What is an Australian Labradoodle?

The Australian Labradoodle is a hybrid breed that was created by using a purebred Labrador Retriever and crossing it with Poodles with a few insertions of Curly Coated Retrievers, English and American Cocker Spaniels, and Irish Water Spaniels.

Breeding History

The Australian Labradoodle breed dates back to the 1980's, initiated by a breeding from the Royal Guide Dogs in Victoria, Australia. The intent was to create a breed that was allergy and asthma friendly with the temperament of a service dog. The Australian Labradoodle has become a popular pet due to the allergy friendly and low to no shed coat coupled with easy going friendly disposition.

Word spread of the assets of this new breed, and breeders in Australia started to work with the idea of improving and refining the breed. Soon breeders from around the globe joined in to develop the Australian Labradoodle we all know and love today.

Although different breeds were used in the initial fine tuning of the breed, today only three breeds are now used to make the Australian Labradoodles, the Labrador Retriever, Poodle and American or English Cocker Spaniel. These are the only three breeds which may still be infused into Australian Labradoodle registries regulations.

Like other Doodle crossbreeds, Labradoodles have one pure Labrador parent and one pure Poodle parent. These dogs are referred to as first-generation or F1 Labradoodles. All American Labradoodles are bred using a blend of Labrador Retriever and Poodle genes. In contrast, Australian Labradoodles can be made up of a mixture of up to six different breeds, including:

Labrador
Poodle
Cocker Spaniel
Irish Water Spaniel
Curly Coated Retriever

These different dog breeds were blended together to create a pup that had an excellent temperament, as well as a low to non-shedding coat. The Australian Labradoodle breed standard was introduced in 1997. For decades, Australian Labradoodles have exclusively been bred to another Australian Labradoodle responsibly by health/genetic testing and selective pedigrees. THIS is what sets the Australian Labradoodles apart from the rest of the doodles. Admirers of this breed hope that these dogs will be recognized one day as a breed in their own right in the United States, not to be confused with the American Labradoodles.

Australian Labradoodle

vs.

American Labradoodle