History of the breed

It all started in Australia in the late 1980s. Wally Conren, who was head of breeding at The Guide Dogs Association, was the first to cross a Labrador and a Poodle. The idea came about when Patricia Blum, a blind woman looking for a guide dog, approached the association. However, there was one important condition – the dog had to be hypoallergenic because Patricia’s husband had severe allergies.

During the initial project, which lasted three years, Wally selected 33 standard poodles, but none of them passed the rigorous tests and met the requirements for an assistance dog. Under pressure from management to find a solution to this situation, Wally decided to crossbreed a Labrador and a Poodle. His goal was to combine the training ability of the Labrador with the desirable coat of the Poodle that would not cause allergic reactions.

For the first mating, Wally selected the best Labrador breeding female from the organization and paired her with a royal poodle. The first litter produced three puppies. When the puppies were five months old, samples of their saliva and fur were sent to Hawaii where the future owner underwent allergy testing. It turned out that one of the puppies did not cause an allergic reaction. This puppy was named Sultan.

Sultan was placed with a foster family for proper socialization and training, and eventually passed his assistance dog exams. Sultan was then assigned to Patricia Blum and served her for many years. His success led to Wally’s decision to attempt another mating. The second litter produced ten puppies, but only three of them showed the desired characteristics.

At this stage another problem arose. Although there was a long waiting list for foster families, most of them were unwilling to accept a crossbreed. So Wally decided to give the new dog a name. The name “Labradoodle” was created from the names of the parent breeds. The full name that Wally presented to the world, however, was: “Labradoodle, a new kind of assistance dog, hypoallergenic.”

But that was problematic. The first generation (F1) of Labradoodles did not have stable genotypic characteristics, and certainly could not be considered a stable, hypoallergenic breed. The first generation also showed the negative effects of hybridization and we could not speak of a “new breed”. Wally Conren never progressed further than the first hybrid (F1) and did not continue to work on the development of a stable breed.

Eventually Wally began to regret his decision. In a newspaper interview he said: “I’ve opened Pandora’s box.” The growing popularity of the Labradoodle in the media led to new kennels appearing overnight. People began crossing poodles with Labradors (and other breeds) without regard to stable characteristics, health or appearance. This uncontrolled breeding caused further problems in the evolution of the Labradoodle.

In the early 1990s, two research centers decided to take care of the proper development of the new breed. These were the Rutland Manor Breeding and Research Center, under the direction of Beverley Manners, and the Tegan Park Breeding and Research Center, headed by Angela Cunningham. These centres focused on the development of the multi-generational Australian Labradoodle and within a few years added the following breeds:

Irish Water Spaniel
English Cocker Spaniel
American Cocker Spaniel
Irish Soft Coated Wheaten

Therefore, there is a big difference between a Labradoodle (a cross between a Labrador and a Poodle) and an Australian Labradoodle (which has 6 different breeds in its blood). The process of creating a new breed, the timing and purpose of each infusion, as well as the results of this development are described by Beverley Manners herself in her detailed records.