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Labradoodle

History

The Labradoodle was first deliberately bred in 1989, when Australian breeder Wally Conron first crossed theLabrador Retriever and Standard Poodle for Guide Dogs Victoria. His aim was to combine the low-shed coat of the Poodle with the gentleness and trainability of the Labrador. This provide guide dog for the blind with less shedding, and hence more suitable for people with allergies to fur and dander. Today, Labradoodles are often used asGuide dogs, Assistance dogs, and Therapy Dogs .As long as there are many mixed breed dogs in shelters, the fact is that there is a great deal of controversy about purposely breeding these dogs. Animal rescue supporters advocate looking into mixed breed dogs already born, rather than buying these from breeders.

General Appearance A compact dog, not exceptionally boxy nor long bodied. A galloping dog which gives the impression of light footed athleticism, and joyful bearing. Medium to light boning, graceful in movement and with vivacious expression. Coat should be non shedding, be of even length over body, on legs neck, tail and head, and should be as close to non allergenic as possible. Their unique traits of intuitive nature and the seeking of human eye contact should be easily discernable at a glance. Easily amenable to training. Size Over 19inches preferably not to exceed 22 inches weighing between 20 kg and 50 kg. (2.2 lbs = 1 kg)

Temperament Confident, joyful, vivacious, clown-like, sociable and friendly. Totally non aggressive, clever and extremely intuitive. Well suited for special work such as Therapy Dog, Assistance Dog, Hearing or Seizure Alert Dog, Guide Dog. Can try to outsmart their Owners just for fun, if not firmly disciplined when young. Respond well to positive Training methods. Loyal and devoted to family. Most love water and are natural Swimmers and retrievers. Affectionate and loving. Active and athletic when free, but should ‘melt’ into mellowness when touched by human hands. Disqualifying Temperament Faults - Timidity, (not environmentally induced) hyperactivity, aggressiveness to either people or other animals, are all serious disqualifying faults and dogs exhibiting these traits should not be bred from.

Movement First impression should be of a dog whose feet seem to hardly touch the ground. Light, lithe, graceful and athletic. When trotting, should have the appearance of ‘going somewhere’ with energy and effortless drive and purpose. Looking like they are dancing and ballerina-like in motion. When galloping, they should appear to float almost above the ground. Light and airy, flowing and free moving with a complete absence of apparent effort. BodyHeight to length ratio should be as ten is to twelve, being slightly longer in leg than deep in body, but still looking compact. Level top line, strong over loins and slightly sloping croup and with sloping shoulders flowing into firm elbows and front legs straight to the ground. Straight upright shoulders are a fault as are straight stifles. Stifles should have medium angulation and be long, with short strong hocks parallel and straight to the ground. Cow hocks are a fault as are toes turning either inwards or outwards. They are a galloping dog, so flanks should rise to a medium tuck up, from a deep brisket and well sprung ribs.

Head The head should be in proportion to the rest of the body, being neither blocky, nor too fine or chiseled. Medium stop, length from nose to eyes should be only slightly longer than length from eyes to occiput.
Skull should be slightly rounded but not domed. Forehead medium breadth, muzzle not snipey, but should have depth and breadth. Weak underjaw is a fault. The head should flow naturally into a strong slightly curved and muscular neck and not appear to be ‘stuck on’. Long narrow or 'Poodley' head is a fault. Ears Well furnished, with fringing beyond the tip of the ear leather. Wide apart and low set, below or level with the eyes and hanging flat against the sides of the head. The inner ear canal should not be too heavily coated. Ear ‘leather’ should be thinner rather than thick or spongy which will assist in keeping the ears cool and airy.

Eyes Should be wide set, large and expressive, lustrous or sparkling, oval to round, and must not bulge (as in the Pekinese for example). Expression to be lively, curious, wise, full of fun and with an intuitive expression, seeking contact with human eyes. A sharp, piercing or expressionless eye is a serious fault. Eye colors can be darkest brown, a transparent honey color, or shades of hazel. Protruding eyes, sunken or watery eyes are a fault. (note that puppies may sometimes have tear stained eyes during teething). Odd colored eyes (each a different color to the other) is a serious fault. Marble eyes such as are found in Blue Merle dogs is a serious fault. A feature of the eyes is their very long eyelashes which should never be cut. They provide a 'verandah' to help keep the long coat out of the dog's eyes. Nose A definite feature. Large square and fleshy in appearance. Must never be small, pinched, narrow or pointed. Brown dogs (Chocolate or Cafe au Lait) must have 'rose' or liver colored noses
Black or Silver dogs must have black noses
Red dogs must have black noses
Gold dogs must have black noses
Caramel dogs must have 'rose' or liver colored noses
Cream dogs may have Black, Rose, or Liver noses
Blue dogs should have bluish black noses
Apricot or Red dogs should have black noses.

Tail Ideally saber shaped as in the Labrador Retriever. But during the formative years of this breed the tail may be carried gaily and swirling over the back. Tightly curled teapot tails are a fault. Kinked tails are a fault. Tails must not be docked. Feet Foot pads should be thick and deep and close together. Weak ‘hare’s feet’ are a fault. There should be a definite ‘ankle’ between the feet and legs. Front dewclaws may be removed although it is not necessary. It is rare for an Australian Labradoodle to have hind dewclaws but if puppies are born with them they must be removed at four days old. Teeth Scissor bite, meaning that the upper teeth fit closely over the tops of the lower teeth. Gaps between upper and lower teeth are a fault. Undershot mouths (where the lower teeth extend beyond the upper teeth) are a fault. Overshot mouths (where the upper teeth extend beyond the lower teeth) are a fault. Level bite, (where the biting edges of teeth meet but do not overlap) are a fault but not a serious fault. Crowded teeth in the adult dog are a fault especially in Miniatures.

Coat Types The coat is always a single coat with a definite absence of fluffy undercoat. Whether Fleece or Wool the coat must not shed and must be allergy friendly to the vast majority of persons with dog related allergies. It must have no doggy odour. The coat is one of the unique features of this breed and must be a priority coming close behind physical health and sound temperament. A ‘change’ of coat is permissible from puppy to adult and due to hormonal changes in entire females. With the exception of the hormonal shedding, this should not shed itself out, but needs to be stripped out with grooming. They have a distinctly soft fleecy ‘feel’ like no other dog coat & should be a single coat, with a complete absence of fluffy undercoat. Ideally it should not be too thick, not dense nor fuzzy, but should hang in loose loopy spirals similar To that of the angora goat. Length is around four to six inches, on body, tail, head and face and on the legs. Wool Coat. The wool coat has tight curls and feels similar to that of a pure bred Poodle. The Wool Curly Coat will often be very dense and it should be the breeders’ goal to breed a looser curl than that of the Poodle in the interests of lower maintenance. Curly Fleece. The Curly Fleece Coat grows into spirals much like braided hair in humans and is also a single coat with no fluffy undercoat. When clipped short it should not grow back as curly as the Wool Coat. Wavy Fleece. The Wavy Fleece Coat is the ultimate coat type. Single coat with absence of fluffy undercoat. As puppies they are not as 'pretty' as their curlier litter mates but mature into stunningly beautiful dogs with easier maintained coats. Straightish and only slightly wavy as puppies more curl develops until the coat is a long swinging curtain of loose slightly wavy tendrils. When clipped off short the coat should not grow back curly.

Flat Coat Rarely, a Flatcoat may still appear. They will shed to varying degrees. if these dogs are exceptional in conformation, temperament and health, they can be valuable breeding dogs when mated to suitable partners and should not be discarded for breeding at this stage of breed development (2008). They can not be shown in conformation classes in the Show Ring. Pigment Must be strong in all colors. Missing pigment around the eyes, or spots or patches of white or pink on the nose, (butterfly nose) eye rims, lips or pads are serious faults. Rose pigment should not be confused with weak pigment such as a pink nose. It must always be accompanied by translucent eyes with rosy pink rims. Pigment is the same in the nose, eye rims and lip rims as it is on the pads of the feet. RM Note 2007. The ASD Australian Labradoodle has progressed well beyond the coat variations found in many other Labradoodles. Fleece coats may be either spiral curly or wavy, but hair coats combination coats or shedding coats are now rare in Rutland Manor bred dogs.

Coat Colors Whole colors come in Black, Silver, shades of Cream, Caramel, Gold, Red, Apricot, Apricot Cream, Chocolate, Cafe au Lait, Parchment, Blue, and rarely, a true Lavender. As of March 2008, Parti Coloured, Phantom Coloured, Brindle and Multi Colored dogs are acceptable in the Breed Standard provided their parentage is verified via DNA. Parti Colour A uniformed or set pattern is not required but symmetrical markings on the head are preferred. Colour should be balanced over the body of the coat ideally fifty percent white, fifty percent coloured as per other solid breed colours. Flecks or Freckling of the solid colour in the white of the coat is not encouraged but is acceptable. Abstract (less than fifty percent distribution of colour) is not a penalty but is not preferred. Merle Colours are a definite fault and should be penalised and bred away from. Pink or butterfly nose is a definite fault (not to be confused with the Rose pigment which is a rich acceptable pigment colour, whereas Pink noses are a lacking in colour and butterfly noses are broken coloured).

Phantom Solid body colour with defined markings of a second colour as follows: The chest and throat or a chin and forechest pattern, second colour on the sides of the muzzle/cheek and above each eye, the underside of the ears, second colouring on the feet preferably up the legs, and below the tail in a diamond shape. Inside the flank and leg of the second colour is also acceptable. Any of the solid colour combination is acceptable. It is preferable that the markings be clear and defined. Face markings of the second colour with the entire face coloured is not preferred but is acceptable, so long as the other required body markings are also present. BRINDLE An equal distribution of the composite colours with layering of black hairs in regions of lighter colour (usually, chalk/cream/gold/red, cafe/lavender/parchment, or silver) producing a tiger-striped pattern. MULTI PATTERNED A Parti with incomplete phantom markings or full markings including no colour under the tail or facial markings. The dog will clearly exhibit more than one of the acceptable colour patterns or a Phantom with abstract markings, etc.

Summary of Faults - Remember that no living creature will be 'perfect' by definition of its breed standard nor by any other definition. The Standard of 'Excellence' which is the Breed Standard is designed as a guideline to breeders in their pursuit of excellence, and it should not be expected that any puppy born will ever match up to the Breed Standard one hundred percent. Hyperactivity, shyness (not to be confused with gentle aloofness) , timidity, aggressive to people or other animals, snappy, yappy, highly strung, missing pigment, weak pigment, wall or marble eyes, odd coloured eyes, overshot, undershot or crowded mouths, kinked or teapot tails, weak or ‘hare’ feet, heavy or ponderous build, cow hocks, dippy backs, heavily shedding coats, absence of two fully descended testicles in males over six months of age, and any other deviation from the Breed Standard. Faults \ Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Note \ Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.