About The Breed
The History of the Labradoodle
The Labradoodle was bred over 20 years ago in the 80’s in Australia by Wally Conran of the Royal Guide Dogs in Victoria, Australia. The breed was developed by the intentional breeding of a Labrador Retriever and a Standard Poodle. This mixed breeding was done after several years of research to find an allergy friendly guide dog for a family in Hawaii. Originally several samples of Poodle fur were sent to the family. Unfortunately they all caused allergic reactions to the husband of a blind woman. That is when the idea of breeding this mix breed came to fruition.
The first litter only produced three puppies and with much success one of the three puppies tested positive for being allergy friendly. This dog was known as Sultan and went on to be trained as a guide dog. In order to further enhance the allergy friendliness of the Labradoodle breeding started to take place that included breeding Labradoodle to Labradoodle to make Double Doodles. Then breeding of Double Doodle to Double Doodle took place to produce a Tri Doodle.
This type of breeding alone did not prove to create a consistently non shedding, allergy friendly dog with the temperament suitable to become a service dog; therefor additional breeds were profiled and added to create what we now know and call the Australian Labradoodle. This infusion was meant to enhance the Australian Labradoodle’s temperament, coat, health, companionship and keen skills.Today there are few American Labradoodle breeders who use the original formula to produce their Labradoodles. Thus creating two different breeds of Labradoodles, generally known as the Australian Labradoodle and the American Labradoodle or the Multigen or Earlygen Labradoodle. As history is made every day please come back to this page often to read about the developments of the Australian Labradoodle and their progression to breed recognition as a pure breed dog.
Breed Standards
Conformation
The Australian Labradoodle’s structure is designed for athleticism, balance, and purpose. From their well-angled shoulders to their level topline, every aspect of proper conformation contributes to a dog that moves with grace and lives with soundness.
A well-built Australian Labradoodle should appear square, compact, and muscular—built for an active life alongside their family. Below you’ll find the detailed breed standards that define the ideal Australian Labradoodle structure, from head to tail.
Body
Height to length ratio should be 10 to 12 (being slightly longer in leg than body) but still appearing square and compact. Shoulders should have good angulations with firm elbows held close to the rib cage. Hindquarters should be of medium angulations with short strong hocks. Top line should remain level with strong loin and level croup. Flanks should rise up from a brisket set just below the elbows, but should not be excessively deep. Ribs should be well sprung but not barreled. Overall, the dog should appear square, be balanced, athletic and with good muscling.
Movement
When trotting should be purposeful, strong and elastic, with good reach and drive, giving the appearance of “going somewhere”. When happy, relaxed or at play will prance and skim the ground lightly. Excessive tightness in the hips will produce a stilted action and is considered a fault.
Head
Sculptured, broad, well defined eyebrows, medium stop, eyes set well apart, nose to eye slightly longer than eye to occiput. The head should be clean and chiseled and fully coated as on the body, legs and tail.
Ears
Set moderately flat against the head, base should be level with the eye. Leather should be of medium thickness and when gently drawn forward should reach the top canine tooth. Ear leather reaching beyond the tip of nose is considered a severe fault. Ear canals should be free of excessive hair, and not thick and bulbous. When inquisitive and alert the ear set should rise to the top of the head. Thick/heavy ear leather is a fault.
Eyes
Slightly round, large and expressive, always offering eye to eye contact when engaged in activity with a human. Protruding or sunken eyes are a fault. Watery or tearful eyes are a fault. Wide round or narrow almond shaped eyes are considered a fault.
Eye Color
Eye color should complement and blend with the face color. Blue, Red, Dark Chocolate and Silver dogs must have dark brown eyes. All shades of Cafe’, Milk Chocolate, Gold/Apricot, Cream and Chalk should have dark hazel to brown eyes if they have black pigment. Caramel and dogs with rose pigment may have either dark eyes or ghost eyes. Ghost is a hazel color range much the same as it is in humans. Flecking with different shades of hazel with green and a blue/green make this eye color quite unique. Ghost eyes must always remain soft in appearance. Cold staring expressionless appearance in all eye colors is a severe fault.
Teeth
Scissor bite only is acceptable, being neither undershot nor overshot. Miniatures must not have crowding teeth.
Nose
Large square and fleshy. Pigment: Black or Rose. Pigment should be strong. Black pigment dogs must have dark brown eyes. Pink spots or patches on nose, lips, eye rims or pads are a fault. Dogs with rose pigment can have dark hazel, brown or ghost eyes. Eye rims should be rose as should nose, lips and pads. Pink spots or patches are a severe fault. Rose should be a rich liver color. Neck: The firm, well muscled neck should be moderately long, slightly arched and flow into the well angled shoulders with no appearance of abruptness. The neck should not be coarse nor stumpy and should lend an air of elegance to the dog. A short thick neck is a fault. White but when compared to a true white it is a chalky white) – may have rose or black Cream and Apricot Cream (all shades and combinations of cream shades are acceptable) – may have rose or black pigment.
Size
Sizes are still somewhat inconsistent with no definition between male and female at this time. Accurate prediction of size, even by an experienced breeder, is not expected at this time. Size is measured to the top of the shoulder blades (withers) while standing squarely on a level surface. Much care is needed when breeding both the large and small dogs. Large dogs can suffer from rapid growth that can lead to structural problems. Soundness is of utmost importance. Over size is a major fault. Care must be taken to keep the miniature Australian Labradoodle a solid athletic robust dog. The dwarfing of dogs can lead to many genetic and temperament disorders. Minimum size attention is of the utmost importance to maintain a healthy little dog. Most Australian Labradoodles will weigh more than their height reflects.
STANDARD: 21” TO 24”
Ideal size for a standard female is 21” to 23” and for a male 22” to 24”. Weight range tends to be 50 to 65 pounds.
MEDIUM: 17” TO 20”
The Ideal size for a medium female is 17” to 19” and for a male 19” to 20”. Weight range tends to be 30 to 40 pounds.
MINIATURE: 14”
TO 16” The Ideal size for a miniature is 14” to 16” with no correlation between height and sex of the miniature Australian Labradoodle. Weight range tends to be 16 to 25 pounds.
Coat Colors
Caramel
A rich Gold/Apricot very much the color of its namesake – caramel through to a deep red – must have rose pigment.
Red
A solid, even, rich red coat with black pigment.
Apricot
The color of a ripe apricot on the inside. A true Apricot must not be lighter at the roots than at the tips of the coat.
Gold
The color has more yellow than apricot and darker than creme. Gold has black pigmentation
Creme
The color is much more pale than gold and apricot. Creme has black pigmentation.
Blue
A dark to medium smoky Blue. Blue also belongs to the Rare Color Group. Any other color throughout the Blue is undesirable.
Silver
Born Black but will have more of a grey skin and will develop individual silver fibers at a young age. Silver dogs can take up to 3 years to color out and become a beautiful smoky grey through to a light iridescent platinum and varying shades in between at adulthood.
Chocolate
Dark and rich, born almost Black, they maintain a dark chocolate throughout their lifetime. Color should be even. Any other color throughout the Chocolate is highly undesirable. Chocolate belongs to the Rare Color Group.
Cafe
Born Milk Chocolate of varying shades, and have the same gene as the silver dogs, often taking up to 3 years to fully color out to multi shades of chocolate, silvery chocolate and silver throughout. When given plenty of time in the sunshine, they develop stunning highlights.
Lavendar
A Definite, even smoky lavender chocolate, giving almost pink/lilac appearance. Lavender dogs are born Chocolate and can be difficult to distinguish at a young age. Any other color throughout the Lavender is highly undesirable. True Lavender belongs to the Rare Color Group.
Parchment
Born Milk Chocolate, will pale to a smoky creamy beige. Paling usually starts from an early age often as early as 6 weeks. As adults they can be mistaken for dark smoky Cream from a distance. Parchment belongs to the Rare Color Group.
Coat Type
Wool
The wool coat is a dense curly coat that grows slow. The wool coat, does not move in the wind and does not get matted as easily but does require some muscle when brushing. The wool coat should be brushed no less than twice a week. If your schedule does not permit for frequent brushing this coat is perfect because it won’t get matted as quickly as the fleece coat.
Fleece
Most all of the dogs produced at Noble Vestal Labradoodles have a fleece coat. The fleece coat can vary from curly to straight, all are soft, move in the wind and require that you comb them out every other day. The fleece coat grows quickly and also gets matted easily if not maintained. The fleece coat is a high maintenance coat if kept long.e coat will settle down and maintenance will return to normal.
Hair
Hair Coats are rarely seen in Australian Labradoodles anymore. Years of development have established a coat of fiber rather than hair. Hair coat dogs will shed sometimes profusely. You will sometimes see a wool coat or fleece coat that still has a degree of hair they will shed but usually only slightly and most appear to be allergy friendly.
Activities
Australian Labradoodles in Therapy
What is a therapy dog?
A therapy dog is one that helps facilitates recovery and helps alleviate mental anguish and pain in various situations. A therapy dog increases the livelihood, reduces stress, invigorates people who lack vigor, and helps to cheer up and to increase the happiness in people who for one reason or another need it.
You can find therapy dogs in various places and in various situations. Some examples are: homes for the elderly, physical therapy clinics, hospital wards, homes for abused children, rehabilitation center, mental health facilities and more.
Benefits of therapy dogs
The benefits of having a therapy dog are numerous and are beyond monetary compensation. The dog gets to enjoy the company of many individuals who enjoy the benefit of having a loving soul interact directly with them without the barriers of language and cultural norms and codes of conduct. The one-on-one interaction between a dog and a human presents very strong positive emotional responses and facilitates healing and increased cheerfulness. The owner of the dog enjoys helping other individuals who need help the most and gets to see how his/her dog puts smiles on peoples faces. People, who sometimes, have forgotten what it is to smile and feel the warmth of living.
What does it take to train a therapy dog?
Simply put, your dog needs to know how to behave politely around other people. While this is a bit simplistic – it is the main concern for therapy dogs. Your dog should be able to sit politely for petting, accept handling, accept various types of equipment without fearing them (crutches, wheelchairs, hospital equipment, etc.) and basically have a stable temperament and personality.
A good start for training a therapy dog is training for the AKC’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test and passing it. A dog that passes the CGC test is well on his/her way to become a therapy dog. After passing the CGC test, you should join a therapy dog association or society. Each association will have other requirements such as age requirements, specific tests and temperament testing, etc. If your dog passes all the requirements – you have a therapy dog.
Australian Labradoodles in Service
Noble Vestal Labradoodles Lending a Helping Paw
Any Australian Labradoodle owner knows that their furry companion offers a lifetime of unconditional love and companionship. These qualities and more are put to good use by Noble Vestal Labradoodles pet therapy program.
Daily handlers work with our highly trained Therapy Dogs to work with kids in our local school system, patients in nursing homes and hospitals. This service, formally known as animal assisted therapy, physical occupational and speech therapists work side by side with our Therapy Dogs, they create goals and outline ways the dogs can help kids and patients achieve them.
Our dogs motivate patents and students with mobility problems to crouch low, jump high or stand on their tip toes to pet them. The dogs can act as companions to encourage children to practice walking, or they can demonstrate how to run, catch a ball or push lights and buttons. Our dogs also work with children with socialization problems.
Other children with sensory and tactile issues can learn to tolerate new sensations by petting and feeling the soft, curly coat of the Australian Labradoodle.
In addition to helping children the program benefits seniors who are shut ins.
We are blessed and our spirt is equally rewarded when we do therapy visits with our dogs and we see smiling faces.
Australian Labradoodles in Agility
To compete successfully in Agility the dog needs to be physically, mentally, and emotionally sound, with a strong play drive. An Australian Labradoodle has all these attributes plus they can maintain their competitive edge for many years not burning out at four or five.
Australian Labradoodles in Obedience
Australian Labradoodle are fun loving clowns. They are intelligent, want to please their owners (and themselves!), and are incurably inquisitive. If they don’t understand, or have yet to be taught, what is being asked of them, they can appear to be stubborn. All these traits work for and against training for Obedience.
This said, the Australian Labradoodle can perform exceptionally well in Obedience, often scoring at the top. One just has to realize that while he certainly wants to do the right thing and please his owner, the Australian Labradoodle also seldom loses his sense of humor and joie de vivere. These two facets are not always mutually acceptable traits in the Obedience ring.
Make sure when training your Australian Labradoodle for Obedience to keep your training sessions exciting and fun. Unlike many other breeds, a Australian Labradoodle cannot be drilled; repetition equals boredom. Harsh corrections, which could include the tone of your voice or the look on your face, are counterproductive; the goal of all training should be to build your Australian Labradoodle’s self-confidence. Indeed, there seems to be no limit to what a confident Australian Labradoodle can learn!
The road to obedience will be short if done in a positive manner. Your Australian Labradoodle will learn quicker than any other breed. Obedience is not to be dismissed, untrained dogs are unhappy dogs and make unhappy owners. In the long run you will be awarded with a great sense of pride, accomplishment, teamwork, and lots of interest in your dog from the crowd that will gather outside your ring.
Am I right for the breed?
You’ve seen them in town with their owners. It was cute! It was so well behaved. It was friendly. It looked like a real live teddy-bear! So you’re curious- is a doodle or even better is an Australian Labradoodle right for you or are You right for the Australian Labradoodle?