Labradoodle Breed or Mutt? | Rutland Manor Co founder of the ASD Australian Labradoodle

What is a Labradoodle? Australian Labradoodle? Multi Gen? F1b? Are All Labradoodles The Same?

How Was the Australian Labradoodle Developed?

Are All "Australian Labradoodles" Born Equal?
What is an F1b - a Multi Gen - a LaL2 etc ?
Why all the Confusion Anyway?

Once upon a time when someone said they had a 'Shepherd' you knew right off, that it was a German Shepherd. Now, you respond with 'What KIND of Shepherd'? An 'Australian Shepherd'? (which has nothing at all to do with Australia incidentally) or a 'Belgian Shepherd?' or a German Shepherd? They are all Shepherds but are totally different breeds.

The many different 'registered grades' and names given to the copycat Labradoodle are all designed to cash in on the reputation of the REAL and GENUINE Australian Labradoodle as first developed by the founders - the dog the world fell in love with.

The history of the Australian Labradoodle is as fascinating as the breed itself, with twists and turns of intrigue, power struggles and political dramas which would rival a best selling mystery novel as many new breeders clamber their way over the destroyed reputations of other breeders they perceive to be their competitors.

No dog breed in history has rocketed to international fame and popularity as quickly as the Australian Labradoodle. Major retail chain Lord and Taylor knew they were on a winner when they chose the Labradoodle as their annual cancer fundraising plush toy. They were not wrong. They sold 60,000 over the Christmas period in 2004 and even more the following year. With tags on the toy dogs' ears saying 'Labradoodle' success was assured.

Maceys followed suit in 2006 with proceeds going to Breast Cancer Research, and it was announced in September 2006 that the legendary Board Game Monopoly was replacing its Scottish terrier with a Labradoodle.

Thousands of Australian Labradoodles are Service and Therapy Dogs and one, Joyce Bristow's Rutland Manor Miniature 'Amber' launched the 'Reading to Dogs' school program in California leading the way for many others to follow suit. See Amber on TV

The Labradoodle has been featured on National Geographic, and countless magazines and newspaper articles and in 2005 was polled the third most popular dog in America.

In 2007 the Scottish Terrier play token of the board game MONOPOLY was replaced with a Labradoodle and a Sheridan Hotel in the United States recognized the magnetic pull of the 'Labradoodle' by formally putting a black Labradoodle puppy 'on staff' ' with his own email address; his portfolio being to greet guests and accompany them on walks around the grounds.

So - All This is Good - But is it?

In some ways we think it is. But the breed itself is already paying the high price of over popularity. The original Australian Labradoodle was first a cross between the Poodle and the Labrador, BUT it has since been carefully developed with infusions of several other breeds, carefully selected at appropriate stages to maintain a wide gene pool in the interests of canine health. This carefully thought out program has spanned twenty one years to make the dog what it is today....the dog the whole world has fallen in love with. But the Associations originally set up to protect the breed, the ILA, and LAA, later to become IALA, ALAA etc have decided that they know best how the breed should be bred into the future. They have informed their members that they do not agree with the vision of the Founders, regarding the future development of the breed.

The 'Labradoodle' was the victim of the most incredible explosion of popularity I have ever witnessed. Literally hundreds of new breeders sprang up almost overnight. They bred all kinds of 'Labradoodles' and regardless of the dogs' parentage or ancestry, all paraded under the name 'Australian Labradoodle'. Even the Associations and Registries originally set up to protect the breed chose to go their own way, with various mix and matches all claiming to be 'Australian Labradoodles'. Confusion was wide spread!

In an attempt to protect the dog itself as well as the confused public, the prefix ASD (standing for Australian Service Dog) in front of the name "Australian Labradoodle" was internationally trademarked at a cost of almost $34,000.00 to Rutland Manor and a list of breeders was compiled as a guide for those families who wanted to be sure that their puppies were coming from the original root stock from Australia.

It was impossible to monitor the breeding practices of other breeders across the world, and following many complaints from private families and other breeders on the ASD list, it was discontinued during 2008.

A small handful of breeders are breeding the Australian Labradoodle as developed by the Founders. But increasing numbers are breeding 'copies' . either by trying to re-invent the wheel, crossing Labradors and Poodles, or back crossing to Poodles with no real knowledge of what they are doing. Some Associations even sanction infusing with Curly Coated Retrievers and Golden Retrievers!

Because the breed is not recognized by kennel clubs, it is open slather for breeders to say whatever they wish about their dogs and do whatever they like in their breeding programs. Terms like 'multi generation' 'back cross' and 'infusion' have lost their meaning and significance in the hands of so many people playing at 'breeder'.

The TRAGIC result of this is that because the dogs they are mass producing all parade under the name 'Labradoodle' or even 'Australian Labradoodle' they are not the same dog at all. Thousands of these are being abandoned or rehomed when their owners discover that the puppy sold to them as an "Australian Labradoodle' ( even many of those registered in the various Associations ) DOES shed its coat, DOES affect their allergies and DOES NOT have the temperament they were led to expect in the breed.

THERE IS A GREAT DEAL MORE TO A DOG THAN COAT AND COLOR

Breeders and potential owners need to be aware that what has made this breed so great and so beloved across the world, is not only its allergy friendly coat, but its amazing, wonderfully intuitive nature.

It will be a tragedy if by sheer weight of numbers, breeders destroy the very traits which have made the ASD Australian Labradoodle beloved across the globe.

Some Amazing Claims!

There are websites which claim that the 'breeder' is breeding with 30 generations of 'Labradoodles' behind their puppies. Impossible! More are claiming to be breeding the authentic Australian Labradoodle ( or the popular mis-nomer "multi generation" ) and proudly cite such kennel names as 'Majestic' and 'Neiger' which are old Standard Poodle kennels. Many breeders have no idea of what lies behind their own dogs.

Ask your breeder how long they have breeding, and expect some kind of verification, such as some referrals from people who have their puppies born as far back as the breeder says they have been breeding.

It is many times a 'given' that a breeder who uses the term 'multi generational' has in reality very little understanding of the genetics and background of the dogs they breed.

How The Australian Labradoodle Was Developed

The original crossing of a Labrador Retriever and Standard Poodle carried out by the Guide Dog Center in Melbourne Australia was a mixed blessing at best. From the first litter produced, only one of the three puppies had any degree of allergy friendliness and even Sultan the one who was selected for work as a Guide Dog, had a shedding coat.

The early strains of the Labrador x Poodle in Australia usually produced huge dogs who were often hard headed hyperactive individuals with minds of their own. The intelligence was there, but when combined with a willful easily distracted nature, many of the early dogs did not make the best family pets. As new breeders began to spring up, attracted by the popularity of the emerging Guide Dog breed, there was a flood of Lab x Poodles finding their way to shelters and euthanasia due to their families being unable to control them. A steady stream of Lab x Poodle Labradoodles came to each Center to be re-trained and/or re-homed. There was still such a lot of work to be done.

By the mid 1990’s although the two Australian breeding and research centers Tegan Park (Angela Cunningham, later known as Angela Rutland-Manners) and Rutland Manor (Beverley Manners) had begun to achieve a measure of consistency in the envisioned allergy friendly non shedding coat yet the willful over active temperament remained in too many of the offspring. This was a feature which needed more work if the breed was to reach its founders’ vision of a sound and healthy dog which would be suitable as a therapy and service dog as well as a superlative family dog for people who suffered from dog related allergies.

The Necessity for a Wide Genetic Base

The sharing of a number of hereditary diseases by Poodle and Labrador was already a major concern and it was obvious that continuing to develop the Labradoodle using only these two breeds would compromise health in the new breed , and would almost certainly lead to a genetic dead end .

It was during one of the many meetings that Breed founders Angela Cunningham (Rutland-Manners) and her mother Beverley Manners held to discuss the future direction of the Labradoodle, that it dawned on them that if another breed were introduced, it could serve a twofold and beneficial purpose. Firstly the genetic dead end could be avoided, and just as importantly, diversifying the gene pool with another breed which didn't share the common diseases of the Labrador and Poodle may result in diluting the troublesome recessive genes on which many of these diseases are carried.

It was important that progress already made must not be lost. Achievements such as -

♦ Improvement in Temperament - much more gentle and eager for training

♦ Consistently improving health testing results especially with regard to Hip Dysplasia and Ununited Anchineal Process (Elbow dysplasia) - two OCD's which had plagued earlier generations.

♦ Exciting and encouraging consistency in non shedding coats in every litter

♦ Modification of the huge size in the early Labrador x Standard Poodles.

To introduce an infusion too soon or too late, or into the wrong bloodlines could undo the years of work and destroy the progress gained. After lengthy and laborious research, the chosen breed for the first infusion was the Irish Water Spaniel.

It was particularly interesting to discover that the Irish Water Spaniel had only five congenital and genetic diseases that were found with greater than average frequency in the breed when compared to the 41 found in Labrador Retrievers, the 31 in the Standard Poodle and the 39 in the Miniature Poodle.

Complementing this choice of breed on health standards, was the fact that many of its attributes in character and temperament were aligned with the desired attributes of the Australian Labradoodle.

However not all was plain sailing. Some serious character flaws were discovered in one of the infused lines and the entire line was culled for breeding. The other line was a huge success and was the start of the Chocolate color in the Australian Labradoodles. Up until that point, all Labradoodles were Cream! When the first Black and the first Chocolate were born, oh what rejoicing there was!

Compare the Shared Diseases in Labrador and Poodle to Those in the Irish Water Spaniel

Reference: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/irishwaterspaniel.htm

Congenital and Genetic Conditions found with greater than average frequency in the Irish Water Spaniel

Reference: http://www.qualitydogs.com/Irish_Water_Spaniel/information.html

Congenital and Genetic Conditions found with greater than average frequency in the Labrador Retriever

Reference: http://www.qualitydogs.com/Labrador_Retriever/information.html

Congenital and Genetic Conditions found with greater than average frequency in the Poodle

Reference: http://www.qualitydogs.com/Poodle/information.html

Congenital and Genetic Conditions found with greater than average frequency in the Miniature Poodle

Reference: http://www.qualitydogs.com/Miniature_Poodle/information.html

When researching the hereditary diseases shared by Labrador, Poodle and Miniature Poodle, it is easy to see why both Breeding and Research Centers chose to strictly limit the use of Miniature Poodles in their downsizing breeding programs when the public demand for Miniature sizes became too great to dismiss.

When several generations of selective breeding of the smallest Australian Labradoodles to other smallest Australian Labradoodles failed time after time to produce consistency in sizes of puppies, it was decided that it was time to infuse another smaller breed.

This time, the Cocker Spaniel was chosen. The choice between American or English Cocker was a difficult one to make, as both have suffered at the hands of over popularity and the resulting flood of inexperienced or uncaring breeders who had bred the original merry temperament right out of both breeds. It was very difficult to find a line of Cockers which not only had retained the true cheerful child friendly nature originally a hallmark of both breeds, but which had also maintained good health status over generations.

References: THE PRICE OF FAME….COCKER SPANIEL

http://www.mycockerspaniel.com/history.htm

http://www.petpublishing.com/dogken/breeds/cocker.shtml

Another challenge which faced the Founders was the very real possibility that introducing a Cocker could undo the progress that had already been made in mellowing the temperament of the Labradoodle. Many Cockers came from bloodlines in which an excitable and in some cases almost hysterical nature was pretty much parr for the course. After an exhaustive search they did manage to find a grand line of merry little Cockers and the next challenge was to select the Labradoodle individual/s who would be suitable in size, coat and temperament to be infusion recipients. One mistake could ruin future generations forever.

On the way down from 28 inches tall to a Miniature size, the trick now, was to keep the bloodlines carrying the Cocker infusion separate and still maintain a wide genetic base for the sake of health. If progeny from the new experiment were mixed in with other lines, and something went wrong along the way, then the whole adventure would be over.

Results were variable and a roller coaster ride for the two women who lived and breathed 'Labradoodle' between disappointment and joy.

Within three generations past the Cocker Spaniel infusion into selected lines, size was starting to stablize, poor temperament was weeded out (given away neutered or speyed and with no pedigrees) and only the best of the best were kept for breeding onwards.

Back in the 1980's to 1990's computers were not as common place in households as they are today and neither Angela nor Beverley knew how to use one. Pedigrees were laboriously hand written, or typed out on the typewriter along with the sheets of carbon in between each page so that copies could be kept when the original was given with a puppy. In those days there wasn't even whiteout!

A good old fashioned rubber was used to rub out mistakes between each sheet with another sheet between so that the carbon markes wouldn't smudge on the other sheets of paper. Some of you may be old enough to remember! Nevertheless, records were kept as accurately as possible, and an impressive database began to take form.

Cocker infusions were limited to certain strains within the new breed as had been the Irish Water Spaniel, and some lines were kept 'pure' with the Lab x Poodle combination only. The Lab x Poodle lines were posing many problems.

Too strong a Labrador influence often produced patchy and shedding coats, and back breeding to the Poodle snipey faces spindly boning and high maintenance curly coats. Many were a halfway kind of dog with combination coats, dippy backs, and patchy shedding coats.

The bloodlines which carried the Irish Water Spaniel infusion were producing throwbacks with a mutation of genes from the 'bald' face and rat tail of the Irish Water Spaniel. Rutland Manor decided that another infusion was required to scatter the gene pool but Tegan Park didn't agree.

Beverley Manners considered the beautiful non shedding Portugese Water Dog, but after numerous discussions with fanciers and breeders, the 'self willed' streak common within that breed was the deciding factor against using it with the Australian Labradoodle whose temperament and nature had become so soft intuitive and pliable to training, that she was afraid that any gains could be lost with other equally important losses.

More research led to the Soft Coated Wheaten but that idea was abonandoned due to temperament and health issues that were discovered to be prevalent within that breed.

Then two years later in 2004 Beverley stumbled completely by chance on the IRISH Soft Coated Wheaten (as developed in Ireland their country of origin) and found to her surprise that they were as chalk is to cheese when compared with their counterpart, which had been changed almost beyond recognition by American English Dutch and some Australian breeders who bred specifically for the show ring. To this day the Irish bloodlines are jealously guarded by the devotees of the authentic Irish line Soft Coated Wheaten.

Irish Soft Coated Wheatens

Don't Let This Happen to our Australian Labradoodle !

Here is the Soft Coated Wheaten as first bred in Ireland and what modern day breeders have done to them.


Soft Coated Wheaten typical Show Type as changed by breeders over time.	The IRISH line Soft Coated Wheatens as protected by the breeders in Ireland, the breed's country of origin.

Beverley introduced two unrelated bloodlines through two imported sirelines, one over a Small Miniature Australian Labradoodle female and the other over a Standard sized Australian Labradoodle. The results were outstanding and the two separate Irish bloodlines have been kept apart so as to provide an even wider genetic base.

The Australian Labradoodle is breeding consistently true in the right hands, and there is no need of further infusions, which could only destroy what has already been accomplished.

In 2009 the Stud Book of the Australian Labradoodle closed. ALFA is the world wide guardian for the purity of its future.

Australian Labradoodle Breed Standard