Labradoodles - the good, the bad and the ugly!

[WonderIfThingsWillChange]

Hello! I'm about to look after a rescue labradoodle, I've not had much to do with them in the past, could anyone share their experienced of them please? I'm wondering about likes/dislikes, training etc. I realise all dogs are different but just wondered if there was a general consensus on them :-)

[therealeasterbunny]

Oh yes mine adores swimming, and it deinitely tires him out!

[WonderIfThingsWillChange]

Yes there are a few lakes near by, will take him to one later on and see what he makes of it! So far he's not wanted chews or balls but prefers to "rearrange" my house, break into the tub of cat food and scatter it about, break into and eat the contents of the dog food container...I need to dog proof my house today! I wonder if he will show any interest in the kongs I made yesterday...

[mistlethrush]

Thanks Clam. Yes, I do think you're irresponsible buying a designer puppy - as its people like you that encourage people to churn out 'designer' puppies whilst hundreds of other dogs are destroyed simply because they don't have the 'designer' breeding.

I also hate the way that the myth is perpetuated that no rescues will rehome to people with young families as that is not true - there are rescues that will rehome the right dog to fit in with a family with young children.

[BettyOff]

Mistlethrush did you mean to be so rude?

You have absolutely no idea of peoples specific family circumstances, what led them to choose a puppy at all or a puppy of a specific breed and what their relationship with rescues is. You're painting many people here as vain, senseless, heartless people that are happy to have other dogs killed as long as they get their pretty ones. I'm sure in most, if not all, cases you're pretty wide of the mark.

For example, I know of a family that breed labrodoodles. They got into this because Australian doodles were originally bred to be guide dogs and other helping dogs for those with dog allergies and they had nieces with congenital visual problems and severe allergies and they now breed for others in this situation. The puppies that aren't then suitable for guide dog training are sold as family pets. Are they in the same group of terrible people you describe?

Perhaps this isn't the thread for you.

[Branleuse]

its no worse breeding designer cross breeds, than it is purposely breeding any dog.

Ive only ever had rescue animals, but it aint someone buying a labradoodke or a chorkie or whatever thats going to be the end of the world.

[mistlethrush]

Betty - yes, Clam was rude to me and I am allowed to be rude back at her. And not all labradoodles are non-shedding so specifically getting a labradoodle puppy (or any other -poo) because of the myth that it is going to be non-shedding is short-sighted - and leads to more dogs in rescue because they don't quite measure up to expectations.

The trouble with buying a designer puppy from someone for £800 is that that person will see that its a way of making easy money. They won't be interested in making sure the puppies avoid the congenital problems their breeds are associated with, only when the next litter is available and can be sold off to people that have unrealistic expectations of what they're getting. Not everyone getting one of these designer dogs is unrealistic - but many are.

People like Wonder do a great job fostering dogs that haven't measured up to requirements from whatever reasons - and hopefully as a result of her fostering, one other dog will find a home. But it doesn't make the act of purposefully breeding dogs like this any better. Even the person that 'developed' the 'breed' came out and wished he hadn't : here - and he's Australian and created them for the blind. But he still wishes he hadn't. Please read the link, its very interesting.

[LtEveDallas]

For example, I know of a family that breed labrodoodles. They got into this because Australian doodles were originally bred to be guide dogs and other helping dogs for those with dog allergies and they had nieces with congenital visual problems and severe allergies and they now breed for others in this situation. The puppies that aren't then suitable for guide dog training are sold as family pets. Are they in the same group of terrible people you describe?

The Australian Labradoodles were failures and the man that first bred them bitterly regrets his actions.

If the family you know of are really breeding for people with visual problems and dog allergies then 1) They need to be at least 4th Gen to get as close to non-shedding as possible - but even then there are throwbacks. If they are 4th Gen then you are talking at least 4 litters to a poor tired knackered bitch pushing out around 28 puppies. 2) Non shedding does not mean Hypoallergenic, the dander is still a problem. 3) Why not train a wonderfully intelligent Poodle to do the same job - why bring even more puppies into the world? 4) Why is the family you know asking for money for their "not good enough" puppies - surely if they are doing it for altruistic reasons as you claim then they wouldn't ask for any cash.

So "Are they in the same group of terrible people you describe?"

Yes.

[BeeBawBabbity]

Seems this thread has turned. Sigh.

Some people (like me) love poodle crosses. They had their own reasons for buying/ rescuing them, which no one else can know. Can there not be a thread for these people that isn't hijacked and ruined? They love their dogs. They care for them, feed them, train them, exercise them. They are not bad people. And they deserve to talk about doggy interests on this board like anyone else. This is exactly what clam meant when she said this board is judgey.

[BettyOff]

Well I'm glad you know so much about other people and also about breeding a dog you obviously so deplore.

It must be wonderful to be so righteous and sure in your judgement of others.

BeeBaw you're so right but obviously we don't deserve to care for our wonderful mongrels.

[mistlethrush]

I think poodle crosses can be lovely dogs. But then there are lots of dogs that are lovely - some of them pure bred, some of them crossed. However, I do think that specifically breeding a designer dog is wrong when hundreds of other mongrels are destroyed - and people only breed them for the profit. If people would only pay 'mongrel' prices for a designer dog there wouldn't be the profit and thus fewer would be bred and therefore perhaps fewer would be cast aside, and possibly some of the existing mongrels, which are lovely in their own right, might get a home rather than being destroyed.

[LtEveDallas]

I don't deplore any dog nor decent dog owner. I deplore dog breeders, especially breeders of designer dogs that, like the one the OP is fostering, often end up in Rescue or worse because unscrupulous breeders make promises they cannot keep.

Dog owners and dog lovers are to be applauded. Dog rescuers and fosterers like the OP have a special place in my heart as they are the BEST dog lovers. They are taking on and looking after dogs that no-one else wanted.

Breeders that make money by pimping out their dogs reproductive organs are lower than shark shit, and buyers that pay ridiculous amounts for mutts, thereby encouraging more breeding, are fools.

[oohdaddypig]

There are two different kinds of doodles. There are the so called "designer dog" labradoodles being the very expensive Australian labradoodles, which are actually a mix of around 8 breeds. These are the dogs that are meant to be non-shedding.

There are also cross breeds of a standard poodle and a labrador - some call these the non-Australian labradoodles. They are much cheaper dogs - really just (wonderful) mongrels.

You do get responsible breeders. Just because someone decides to breed dogs, it doesn't make them irresponsible. It's up to people to do their research and check hip scores, check the parents, visit the place.

I am sure that some rescue centres do rehome dogs to people with young families, but it wasn't our experience and they very much warned us off, hence why I took a puppy (and am delighted with our choice several years down the line).


I am also not ashamed to say that, with young children in the house, and little experience of owning a dog, I wanted to make sure I was 100% sure of the dog's background for everyone's sake. the only way I could do this was by owning him myself from a puppy. And I felt a poodle cross would be a wonderful dog (and he is). I had many many more doubts about the health of breeds such as alsations, king charles etc but you see little criticism about these breeds on MN which is curious.

I would love to rescue and rehome dogs in the future, and I hope to do so but for us, a puppy was the right decision.

There seem to be a lot of people who judge other's choices on MN and it's a shame as it should be a place to discuss, not criticise. I hope the above shows that people who choose a labradoodle puppy do so for a wide variety of reasons and it's not always an impulse buy from a puppy farm of a dog with a funny name....

[tabulahrasa]

The issue with labradoodles isn't that they exist or that people have them in itself.

Most people don't care what breed someone else's dog is or what cross for that matter (though there are ethical issues with some breeds IMO and some crosses don't make fantastic pets).

It's that there are ethical issues with breeding, good breeders of any kind of dog breed for a reason, to fulfil a certain role or to create a better standard of working dog or a dog that fits the breed standard and has parents that have been judged good examples of the breed.

They carefully pick the dogs they are breeding, including travelling abroad or importing semen to get the best dogs for the purpose that's wanted and compliment the bitch's traits and come from a different gene pool.

They do extensive health tests, usually more than just the ones the kennel club reccomend for those breeds.

They breed to get a better puppy or puppies for themselves and sell the others to carefully selected owners on the understanding that they are not bred from without fulfilling the same criteria they would apply, that puppy owners are expected to stay in touch and if anything ever happens that means the puppy has to be rehomed the breeder will always have them back - at any point in that puppy's life.

They invest a lot of time and money trying to breed healthy dogs that are fit for purpose and never add to the rescue problem that exists. It is not a profit making exercise, it's an expensive hobby...after paying for a stud, health testing and raising a litter if nothing goes wrong medically and they have a large litter there may be a small profit, but it's more usual to just about break even, any medical complications mean it costs money.


That applies equally to all breeders, so, it is possible to have good ethical breeders of crossbred dogs...but, they're very few and far between.

Rescues are full of thousands and thousands of dogs of all breeds and crosses who people bred for no good reason and they carry on doing so because people give them money for doing it.

Labradoodles have very little purpose, a very very small amount of them may make non-shedding guide dogs, most aren't reliably non-shedding and aren't temperamentally suited to it, there isn't a huge reason to breed them for that as most guide dogs are purpose bred at the guide dogs breeding centre from carefully selected parents.

They don't make better retrieving dogs than poodles or labs, they don't work better for any other activity.

Yes they're nice pet dogs...but so are most dogs, including the rescue dogs that wouldn't exist if people were pickier over who they gave money to for puppies.

[BettyOff]

Thank you mistle LtEve and tabulah for much more reasoned and less offensive posts. I completely understand your viewpoint and where you're coming from. Obviously some of us here feel we have our own justified reasons for owning a labradoodle and I'm glad you respect those. I've had many rescues, many puppies and my family foster and adopt puppies that were bred as guide dogs but didn't cut the mustard so I have experience of both and I agree with a lot of your reasoning but not necessarily the way it was put across initially.

It would be lovely to keep this thread as a supportive one for the OP in her fab quest to conquer the crazy 'doodle and a celebration of our lovely DDogs.

[WonderIfThingsWillChange]

Hooray! The doodle is finally tired! A trip to the groomers to tame the fur and rid us of kennel odour has tamed the beast! The cats have managed to eat some of their own food and we only had one steaming turd on the carpet! I will sit down with a nice glass of wine and enjoy the peace while it lasts. A forest walk with lakes is planned for the morning, can't wait! Thanks for all the stories shared so far!

[clam]

mistlethrush You leapt straight in on the thread with an agenda to push, without having read the OP properly. "Why do you want a labradoodle rather than one of the many types in rescue," when in fact the OP made clear she was going to be looking after one from rescue. You then tried to back-track by saying you needed some background information re: hip scores or something.

Anyway, this was meant to be a pleasant thread, and I'm sure the OP doesn't want it hi-jacked.

[AgathaF]

Blackpudding your dog is the image of our standard poodle. If I had a quid for everytime someone asked us if he's a labradoodle, I would be a rich woman (well, not seriously rich, but earning a few quid a day ).

[jonicomelately]

LtEve Guide Dogs in the Uk use labradoodles so they can't be so much of a bad thing!

All pedigree dogs are designer dogs. I fostered a dog who'd been used as a puppy machine, yet the KC registered breeder who owned her wouldn't attract negative attention on this board because she showed etc.

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Agatha, she looks pretty much all poodle, you have to look closely to find any lab in her.

[Blackpuddingbertha]

Wonder, a tip to try with the stair gate - we lie ours down on the stairs. She won't walk on it if it's flat on the steps but will get round or over it if it's put up properly. Also makes it easier for the rest of us as we will walk over it and we're lazy so can't be bothered to open it all the time

[LtEveDallas]

Joni, I am an equal opportunities hater. No-one should be breeding whilst there are dumped dogs dying. My stance does not waver across the spectrum. The only dogs that should be bred are those whose breeds are dying out. Even working dogs do not need to be pure bred. I have more scorn for the designer crosses, yes. But even then I would prefer a Labradoodle that was at least originally created for altruistic reasons to a 'Cockerpoo' or 'Puggle' that has no reason to exist other than cash.

[jonicomelately]

I don't understand why you have more scorn for 'designer crosses'? Surely every litter should be judged in a case by case basis? For example, my pure bred KC registered foster dog was a dog that came into existence for the benefit of one woman's greed and ego. The breeder of my labradoodle was a lovely, experienced lab breeder. We met our puppy's mother and grandmother. The breeder bred her dog on a very limited basis and her pups underwent strict health testing. That's why I think your blanket approach to 'scorn' is blinkered and too broad.

[LtEveDallas]

Because the only reason for 'Designer Crosses' is cash. There is no 'breed standard' or 'competition' or 'show' for a mutt as they cannot be predicted. So money it is. I don't think that's a good enough reason to put a dogs life at risk by forcing them to have puppies. Equally when there are a thousand and one different mongrels in Rescue, what makes the Labradoodle or Cockerpoo more valuable than a 'Lallie' or a 'Springbord' or a 'Jargi'

(Oh and your Lab breeder is only allowed one pedigree litter a year, so was likely just supplementing her income having a crossed litter - bit like a Pimp giving freebies to club owners)

[mistlethrush]

Wonder - is she used to being in kennels or was she not housetrained properly in the first place? Mine had learned that 'inside' was where you did things and it was twice as hard to get her to learn that 'outside' was the place.

Swimming is a very good idea or exercise in water if you have anywhere suitable - it should tire her out a bit quicker! Is she getting on with the lurcher OK?

[elastamum]

I have a re homed labradoodle who wasn't properly house trained at a year. She was also the most destructive dog we have ever had - I suspect she was shut away somewhere as she also had separation anxiety. For the first few weeks when we got her I used to crate her in the same room as the other dogs at night and get up and let her out early. Worked a treat as after about a week she stopped messing in the house. After about a year she stopped eating the furniture! Still have her though and she has settled down and turned into a wonderful addition to our family. They need a lot of exercise, we have never managed to wear this one out.