Australian Labradoodle

[westtra]

Other half has taken a liking to these as a dog for our family.

I quite like the look of them but looking for info on them from other that have or have experience of them before I commit to one.

Thanks

[Spiffing]

What is the difference between them and a UK one?

[Foliage]

Spiffing said:

What is the difference between them and a UK one?

Has one of them hats with the corks on it.

[riosyd]

I had a quick google just to see what an Australian Labradoodle is and found this website - I'm actually quite horrified at the puppies being spayed/neutered so young

http://www.burnbrae-australianlabradoodles.co.uk/p...

[bexVN]

riosyd said:

I had a quick google just to see what an Australian Labradoodle is and found this website - I'm actually quite horrified at the puppies being spayed/neutered so young

http://www.burnbrae-australianlabradoodles.co.uk/p...

Tell me about it. Really hope it doesn't become common practice here , I don't agree with it at all.

[Spiffing]

A rescue centre has it in it's contract that all puppies are to be neutered at 6 months and vets would have to sign the contract to say they would do it. I'm all for neutering, however I think the dog needs to be mature enough first, and bhes have to have at least one season.

Sorry, we seemed to have left the topic

[ehonda]

riosyd said:

I had a quick google just to see what an Australian Labradoodle is and found this website - I'm actually quite horrified at the puppies being spayed/neutered so young

http://www.burnbrae-australianlabradoodles.co.uk/p...

That's horrendous.
They also have a breed standard on that website, I would have thought in order to have a breed standard you would need to have a breed. No surprise that the Australian Kennel Club doesn't have the ozzie labradoodle on it's breed standards page. Guess it's hard to justify charging £500+ for a mongrel though.

[Spiffing]

I had a lady scream at me that I didn't know what I was doing when I was taking entries at a local show. Apparently a Cockerpoo is a pure bred as she has paperwork and can be entered into breed classes

[No Bend]

Spiffing said:

I had a lady scream at me that I didn't know what I was doing when I was taking entries at a local show. Apparently a Cockerpoo is a pure bred as she has paperwork and can be entered into breed classes

And what a stupid name that is. Someone is having very long laugh at putting cock and poo together, something most avoid. The rest of the world refers to that cross as a 'Spoodle'

westtra said:

Other half has taken a liking to these as a dog for our family.

I quite like the look of them but looking for info on them from other that have or have experience of them before I commit to one.

Thanks

There's no difference between an Australian Labradoodle or a UK one, it's just that they started them off in Australia. You can cross a poodle and a labrador wherever you like.

The idea was to breed a seeing eye dog for the visually impaired that had allergies to a labradors coat. That and they thought that cross breeding two fairly smart dogs would result in a fairly smart dog.

Turns out the result was a silly dog, with two types of coat. So not suited for intended purpose, but some owners like them as pets.

[moorx]

ehonda said:

That's horrendous.
They also have a breed standard on that website, I would have thought in order to have a breed standard you would need to have a breed. No surprise that the Australian Kennel Club doesn't have the ozzie labradoodle on it's breed standards page. Guess it's hard to justify charging £500+ for a mongrel though.

No Bend said:

Spiffing said:

I had a lady scream at me that I didn't know what I was doing when I was taking entries at a local show. Apparently a Cockerpoo is a pure bred as she has paperwork and can be entered into breed classes

And what a stupid name that is. Someone is having very long laugh at putting cock and poo together, something most avoid. The rest of the world refers to that cross as a 'Spoodle'

westtra said:

Other half has taken a liking to these as a dog for our family.

I quite like the look of them but looking for info on them from other that have or have experience of them before I commit to one.

Thanks

There's no difference between an Australian Labradoodle or a UK one, it's just that they started them off in Australia. You can cross a poodle and a labrador wherever you like.

The idea was to breed a seeing eye dog for the visually impaired that had allergies to a labradors coat. That and they thought that cross breeding two fairly smart dogs would result in a fairly smart dog.

Turns out the result was a silly dog, with two types of coat. So not suited for intended purpose, but some owners like them as pets.

The posts above sum up my thoughts on 'designer crossbreeds'. I find it incredible that people will pay hundreds (sometimes approaching £1000) on crossbreeds with no health testing. I have no prejudice against crossbreeds - I've owned several, along with pedigree dogs. The difference is, I didn't call them fancy names or pay ridiculous amounts of money for them.

I actually love the look of labradoodles, but if I wanted one, I would prefer to get one from rescue or a private rehoming than a breeder. Actually, I'd prefer to have a standard poodle.

[westtra]

The price is one thing thats putting me off plus the conflicting stuff I have read about it being inteligent/dumb depending on what you read etc.

[No Bend]

westtra said:

The price is one thing thats putting me off plus the conflicting stuff I have read about it being inteligent/dumb depending on what you read etc.

Not sure how they compare in price, but as the previous poster said, a standard poodle is a great dog. Some may laugh at a 'poodle' but a standard one is a smart german shepherd in a wooly coat. Very intelligent, great guard dogs and good for families.

[Dand E Lion]

westtra said:

Other half has taken a liking to these as a dog for our family.

I quite like the look of them but looking for info on them from other that have or have experience of them before I commit to one.

Thanks

Why don't you and your OH each write a list detailing the characteristics you like about them?

For example, height/weight/grooming req'd/activity and exercise req'd/cost of feeding/cost of acquisition/ease of acquisition over the web or locally/intelligence and ability to learn/accept training (could include all or none of the above!)

Then ask yourselves which of those characteristics you think could be guaranteed in a first cross F1 hybrid of two completely different breeds

Then ask yourselves if those characteristics will still appeal in twelve years time?

For example, you could then be spending six months of the year on your yacht in Antibes, or reduced to a motorbike and sidecar, in which case lifting a large arthritic dog about could be challenging.

The only labradoodles I have met have been challenging, to say the least, but nothing with poodle in is my cup of tea, since my grand mother kept them when we were little and they were ghastly towards children.

Personally I don't understand why people breed mongrels, of any sort, whether they are labradoodles, lurchers or the latest fashion item, the 'dog that looks like a wolf/northern inuit/could have featured in a Disney movie' other than purely for cold hard cash.

If you are interested in a particular breed, there's always Discover Dogs on this coming weekend in London, then you can talk to owners and meet some dogs - although I don't think they'd have cross breeds there (but I might be wrong)

HTH

[No Bend]

Just to add, there's a massive difference (pun not intended) between standard poodles and the smaller breeds. They smaller the get the more inbred and snappy they can be. Standards can be aloof, but not nasty. (unless you have pissed them off)

[Bobhon]

So before I start I should say that I am the owner of an expensive mongrel, Cocker Spaniel Poodle cross. Call it a mongrel or a Cockapoo I won't be offended. A Spoodle is still a mongrel cross breed, but the non Poodle part is Springer Spaniel.

We previously had a Springer Spaniel, which we loved but sadly lost at the age of 14. Springers are lovely dogs, but they do have their issues.

When we came to replace her we did a lot of research on what breed to get. A non moulting coat was great as the hoover was out every day with the Springer. Talking to a few Cockapoo owners their dogs were very loving, could walk all day if asked or snuggle up beside you on the sofa, trained up very well and seemed quite intelligent. All of which Ruby has in spades.

In health terms, with any cross breed you run the risk of getting one of the inbred deficiencies of either of the parent breeds. In Cockapoos this comes down to potential early blindness from both sides. However this is understood from the donor breeds and tests are in place to ensure that this hereditary condition isn't in the parents and won't be passed on to your dog.

I am presuming that any Poodle cross could suffer from this and that you need to have the Poodle tested for PRA. If the breeder refuses to have it done them walk away. Labs as has been said are favourites for dodgy hips. I would talk to a vet or Lab owners to understand if this can be screened for.

Of course a cross breed could be healthier than either of the parent strains as inbred issues get cancelled out by mixing genes with the other breed in the mix. Only time would tell on this.

If we look back into doggy history then most of the modern breeds came from cross breeding and developing a breed standard. Weren't all dogs supposed to have come from Wolves? So eventually these modern designer dogs will probably be recognised by the Kennel Club. Not that I think that the Kennel Club driving exaggerated breed standards leading to inherently flawed dogs is such a great thing.

Costs for these dogs are high as supply was short. If I am buying a dog for 12+ years together then the price per year isn't that great. As most of us are petrolheads then it would probably be less than the cost of decent oil changes on your car.

Our Springer was a rescue dog and lovely. As she was 2 when we got her some of her character traits were already baked in. Nothing serious that we couldn't cope with. So we decided to go puppy and train from scratch this time. Maybe our next dog will be another rescue.

Just my 10 pence worth.

Bob

Edited by Bobhon on Wednesday 14th October 21:32

[Dand E Lion]

Bobhon said:

Costs for these dogs are high as supply was short. If I am buying a dog for 12+ years together then the price per year isn't that great. As most of us are petrolheads then it would probably be less than the cost of decent oil changes on your car.

Edited by Bobhon on Wednesday 14th October 21:32

There are far rarer pure breed pedigree dogs available to purchase for far less money, and to be honest I have had great 'value for money' from a broken down old greyhound who was so pitiful and the rescue were so keen to see her in a home, that they waived the adoption fee (I still made a donation though) although she cost me a fortune in vets bills!

My point in respect of the purchase price of a puppy was regarding whether adoption of a crossbreed puppy from a rescue for £100/£150 leaving the balance for pet insurance/annual vaccs/training classes/neutering/food/accessories like bed/harness/lead was better for the OP than spending £1000 on a cross breed puppy. Some people would be able to provide super homes for a dog, just not if they had to stump up £1000 to bring it home.

Irrespective of the 'price' paid for our dogs and the costs over the years, they always end up in credit at the 'bank' for what they give us in return anyway, much like children...eventually! Wish I could say the same about some of the cars!!!

[moorx]

Dand E Lion said:

Bobhon said:

Costs for these dogs are high as supply was short. If I am buying a dog for 12+ years together then the price per year isn't that great. As most of us are petrolheads then it would probably be less than the cost of decent oil changes on your car.

Edited by Bobhon on Wednesday 14th October 21:32

There are far rarer pure breed pedigree dogs available to purchase for far less money, and to be honest I have had great 'value for money' from a broken down old greyhound who was so pitiful and the rescue were so keen to see her in a home, that they waived the adoption fee (I still made a donation though) although she cost me a fortune in vets bills!

My point in respect of the purchase price of a puppy was regarding whether adoption of a crossbreed puppy from a rescue for £100/£150 leaving the balance for pet insurance/annual vaccs/training classes/neutering/food/accessories like bed/harness/lead was better for the OP than spending £1000 on a cross breed puppy. Some people would be able to provide super homes for a dog, just not if they had to stump up £1000 to bring it home.

Irrespective of the 'price' paid for our dogs and the costs over the years, they always end up in credit at the 'bank' for what they give us in return anyway, much like children...eventually! Wish I could say the same about some of the cars!!!

Hear, hear! None of my dogs have cost more than £150 but they have provided me with as much reward as those costing hundreds or thousands. I've been there, as well, with the wonky old ones but I wouldn't change a thing

I have to say, though, Bob - you don't sound like the average buyer of a 'designer crossbreed'. I doubt that most people buying them do much in the way of research into their traits and needs (hence why there are now 'breed' rescues for Labradoodles and probably others). And I doubt that many breeders have the parents health tested.

I know that all these accusations can be levelled at people purchasing any dog, not just designer crossbreeds. I think they are just more prone to it at the moment because of the 'fashion' aspect.

At least the OP is asking for info on these dogs; hopefully as another poster suggests he thinks about what he/his family wants from a dog and what they can offer a dog.

[Spiffing]

You do seem to have go into it with thought rather than getting the new fashionable breed or cross breed.

Many people will look at the cross and imagine the best of both breeds, I tend to look at the negative of both breeds. For example a friend asked if I would consider putting my border collie to her rottie. I thought about it and declined, imagine the damage that could be done when you combine the collie's sharpness with a rottie sized mouth and jaw strength.

[westtra]

Thanks for the comments.

Hopefully I am looking at it from the head as the misses is definaty looking at it from the heart.

It is multi gen ones she is looking at as opposed to a first breeding. The breeder that she has arrange for us to go visit states they fully screen all parents etc. So that gives me bit of confidence the puppy/dog will be predictable in temprament etc. and will have idea about any health issues.

The dog will be in a family situation with plenty excersise(live small village next to sea/2 min and in thick woods) and also have a large garden out back that it would have to run free in(will be dog proofed soon).

[Uncle John]

Our local park is full of these "new breed" mongrels which you know people have paid lots of money for. Why not just re-home a standard mongrel?

All dogs are lovely in their own right so I'm not sure why you need to spend hundreds on what is essentially the latest fashion item.

Pure and simple, it's a fashion from which some people are making lots of money from.