History and Purpose

In the 1980's, The Guide Dog Association implemented a breeding and research program for an allergy friendly guide dog. This was the start to the multi-generational Australian Labradoodle as we know it today. This Australian Labradoodle started out as a cross between a Labrador retriever and a standard poodle.

The Australian Labradoodle has since been developed over decades. The founders of the Australian Labradoodle, Tegan Park and Rutland Manor, infused several other breeds into the early generation lines of their Labrador retriever/poodle crosses to achieve the consistency in temperament and coat that we have today. The infused breeds include the Irish water spaniel, curly coat retriever as well as the American and English cocker spaniel. Dogs from these infusions have been bred together to continue the Australian, multi-generation lines. 

The Australian Labradoodle is much more likely to be low to non-shedding and allergy friendly than other types of labradoodles - such as first generation Labrador retriever/poodle crosses or first generation crosses bred back to poodles as these crosses do not have the infused breeds that were used in the early generations.

Coats, Appearance and Sizes

Allergy friendly means that 99.9% of people with asthma and/or allergies will not have reactions to the dander or the coat of the Australian Labradoodle. The small population of people that have allergies to Australian Labradoodles are most likely allergic to dog saliva, and will generally react to any breed of dog - shedding or non-shedding.

There are three coat types:

• Wool - which does not shed and is the most allergy friendly. It feels similar to that of a purebred poodle and is usually tightly curled. No dog odour is associated with this coat.

• Fleece - which is minimal to non-shedding and allergy friendly. It feels wonderfully soft and fleecy and has loose curls. No dog odour is associated with this coat.

• Hair - which is light-shedding and less allergy friendly with a coarser texture. It can be curly, short or long.

The Labradoodle is available in three sizes, standard being the largest, medium and miniature being the smaller sizes. The appearance is the same for all three sizes. At this time we are breeding medium sized Labradoodles only.

Measurements for sizes are roughly as follows:

• 14-16 inches at the withers - Mini

• 17-20 inches at the withers - Medium

• 21-24 inches at the withers - Standard

Temperament

The temperament of the Australian Labradoodle can be described in one word - amazing! They are happy, loyal, affectionate, playful, confident, non-aggressive, intuitive and clever. Labradoodles are soft mouthed retrievers that love water. They are also suited to be service dogs, such as a hearing, guide or seizure alert dogs. They are very biddable dogs.