45 Fun Facts About Labradoodles

Which US president said his daughters had narrowed their White House puppy search to a Labradoodle or one other breed?

Barack Obama said so on television in January 2009; the family then went with the other finalist, a Portuguese water dog they named Bo.

Labradoodles were originally intended to suit people with what problem?

Allergies to dog dander were the whole brief: a blind woman needed a guide dog her allergic husband could live with, and 33 Standard Poodles failed guide-dog trials before the cross was tried.

Which Australian breeder is credited with inventing the Labradoodle?

Wally Conron bred the first litter in the late 1980s as a guide-dog breeding manager, and later called creating the cross one of his greatest regrets.

Which breed ended the Labrador Retriever's 31-year run as America's most popular dog in the AKC's 2022 rankings?

French Bulldog: the breed had climbed from 14th place in 2012, helped by a small size and quiet manner that make it a good fit for apartment living.

In which Australian state did the Labradoodle guide-dog programme begin?

Victoria is where the Royal Guide Dogs Association bred the first litter; now called Guide Dogs Victoria, it was flooded with calls once the new name reached the press.

Sultan, the first Labradoodle guide dog, was bred in Australia for a blind woman living in which US state?

Hawaii was home to the woman, whose husband was allergic to dogs; samples from three pups were sent there for testing, and only Sultan's caused no reaction.

What monster did the Labradoodle's inventor say he had created?

A Frankenstein is what he said he had released, blaming himself for the careless breeders who cashed in on the name without checking their dogs.

Why did the Labradoodle's inventor think a catchy name mattered for his first litter?

To offset the stigma of mixed breeds: nobody would foster his crossbred pups, so he had the charity's press team announce a new dog, and the phones rang for weeks.

How do the AKC and other major kennel clubs classify the Labradoodle?

Not a recognised breed: the clubs treat it as a cross of two breeds, because its puppies don't yet come out consistent in coat, size or temperament.

In Stanley Coren's famous obedience-intelligence ranking, which breed is the only one placed above the Poodle?

Border Collies top the list in his book The Intelligence of Dogs, with Poodles second and Labradors seventh, so both Labradoodle parents rank in the top ten.

Which animated sitcom's pet dog is a Labrador Retriever?

Family Guy's Brian talks, drives a car and walks on two legs; the show once killed him off under a car, then had Stewie travel back in time to save him two episodes later.

What are the three size names used for Labradoodles?

Miniature, medium and standard are borrowed from Poodle sizing, since a Labradoodle's size depends on whether a Standard or a Miniature Poodle was used.

What suddenly sent prices for 'oodle' puppies soaring in both Australia and Britain?

Pandemic demand for pets outran the supply of puppies in 2020: many breeders doubled their prices, and one in Australia said buyers who paid up were as much at fault as the sellers.

Labradoodle coats are divided into which three categories?

Wool, fleece and hair run from tight Poodle-like curls to a straighter Labrador-like coat, and the Australian Labradoodle standard accepts only fleece or wool, counting harsh hair as a fault.

Which coat pattern, shared with Poodles, describes a Labradoodle that is mostly white with patches of another colour?

Parti means at least half white with coloured patches; flip the proportions, to a solid coat with a few white marks, and breeders call the pattern abstract.

Breeders nickname the Labrador Retriever's thick, powerful tail after which animal's?

Otter tail is the nickname because it works as a rudder, one of the swimming aids, with webbed feet and a waterproof coat, that Labradors can pass to their crosses.

Which joint problems can a Labradoodle inherit from both of its parent breeds?

Hip and elbow dysplasia run in both Labradors and Poodles, so a cross can inherit badly formed joints from either side rather than escaping them.

Addison's disease, a known risk in Standard Poodles and their crosses, is caused by underactive what?

The adrenal glands, which sit beside the kidneys, stop making enough hormones such as cortisol; Standard Poodles are among the breeds most prone, which is how the risk reaches their crosses.

Which American novelist drove around the United States in 1960 with his Standard Poodle, Charley?

John Steinbeck turned the trip into the book Travels with Charley, using long conversations with the dog as a way of thinking aloud about his country.

Why are Labradoodles especially prone to ear infections?

Long floppy ears fold over the ear canal and trap moisture, so warmth and damp build up inside instead of airing out.

Who developed the Australian Cobberdog as a stricter, pedigreed offshoot of the Labradoodle?

Rutland Manor and Tegan Park were the research kennels that shaped the Australian Labradoodle; in 2012 a breed registry accepted their stricter line under a new name, as a breed in development.

What does the Australian slang word "cobber" in Cobberdog mean?

Friend, mate or pal is what 'cobber' means in old Australian slang; the name arrived in 2012, when a breed registry accepted the dogs as a line separate from the Labradoodle.

Which bestselling 2005 memoir, later a film, follows life with an unruly yellow Labrador Retriever?

Marley & Me is John Grogan's story of a dog so wild that its subtitle crowns him 'the world's worst dog', yet readers made the book a huge bestseller.

The Australian Cobberdog was bred chiefly to excel at which job?

Therapy and assistance work is the goal, so its breeders prize a calm, people-focused temperament above looks, show quality or even pedigree.

Which rock band named a song 'Black Dog' after a nameless Labrador that wandered their recording studio's grounds?

Led Zeppelin's lyrics are about a woman and never mention a dog: the title is a nod to the Labrador that kept turning up at Headley Grange while they recorded.

Which three breeds must an Australian Labradoodle descend from, under its breed association's rules?

Poodle, Labrador and Cocker Spaniel are the required ancestors, though a 2020 genome study found the modern Australian Labradoodle is, genetically, mostly Poodle.

Which terrier was bred into Australian Labradoodle lines in 2004, the step that led to the separate Cobberdog?

The Irish Soft-coated Wheaten Terrier was added to widen the gene pool, but breed clubs that allowed only three founding breeds rejected the move, and the two lines parted.

What is the principal cause of dog allergies, rather than the hair itself?

A protein in saliva and dander, chiefly one labelled Can f 1, is the trigger; it rides around on shed hair and skin flakes, which is why hair gets the blame.

What do prominent allergen researchers say about hypoallergenic dog breeds?

There is no basis for the claim: a 2012 Dutch study found coat samples from so-called hypoallergenic dogs, Labradoodles included, carried more of the main dog allergen than other dogs' did.

A 1999 study found which routine cuts the allergen on a dog's coat, but only if repeated twice a week?

Washing the dog stripped most of the allergen from its coat, but levels were back where they started by the third day, hence the twice-a-week rule.

Designer-dog names like Labradoodle are what kind of word?

A portmanteau packs two words into one; Lewis Carroll gave the term that meaning, borrowing the name of a suitcase that opens into two halves.

The Labradoodle's inventor said that breeding the first litter had opened what?

A Pandora's box was his phrase: he believed the name's success tempted people to breed Poodle crosses for money without checking the parents' health.

What is the everyday name for heterosis in crossbred dogs?

Hybrid vigour is inbreeding depression in reverse: closely bred lines lose fitness as their genes grow more alike, and crossing two breeds restores some of the variety.

Why did all 33 Standard Poodles tested before the first Labradoodle fail as guide dogs?

They lacked the right temperament for guide work, so after three years the breeder tried giving a Labrador's steadiness a Poodle's coat instead.

A Bernedoodle is a Poodle crossed with which large breed?

Bernese Mountain Dog: the cross pairs a big Swiss farm dog with a Poodle, in the hope of puppies with the Poodle's low-shedding coat.

Scientists have found that a gene mutation common in Labradors helps explain which trait of the breed?

Obsession with food: many Labradors carry a damaged copy of a gene that helps the brain rein in appetite, so they stay keener on food and run to fat more easily.

Under which name is the Cockapoo usually sold in Australia and New Zealand?

Spoodle is the name there for the Cocker Spaniel and Poodle cross, which Americans were breeding on purpose in the 1960s, decades before the first Labradoodle.

What does the F1 label mean on a doodle or cockapoo?

First-generation cross of two purebreds, such as a Labrador and a Poodle; breed two F1 dogs together and their F2 puppies come out far less consistent.

The Poodle's French name, Caniche, is usually traced to the French word for a female of which bird?

Duck: 'cane' is French for a female duck, a nod to the breed's early work fetching shot birds from lakes and rivers for hunters.

The German word Pudel comes from a Low German verb meaning what?

To splash is the sense of 'pudeln': German first called the breed a Pudelhund, literally a puddle dog, and the English word 'puddle' is a cousin.

Why did hunters leave hair on a clipped Poodle's chest and leg joints?

To keep them warm in water: shaving the rest stopped the heavy coat dragging the dog down as it swam, so the showy cut began as working gear.

The Labrador Retriever descends from water dogs imported from which colony?

Newfoundland, not Labrador: fishermen's St. John's dogs from the island were bred into retrievers in Britain, and the name of the neighbouring mainland region stuck to them.

Which three coat colours are Labrador Retrievers registered in?

Black, yellow and chocolate are the three; early breeders wanted only black, and chocolate, then called liver, stayed a rarity until the 1960s.

Which Dorset port did the Labrador's ancestors reach aboard fishing ships from across the Atlantic?

Poole was the English end of the cod trade, and local landowners such as the Earl of Malmesbury acquired the crews' dogs to breed as waterfowl retrievers.

At which show did Nunsoe Duc de la Terrace become the first Poodle to win Best in Show, in 1935?

Westminster's 1935 winner was handled in the ring by his owner, Hayes Blake Hoyt, and by 1960 Poodles were America's most registered breed, a lead they kept until 1982.