| I am a country vet. Most of the dogs that I deal with are working sheepdogs and hunting dogs. These dogs are fit and athletic, with very good temperaments. I usually see them for injuries or infections. I rarely see the genetic diseases I read about in the veterinary journals. These dogs are bred for a purpose, they must be fit and easily trained, and if they don't perform they are certainly not bred from. Almost the only time I see dogs with congenital structural defects is in town pets - and many of these problem dogs are purebreds with parents which are "Australian Champions" bought with papers, from registered breeders. |
| About 3 years ago I attended a veterinary course on dog behavioural problems. I was alarmed by the number of problems seen by dog "psychologists" for neurotic behaviour and by the fact that most of the dogs were purebred dogs. A statistic quoted frequently, and which amazed me, was that most dog attacks on children were by entire male purebred dogs. |
| On the long road back to Condobolin I began thinking about the way purebred pets are bred. They are a by product of breeding for the show ring. Although responsible breeders do put a high value on sound health and a good temperament, these are very rarely the first criteria used in selecting breeding stock. The practice of "linebreeding for type" means that they are all to some degree inbred. If a pup doesn't look good enough for the show ring it is sold as a pet. Most breeders depend on their pet sales to support their hobby and even to make money, but most of them would not like to think of themselves as pet breeders. |
| So pets are a byproduct of the dog breeding business and no-one appears to be trying specifically to breed a dog which makes an ideal backyard pet. I began to think what criteria I would use to breed an ideal dog and came up with the following in order of importance: |
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| In livestock breeding purebred animals are often crossed to produce an "F1" or first cross. This is done to take advantage of the fact that the cross between unrelated inbred animals will be healthier and grow better than either parent breed. This phenomenon is called hybrid vigour. First cross animals tend to be intermediate in type to the parent breeds and tend to be similar to each other in appearance. Cross breeding is, to me, the obvious way to produce healthy dogs and at the same time take advantage of the opportunity to combine characteristics of different breeds. |
| It is very difficult to think of a combination with better potential in terms of temperament and intelligence than a Labradoodle. Recently a survey of about 100 dog breeds was performed across the whole of the US. Dog trainers, vets and dog judges were asked to score all breeds for various behaviour traits. Poodles scored second only to Border Collies for intelligence. Labradors were 5th. Both breeds score low for aggression. For "reactivity" (or excitability) Labradors were among the lowest, Poodles scoring in the middle. (In case you were wondering, the dog that rated lowest for intelligence was the Afghan.) |
| The Guide dogs Labradoodles are nice looking "shaggy dogs" - not very aristocratic perhaps but endearing. The only problem with their dogs (apart from the fact that the name sounds silly) is that I think they are too large to be ideal pets. So the "miniature" Labradoodle breeding program, using Toy Poodles, was born. |
| Labradors are fabulous friendly pets and love everyone but they are large, late maturing dogs and they are prone to obesity, and recessive hip, shoulder, elbow and eye disorders. Toy Poodles are suspicious of strangers but devoted to their owners - often to the point of neurosis. They are very early maturing, very small, fussy eaters and prone to knee and eye disorders. As far as I can determine, apart from one eye disease, these breeds have no frequently occurring genetic disorders in common. In theory the cross would be a small to medium size, smart, healthy shaggy dog. |
| Breed selection is only part of the story - selection within the breed is also important because within breed variation can be greater than variation between the breeds. In my ideal breeding program I would select my dogs on health first . Then I would look for dogs that are easily trained, friendly, without being too "jumpy" or too shy, and which don't bark except when disturbed. Any dog which doesn't pass would be desexed and re-homed at about 6 months of age. |
| So that's how it started - I first tried with one black labrador and a white poodle - and bred a black male and a white female labradoodle. They were the right size and temperament and are both family pets - one in the bush and the other in Turramurra. It takes a long time to find the right dogs and wait for them to grow but I am getting there slowly. The puppies that I have now bred have had no health problems so far, and their owners love them. I keep in touch so that I can see if they are going as I would hope. I have kept one - a dark gold, wiry haired dog called Danny. My children adore him and he is the nicest dog I have ever owned. |
Labradoodles and allergies
Early desexing and desexed male dogs
Nyora, Condobolin NSW 2877
Phone: 068 95 2511
Fax: 068 95 3851
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