australian labradoodle US breeding and research center

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	Know the difference

At Kadli Cottage, we breed only authentic multi-generational Australian Labradoodles. All our puppies are PAL1 (Purebred Australian Labradoodle generation 1) or higher. What does that mean?

For complete information on the pedigree grading scale please go here.

It means that our puppies have consistent Australian Labradoodle traits and character as well as hypo-allergenic and non-shedding. A PAL puppy is still rare and difficult to find in our country.

Australian Labradoodle	OR	F1 Labrador/Poodle Hybrid?

This important distinction is often lost these days if you surf around on the various labradoodle sites in the U.S. To help any of our visitors understand the difference, here's a quick summary:

History

The story of the Australian Labradoodle goes back to 1988, when one Wally Conran, of Royal Guide Dogs, Melbourne Australia, was asked by a woman in Hawaii if there was any way to get a low/no-shedding guide dog who wouldn't aggravate her husband's allergies. Wally had the idea that possibly crossing a Labrador Retriever (a proven Guide breed) with a Standard Poodle (whose curly coat is low-shedding and hypoallergenic). The puppies this mating produced were inconsistent: one of the three did indeed have a low-allergy coat, but the other two did not.

Wally had trouble finding home for these mutts (even though all three of the first litter ended up with the right temperament and intelligence to become Guide and Remedial dogs), so he went on the news calling them "a new breed of Guide Dog: the Labradoodle". This marketing tactic worked, and virtually overnight, "unwanted mutt" became "impossible to find exotic new breed".

If this had been the end of the tale, the story would be one of more hype than substance: giving a mutt (even a smart, friendly one) a fancy name doesn't make it a new breed of its own! But Wally knew he was onto something here, and continued experimenting, breeding (what we now call) F1 Lab/Poodle mixes to each other (yielding F2's), and then F2's to F2's (yielding, you guessed it, F3's).

Beverly Manners (a long-time breeder and show judge of German Shepherds, Scotch Collies, Rottweilers, as well as Persian cats and horses) and her daughter Angela discovered the labradoodle, and formed Rutland Manor and Tegan Park Breeding and Research Centres (respectively) to continue where Wally left off, selectively breeding choice labradoodles to each other and occasionally to dogs of other specific breeds.

Nowadays

Multi-generation Australian Labradoodles are a breed unto themselves (although not yet recognized by the American Kennel Club) - and are not just a dog with one parent being a poodle and the other a lab. They have been purpose-bred for specific qualities from the following parent breeds: Poodle, Labrador Retriever, Irish Water Spaniel, Curly Coat Retriever, Cocker Spaniel (American or English), and most recently, the Irish Wheaton.

This may seem like a subtle distinction, but it is an extremely significant one. When you see a listing for an "F1 Labradoodle" (or goldendoodle), you're hearing about the puppies of a Labrador and a Poodle (or a golden retriever and a Poodle):

The result of this first generation mix is inconsistent: will the puppies be allergy friendly? When Wally Conran (the man who coined the name "labradoodle", and who is credited as being the first to intentionally breed a hypoallergenic dog with a temperament suitable to be a guide/service animal) first tried this out in the late 80's, the first litter of three pups had one with an allergy-friendly coat. The other two had partially shedding labrador-like hair coats which was not allergy-friendly. This is probably typical of first-generation labrador/poodle crosses, as there is no reason to expect that the offspring will simply pick up the best qualities of both breeds!

How does the authentic multigenerational Australian Labradoodle differ from this? The name is a good place to start:

authentic: comes from the original lines bred first by Wally Conran, and then continued by the Rutland Manor and Tegan Park Breeding and Research Centres, with specific goals in mind:
- Allergy-friendliness: as opposed to a first-generation cross, Australian Labradoodle puppies will end up with hypoallergenic low-shedding coats with more than 95% likelihood,
- Family-friendly attitude: non-aggressive, child-friendly mellow playfulness has been a driving force in the breed.
- Intelligent: bred as patient Guide dogs originally, many have also gone on to successful careers as Therapy dogs, as the breed now consistently produces highly trainable and intelligent animals.
multigenerational: while a poodle/labrador mating will produce inconsistent F1 puppies (with varying degrees of allergy-friendliness, which cannot always be known by an inexperienced breeder when the dog is still young), when select members of the litter are chosen and bred to a poodle or other poodle/labrador cross, and then the offspring of that mating are observed and mated with animals known to carry genes of certain desired traits, after five or six generations of this, qualities start to "set" - you get a labradoodle whose offspring with a variety of mates all consistently have these qualities.
Australian: Not just a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle, but a breed purposefully created in Australia, of these plus choice animals of breeds carefully chosen for specific qualities (and the desire for a broad genetic base to minimize risk of running into a genetic dead end).

But if you really want to see the difference between an Australian multigen Labradoodle and what you can end up with if you don't do your research carefully, just look:

authentic: comes from the original lines bred first by Wally Conran, and then continued by the Rutland Manor and Tegan Park Breeding and Research Centres, with specific goals in mind:

Allergy-friendliness: as opposed to a first-generation cross, Australian Labradoodle puppies will end up with hypoallergenic low-shedding coats with more than 95% likelihood,

Family-friendly attitude: non-aggressive, child-friendly mellow playfulness has been a driving force in the breed.

Intelligent: bred as patient Guide dogs originally, many have also gone on to successful careers as Therapy dogs, as the breed now consistently produces highly trainable and intelligent animals.

Australian: Not just a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle, but a breed purposefully created in Australia, of these plus choice animals of breeds carefully chosen for specific qualities (and the desire for a broad genetic base to minimize risk of running into a genetic dead end).

But if you really want to see the difference between an Australian multigen Labradoodle and what you can end up with if you don't do your research carefully, just look: