While the crossbreed name ‘Labradoodle’ was first used in 1955 (Into the Water Barrier by Donald Campbell and Alan W. Mitchell) and the mix gained some popularity in the USA in the 1960s, the Australian breeding program for Labradoodles is better known for advancing the breed.

Australian Wally Conron is best known for breeding Labrador retrievers and poodles in an initiative to develop guide dogs for people with dander allergies. He introduced the Labradoodle to the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia in 1989 and touted the dog’s gentleness, intelligence, trainability, and willingness to work (from the Labby genes) as well as his hypoallergenic coat (from the poodle genes) as a winning combination. 

One of Conron’s first crossbreed dogs was named Sultan and possessed all of these ideal traits. He went on to successfully guide a woman in Hawaii for 10 years. The Labradoodle became quite popular in Australia and other parts of the world, but Conron himself has lamented its popularity because this led to indiscriminate breeding of the dog, which introduced many problems to the breed.

The lack of consistency in breed appearance and temperament has meant that the top kennel clubs and authorities in the world (including the Kennel Union of South Africa (KUSA)) do not recognise the Labradoodle as a purebred dog, but rather see him as a hybrid. 

Wally Conron’s initial vision for the Labradoodle might not still be shared by the Royal Guide Dog Association, as they no longer have a breed program for the dog. However, several assistance dog organisations do see the merit in the Labradoodle, who is still quite popular as an assistance dog and has crept his way into the living rooms of families around the world.

Two breed associations in Australia – the Australian Labradoodle Association and the International Australian Labradoodle Association – are working hard to develop an official breed standard and to get the Labradoodle officially recognised and registered by kennelling bodies around the world.

Due to the Labradoodle’s heritage and the sometimes ‘lucky packet’ nature of this young breed, he may be outgoing and quite boisterous like a young Labrador, or he may be intelligent, reserved and not interested in being everybody’s friend. Since both the Labrador and poodle are intelligent dogs, the Labradoodle is usually easy to train and willing to please his owners.

Once early socialisation is in place and the Labradoodle has completed his obedience training, his temperament will emerge or the rough edges smoothed down. In many cases, it’s difficult to tell from the outset what the Labradoodle’s temperament will be. However, if he is characteristic of the breed as it was intended, you will have a happy, energetic and playful family friend.

The increase in popularity of the Labradoodle also saw an increase in indiscriminate breeding, which has had devastating effects on the breed – especially for those trying to breed out health problems. Health problems and undesirable temperaments are the two biggest risks the labradoodle faces. 

Some of those health problems include:

• Hip and elbow dysplasia
• Congenital eye problems – Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) and cataracts.
• Allergies – Food allergies, contact allergies and inhalant allergies. 
• Epilepsy – The epilepsy may be inherited on its own or it may show up as a symptom of hypothyroidism, along with other health problems.
• Ear infections – The Labradoodle’s forward-flopping ears and dense coat may create the perfect environment for ear infections to develop. Care should be taken during grooming to check for the symptoms of infection, like heat, odour and redness.