What Seperates Australian Labradoodles from “Frankensteins’ Monster”

A recent article released by the Washington Post quoted Wally Conran, the mastermind behind the first Labradoodle, as saying that he created “Frankenstein’s monster” when he introduced the world to the then cross-breed. To the uneducated eye, this article might seem like a slight towards the now prominent breed that Conran himself had a hand in creating, but to those of us who love and are passionate about the breed we see it for what it really is.

Wally Conran created the Labradoodle in an effort to provide a service dog to someone with a dog allergy. Rutland Manner and Teagan Park of Australia saw great merit in Conran’s work and began their efforts on perfecting on the right “recipe” to improve Conran’s original idea. The result was the Australian Labradoodle; a keenly intelligent, allergy-friendly family pet. Unfortunately, the downfall of the credibility of the “Labradoodle” is a direct result of the surge of backyard breeders who sought a path to easy money. Those breeders are the true culprit behind the “monster” Conran was referring to.

The differences between your garden variety Labradoodle and an Australian Labradoodle, however, are astronomical. In this week’s blog, we address many common misconceptions regarding “doodles” and how an ALAA Australian Labradoodle stands apart among the rest.

The Difference Between Backyard Doodles and Australian Labradoodles

Once the doodle-craze began, breeders from all over decided to capitalize on what they saw as an opportunity to make money. Rather than take into account the years of research, genetic-testing, and proper breeding practices that the Australian Labradoodle community stands by, the average backyard doodle breeder was just happy adding “doodle” to anything they could dream up.

So what was the result? Families adopting first-gen doodle crosses with the expectation of a low-shedding pet who were disappointed to find that, surprise, their pet still had a coat that shed. Health problems arose as low-quality dogs were bred time-after-time-after-time to meet quotas rather than improve the breed standard.

That is what differentiates breeders associated with the Australian Labradoodle Association of America from the rest.

Years of DNA testing, generations of pedigree tracking and decades of health testing ensure that you are not only adopting a healthy pet, but a pet that comes from a responsible breeder who aims to better the breed. The ALAA stands behind their commitment to utilizing healthy breeding stock who pass rigorous DNA testing to ensure your pet’s health and longevity.

Oodles of Doodles

“I opened a Pandora’s box and released a Frankenstein’s monster,” Conran shared with the Australia Broadcasting Corp. in an interview.

And you know what, we kind of understand where he is coming from.

Each day we encounter doodle breeders advertising their puppies online: goldendoodles, huskydoodles, schnoodles and more. Oodles upon oodles of doodles are falsely advertised online, leading to one common misconception: was the labradoodle a mistake?

When you look back at the reason why the Australian Labradoodle’s founders designed the original Australian Labradoodle, you can see the love, care and research that was put into designing a dog who would be a faithful, low-shedding companion. The creation of the Australian Labradoodle has changed many families for the better, and continues to do so each day.

The Honest Truth

So what can you be sure of when you adopt an ALAA registered Australian Labradoodle? You can be sure that you are getting a dog from a breeder who is required to follow a code of ethics and maintain a strict breed standard. You can be sure that your puppy’s lineage has been strictly scrutinized to prevent the passing on of diseases or undesirable traits. And you can be sure that you are getting a forever friend.

At Archview Labradoodles, we are proud to be members of the ALAA and produce puppies who have lived up to their reputation year-after-year. Everything we do is with the best interest of our dogs and the puppies we produce. We breed Australian Labradoodles because we are passionate about every inch of this breed. So when you go shopping for a doodle, consider your purchase as an investment in a family-friend and consider purchasing from an ALAA registered breeder.