I'm a bit cross! Yesterday I heard someone call Australian Labradoodles "Designer Dogs". I hate it when I'm made to sound like a fashion accessory!!!!!
Australian Labradoodles are a 'bred for purpose' breed. We are the result of a very careful breeding program commenced in the 1970s when the Australian Guide Dog Association were asked to provide a guide dog for a sight impaired person with a pet hair allergy. They nothing to offer, so they set a task to try to breed such a dog. Guide dogs need certain other traits; intelligence, a calm temperament, intuition are just a few but very important indeed. Their Labradors were tried and proven, so breeding with them was the obvious choice. To achieve a hypoallergenic dog they needed to breed their Labradors to a dog that was already non-shedding. You see, while there a number of dogs that do not have hair, they have wool, Old English Sheepdogs, Poodles, Bichon Frisse and one or two others. An expert in animal genetics and breeding got to work. The Guide Dog Association sourced an imported white standard poodle from Sweden, as he was a quality dog from working bloodlines. The gentleman in charge of the operation was Mr. Wally Conren. Unfortunately he did not keep any records of which dogs he bred to which and after he left the program it ended.
Other dog breeders recognised the value of a non-shedding, hypoallergenic dog for assistance and therapy dogs, as well as dogs for families where a member was allergic to pets. They formed an association, the ALA and began to work on a standard and a careful breeding program. Today's Australian Labradoodle is not a fashion statement, it's a breed designed for purpose.
We are working dogs in human services; guide dogs, assistance dogs, reading dogs, hearing dogs. We take care of sight and hearing impaired children and adults, war veterans, people with epilepsy and autism/aspergers. We visit schools, aged care facilities, hospitals and hospices. We bring joy and comfort to many, many people. Those of us who are the best of our breed go on to produce more workers, and those of our progeny who don't make it through training or are not suited to work go to homes where they make fantastic family dogs.
We Labradoodles are patient, kind and loving, a little crazy and filled with fun. We make you laugh, we know when you are unwell or not happy and we stay quietly with you and try to help you feel better. We just love to be near you, wherever you are.
Fashion statement Koshie? I don't think so!
If you want to know more about us, go the ALA website and you will find the standard our breeders work to and see the registered breeders who are working towards a recognition of Australian Labradoodles as gun dogs, working dogs and show dogs. We're not far away from achieving recognition as a new breed in our own right.
You might think I'm half Labrador with the other half a Poodle,
But Grandma says that's nonsense, I'm a 'Doodle through and through,
Because I like to do the things that true blue 'Doodles do.