to Poodles, breeding toward a consistently allergy friendly and nonshed dog. Other breeds were introduced into the mix as well. (The IALA is in the process of confirming the use of these purebreds)
• Curly Coated Retriever - this didn't work out and these lines were abandoned
• Irish Water Spaniel - two dogs were used in the program, one time eachThe other breeds successfully introduced to the program were Cocker Spaniels.
• English Cocker Spaniel
• American Cocker Spaniel
In 1999 these new lines of dogs were introduced to North America where they took off like gangbusters! Those breeders who carefully selected breeding dogs and promoted health testing joined together to form the first association created to protect the qualities of the multigeneration Labradoodle, the Labradoodle Association of Australia (LAA)
.The LAA was founded in June of 2000, and began a computer database to record and track the pedigrees of the multigeneration Labradoodle. As the founding parent body of the Australian Labradoodle, it is their goal to submit the Australian Labradoodle breed standard to the Australia National Kennel Club (ANKC) for breed recognition when the required criteria are met.
The International Labradoodle Association (ILA) was incorporated in 2004 and began to work with the LAA towards the protection of the Labradoodle's future. Their goal is to focus on nurturing the development of the Labradoodle and promoting uniform breeding standards to insure the health and integrity of the breed.
Information pulled from http://goldendoodles.com/faqs/australian_labradoodle.htm
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Resources
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Coat Resources
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Breeding Resources
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