Labradoodle

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Labradoodle

A brown Labradoodle with a fleece type coat. The appearance of Labradoodles may vary.
Country of origin	Australia
Traits
Classification & standards Not recognized by any major kennel club

A Labradoodle is a crossbred or hybrid dog created by crossing the Labrador Retriever and the Standard or Miniature Poodle.

History

The Labradoodle was first deliberately bred in 1989, when Australian breeder Wally Conron^[1] first crossed the Labrador Retriever and Standard Poodle for Guide Dogs Victoria.^[2] His 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. Guide Dogs Victoria continue to breed Labradoodles^[3] and Labradoodles are often used around the world as guide, assistance, and therapy dogs^[4][5][6][7] as well as being popular family dogs.

Appearance and temperament

The Labradoodle as a dog breed is still developing, and does not yet "breed true," i.e., puppies do not have consistently predictable characteristics. While many Labradoodles display desired traits, their appearance and behavioral characteristics remain, from an overall breed standpoint, unpredictable.

As such, Labradoodles' hair can be anywhere from wiry to soft, and may be straight, wavy, or curly. Some Labradoodles do shed, although the coat usually sheds less and has less dog odor than that of a Labrador Retriever.

Like most Labrador Retrievers and Poodles, Labradoodles are generally friendly, energetic and good with families and children (although as with any dog the temperament may vary between individuals). Labradoodles also often display an affinity for water and the strong swimming ability present in both their parent breeds.

Like their parent breeds, both of which are amongst the world's most intelligent dog breeds,^[8] Labradoodles are very intelligent and quite trainable, often seeking commands and finding pleasure in learning. Labradoodles can be taught to obey verbal or sign language commands, or both, and remain commonly used as guide dogs for disabled or handicapped persons with fur-related allergies around the world.^[9]

Types of Labradoodles

A group of Labradoodle Assistance Dogs.

There is no universal consensus as to whether breeders should aim to have Labradoodles recognized as a breed ^[2]. Some breeders prefer to restrict breeding to early generation dogs (i.e. bred from a Poodle and Labrador rather than from two Labradoodles) to maximise genetic diversity, to avoid the inherited health problems that have plagued some dog breeds.

Others are breeding Labradoodle to Labradoodle over successive generations, and trying to establish a new dog breed. These dogs are usually referred to as Multigenerational (abr. Multigen) or Australian Labradoodles ^[10]. Australian Labradoodles also differ from early generation and Multigenerational Labradoodles in that they may also have other breeds in their ancestry. English and American Cocker Spaniel/Poodle crosses (ie Cockapoos), Two Irish Water Spaniels and Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers have variously been used in some Australian Labradoodle lines. The Curly Coated Retriever were used too, but these lines did not work out and they were discontinued.^[11]

9 month old male Australian Labradoodle bred as companion dog still with a wool puppy coat.

Labradoodle coats are generally divided into 3 categories: Wool (with tight curls, and similar in appearance to that of a Poodle, but with a softer texture); Fleece (soft and free-flowing, with a kinked or wavy appearance); or Hair (which can be curly, straight or wavy, but is more similar in texture to a Labrador's coat) ^[12]. Labradoodles come in a wide variety of colours, including chocolate, cafe, parchment, cream, gold, apricot, red, black, silver, chalk, parti colours^[13], and generally all the colours that can be found in Poodles. They also can be different sizes, depending on the size of poodle (i.e. toy, miniature or standard) used.

Health

Although most Labradoodles are healthy, they can suffer from certain problems common to their parent breeds.

Both Poodles and Labrador Retrievers can suffer from hip dysplasia, and should have specialist radiography to check for this problem before breeding. The parent breeds can also suffer from a number of eye disorders, and an examination by a qualified veterinary eye specialist should be performed.

Over the past couple of years, a number of Australian Labradoodles have also been found to suffer from Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), an inherited disease that causes blindness, which occurs in both Miniature Poodles and Cocker Spaniels. It is strongly recommended that Australian Labradoodles be DNA tested for PRA before being bred.

A limited number of Mutigenerational and Australian Labradoodles have also been found to suffer from Addison's Disease ^[14].

The labradoodle in popular culture

A 2 1/2 year old apricot Labradoodle with a wool type coat.

• The Oxford English Dictionary now lists "Labradoodle" ^[15]
• Monopoly board game included a Labradoodle icon in its "Here and Now" ^[16] and Australian ^[17] editions.
• New York department store Lord and Taylor raised $50,000 in 2004 and $55,000 in 2005 for Guiding Eyes for the Blind selling Labradoodle plush toys.^[18]
• Macy's department store raised funds with plush Labradoodles "Grace" and "Courage" for Breast Cancer Awareness in 2006.^[19][20].
• An animated soft toy Labradoodle, "Lucky the Incredible Wonder Pup", was a FamilyFun Magazine 2006 "Toy of the Year" award and an Oppenheim Platinum Toy Award winner.^[21]
• In the 70th episode of Scrubs, "My Office," Dr. Cox compares both JD's medical skill and personality to that of an un-pottytrained labradoodle, then tells JD and Elliot that together they "make one barely-passable doctor... slash-Labradoodle."^[22][23]
• Presidential candidates Barack Obama^[24] and Hillary Clinton^[25] were both compared to Labradoodles during the 2008 election campaign.
• In the 23rd episode of The Big Bang Theory, "Cooper-Nowitzki Theorem," Sheldon Cooper said that giving a talk to a bunch of graduate students is like explaining the law of thermodynamics to a bunch of labradoodles.
• In the movie "Marley & Me" ^[26], John Grogan (Owen Wilson) is advised to buy a Labradoodle by his friend Sebastian (Eric Dane), but chooses a Labrador instead.
• US President Barack Obama announced on a January 11, 2009 interview with George Stephanopoulos that his family had narrowed down their choice for "first dog" to either a Labradoodle or a Portuguese Water Dog.^{[27] [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]} Obama stated the family "is going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up."^[37] Michelle Obama said that the new dog would be a rescue, and was scheduled to arrive in April 2009 ^[38][39]. On April 12 2009, It was announced that the Obama girls would be getting a Portuguese Water Dog puppy named Bo, a present from Senator Ted Kennedy (who had two of his own).^[40]
• Australian actor Bryan Brown plays a Labradoodle in the 2008 movie, "Dean Spanley".^[41]
• In the 27th episode of iCarly, "iStage an Intervention", Spencer finds a Pak-Rat video game cabinet in a junkyard and becomes addicted to it, whilst procrastinating on a commissioned Labradoodle sculpture.

Notable Labradoodle owners

A 3 year old cream Labradoodle with a hair type coat and dominant labrador traits.

A three-month old Labradoodle

• Sir Donald Campbell, who broke land speed records in the 1950s in Bluebird, was one of the first Labradoodle owners.^[42]
• Golfer Tiger Woods owns Yogi and Riley^[43]
• U.S. Vice President Joe Biden owns a Labradoodle named Brother.^[44]
• Singer/songwriter Neil Young owns Carl^[45]
• Former Green Bay Packer and current Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre^[46]
• Actress Jennifer Aniston owns a Labradoodle, bought for her by former husband, Brad Pitt.^[47]
• Model Elle MacPherson ("The Body") owns Bella, who has her own line of "Designer Dog" wear^[48]
• Actresses and sisters Courtney Peldon and Ashley Peldon own Odysseus and Calypso^[49]
• Actor and TV presenter Graham Norton owns Bailey^[50]
• Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson owns Dodger^[51]
• Richard Hammond (also a presenter of Top Gear) owns a Labradoodle called TG (often referred to as "Top Gear Dog") which occasionally featured on the BBC show.^[52]
• Model Christie Brinkley owns Maple Sugar^[53]
• Actress Barbara Eden has a Labradoodle named Djinn Djinn (named after her invisible dog in the TV show I Dream of Jeannie).^[54]
• Actor and director Henry Winkler owns Charlotte^[55]
• Actress Julianne Moore^[56]
• Actor/singer Hugh Panaro owns Soot^[57][58]
• Political folk/rocker Billy Bragg^[59]
• Writer Carolyn B. Ellis^[60]
• Middlesbrough F.C. (UK) player Andrew Taylor owns Sonny^[61]
• Tom Griswold of The Bob and Tom Show owns Tazzie^[62]
• Author Garth Stein^[63]
• Legal thriller author David Baldacci owns Finn^[64]
• Rodman Primack, chairman of the London auction house Phillips de Pury & Company owns Theo^[65]
• Professional basketball player Dustin Brown owns Milo, a chocolate Labradoodle^[66]
• Author and activist Lynn Hoffman owns Lola^[67]
• Hobart and William Smith Colleges President Mark Gearan owns Dublin^[68]
• PBS Television investment program MoneyTrack producer Pam Krueger has a Labradoodle named Chloe, who sometimes appears on the show as an "unofficial co-host".^[69]
• Seamus O'Regan, co-host of CTV's Canada AM^[70]
• Novelist Susan Rebecca White owns Raney^[71]
• Irish Golfer Rory McIlroy, winner of the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic^[72]
• Lance Bass (formerly of the boyband N'Sync)^[73]
• Danny Hutton, founder of the rock band Three Dog Night has a Labradoodle named Ms. Wilson, a gift from longtime friend and legendary musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys ^[74]
• Nate Paul (the CEO of World Class Capital Group of Austin, Texas) owns Prince^[75]
• Linda Wu and Diana Wu (the CEO of Chosen WRD of Las Vegas, Nevada) owns Maha Ananda and Halo^[76]

References

• Rubin, Alex. "Dogs: I'm A 'Labradoodle' Dandy: The Appeal Of Mix-And-Match Pups", Newsweek, 8 July 2002.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Labradoodle

• International Labradoodle Association
• Australian Labradoodle Association of America
• Australian Labradoodle Club of America
• Labradoodle Association of Australia
• Labradoodle Training Information
• UK Labradoodle Association