Breed Info
How It All Began
In the late eighties, Pat Blum, a vision-impaired woman from Hawaii contacted GDAV, the Guide Dog Association of Victoria (Australia). Due to her husband’s allergies, Pat hoped to find an “allergy friendly” guide dog. The manager at GDAV, John Gosling agreed to help. Wally Conron, the breeding manager for GDAV, bred the first intentional litter of Labradoodles. Harley, a poodle, and Brandy, a Labrador, produced three Labradoodle puppies. Out of the three pups, one fit the mold. Sultan, not only was an allergy friendly puppy, but his temperament and trainable nature made him the perfect guide dog companion. He was successfully trained as a guide dog, and at the age of 18 months was united with Pat. Over the years, this union has proven to be a superior combination. Not only are the pups as cute as can be, but they are also incredibly smart, trainable, and have excellent temperaments. These attributes along with their allergy-friendly and light-to-non-shedding coats make the Australian Labradoodle an increasingly sought after pet.What Is An Australian Labradoodle?
Because of the service dog potential, breeders in Australia began breeding Labradoodles with the hope of producing puppies with consistent conformation, coat type, and temperament. Organizations have been formed to protect the continued development of the Australian Labradoodle lines. The Australian Labradoodle Association of America (ALAA) is the largest and most respected of those organizations.
The Australian Labradoodle is considered to be a cross between the Poodle and Labrador Retriever with intermittent infusion (a dash) of Cocker Spaniel or Cockapoo. The Australian Labradoodle also includes the original Australian Labradoodle bloodlines from Tegan Park and Rutland Manor. Most Australian Labradoodle bloodlines originated in Australia. You can learn more about Labradoodles at www.alaa-labradoodle.com
What Is An Australian Labradoodle?
Because of the service dog potential, breeders in Australia began breeding Labradoodles with the hope of producing puppies with consistent conformation, coat type, and temperament. Organizations have been formed to protect the continued development of the Australian Labradoodle lines. The Australian Labradoodle Association of America (ALAA) is the largest and most respected of those organizations.
The Australian Labradoodle is considered to be a cross between the Poodle and Labrador Retriever with intermittent infusion (a dash) of Cocker Spaniel or Cockapoo. The Australian Labradoodle also includes the original Australian Labradoodle bloodlines from Tegan Park and Rutland Manor. Most Australian Labradoodle bloodlines originated in Australia. You can learn more about Labradoodles at www.alaa-labradoodle.com
Temperament/Personality
An Australian Labradoodle is a perpetual optimist. Everything is happy in their world. They are jovial, comical and goofy, but also content just to hang with their people. They want to do whatever you are doing. If the kids are running around playing, that is what they want to do! If you are relaxing with a good book, they will happily curl up beside you. It is the absolute best of both worlds! Australian Labradoodles love to play, and in my opinion, have just the right amount of energy. They are energetic when they need to be, but also are happy just to chill. They are incredibly intelligent and super eager to please. This makes the Australian Labradoodle extremely trainable. They can be a little too smart for their own britches at times. Be careful, it’s not uncommon for them to outsmart you. They need regular exercise, but nothing like the requirement of some of the field hunting breeds. They adore toys! Plush, squeaky, tug, you name it; they love them all. One of my favorite traits of the Australian Labradoodle is their sensitively toward people. They LOVE their humans and tend to be very in-tune to their needs. This makes them excellent therapy and service dogs candidates. They are fantastic with kids, other animals, and think everyone is their friend.
Size Categories
Labradoodles are bred in three height categories. Sizes range from miniature, medium to large. Size is measured from the floor to the top of the shoulder blades (withers).
Miniature: 14" - 16" in height and weigh 15-30 pounds
Mediums: 17" - 20" in height and weigh 30-45 pounds
Standards: 21" - 24" in height and weigh 45-65 pounds
Color
Labradoodle colors vary widely and include solid and parti-colors (more than one color). Keep in mind, a pup may not retain his original puppy color. At times, a puppy’s coat will lighten with age but may surprise everyone by darkening. Unfortunately, there isn’t an exact science as to what color your puppy will eventually become, but we can give you a pretty good idea. Coat color will range in shade and intensity.
- Chalk / White: White does not necessarily mean white. Shades can vary between white and cream when compared to a bright white.
- Cream / Gold: This is richer in color than a chalk or white. The color ranges from just hints of gold to a deeper gold.
- Apricot: Visualize the fleshy part of a peach. Apricots can range from a light apricot to dark apricot. Some fade over time and some hold their color nicely.
- Red: Ah, the beautiful red! A real red will be quite dark and red. Many mistake a dark apricot for a red. They can fade to an apricot, but others will retain their deep dark red. Red is one of the more challenging colors to produce.
- Caramel: A caramel is an apricot or red with a liver nose and green eyes. A dark caramel can also be a challenging color to produce.
- Chocolate: This color can range from dark chocolate to milk chocolate. The chocolate color may stay a rich chocolate or fade over time.
- Black: Unlike some of the other colors true blacks should retain its color. If there are any recessive genes in the line for silver or blue, the pup can fade to silver.
The ALAA has a fabulous reference page with photos on their site. Click here and scroll down to expand the item "Australian Labradoodles Have Two Types of Coats and Sixteen Different Coat Colors."