I find the history of the Labradoodle quite interesting. The first litter was bred in Australia at the request of a vision impaired woman whose husband was allergic to dogs. This first mating of a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle resulted in three puppies. Of those, one of them was found to have a non-allergenic coat and was suitable to be trained as a guide dog. This was the official beginning of the Labradoodle.

As a dog breed, the Labradoodle is still developing and is not yet a true breed i.e. the puppies do not have consistently predictable characteristics. While many Labradoodles display desired traits, their appearance and behavioral characteristics remain unpredictable.

In Australia there is a group of breeders who are dedicated to the logical and planned cross-breeding of this dog with the goal of having a new breed recognised. In 2004 it was announced that the Australian Labradoodle was not just a Labrador X Poodle but a breed developed over many years with a particular goal in mind. Other breeds of dogs, such as the Irish Water Spaniel, Curly Coated Retriever, American Cocker Spaniel and English Cocker Spaniel have also been included into the bloodlines to improve certain characteristics of the Australian Labradoodle.

With the recent explosion in popularity of ‘designer dogs’ there has been plenty of discussion on the topic. Not withstanding the Australian effort to actually produce a new and stable breed, what are your thoughts on other new cross-breeds? Designer dog or expensive Mutt?