About Labradoodles
About Labradoodles
Origins of the Breed
The Australian Labradoodle was introduced in the 1980’s by Wally Conran of the Royal Guide Dogs in Victoria, Australia. Conran’s goal was to develop a service dog with a great temperament as well as being allergy/asthma friendly and started the breed using a Poodle and a Labrador Retriever. Other breeders followed Contran’s initial plan and enhanced it with development and selective breeding to including English and American Cocker Spaniels and Irish Water Spaniels. The end result was the Australian Labradoodle with sought after traits of:
- High intelligence
- Easy to train and eager to please
- Low/no shedding or dog odor
- Allergy/Asthma friendly
- Loyal family companions
Generations of Labradoodles
F1 or “First Cross” is a dog with a Poodle parent and a Labrador Retriever parent. F1 puppies are a cross between two very different dogs and the results are not consistent. Variations in coat length, thickness, texture, shedding/non-shedding are likely.
F1B or “Back Cross” is a dog with one parent who is a First Cross or Multigen and the other parent is a Poodle. F1B puppies have a more perfected coat, but results are still inconsistent and mixed as the parents are two unlike dogs. The coats of F1B’s are generally low to non-shedding but are a variety of hair and wool coats.
Multigenerational or “Multigen” is a dog with both parents being Labradoodles . The term “multigenerational Australian Labradoodle” is used to describe a dog with both parents being multigen Australian Labradoodles. Multigenerational Labradoodles were developed through years of selective breeding and have coats considered to be low-to no shedding and allergy-friendly. AFL specializes only in multigen Austrailian Labradoodles.
Varieties of Colors, Size and Coats
Sizes
There are 3 basic sizes of Labradoodles:
Miniatures – 14” – 16” tall and weigh 16-25 lbs.
Mediums – 17” – 20” tall and weigh 30-45 lbs.
Standards – 21” – 24” and weigh 50– 65 lbs.
Coats
Wool: This coat is soft and thick. Curls are fairly tight, but looser curls than those of a poodle. Wool coats shed the least and are easy-care requiring brushing once a week.
Fleece: This coat is silky smooth and extremely soft. Curls range from wavy to loose and flowing. Fleece coat is slightly more demanding in terms of grooming. Very little shedding of this coat.
Colors
If you love variety in color, you will love all of the options of color in the Labradoodle! Solid colors are a wide range including white, chalk, cream, gold, apricot, caramel, buff, parchment, red, café, chocolate, lavender, pewter and black. And, don’t forget all of the patterns such as parti, phantom, sable, and tri-color.
