Alder Creek Labradoodles
Labradoodle breeding first began in Australia when there was a request by Pat Blum of Hawaii. She, a visually impaired woman with a husband who was allergic to dogs, needed a guide dog and one that would be allergy friendly. The manager of GDAV Guide Dog Services, John Gosling, agreed to this request in 1989. Wally Conron, the breeding manager for GDAV, planned the mating between Harley and Brandy, a Poodle and a Labrador. The result was the first Labradoodle litter of 3 puppies. Fur samples were taken from the pups, as they matured, and sent to Pat. One of the pups, Sulton, was compatible as well as being allergy friendly. The temperament and trainability of Sulton made him the perfect guide dog and companion. He became a wonderful addition to their family. This was the beginning of the Labradoodle breed.
It has been recognized to be an excellent combination, producing puppies that are very smart, easy to train and with wonderful personalities. As people have witnessed and studied this breed, their popularity has grown and now Labradoodles are sought after pets for families. Having a dog that has less to no shedding and also shows many to be allergy friendly contributes to the success of this breed. There are several quality breeders continuing their work in producing a quality dog.
In the beginning the cross was between a Poodle and a Labrador and many people continue to breed for this first generation cross, referred to as an F1 breeding. This combination is resulting in a wide variety of coats. You can find pups with a coat very similar to a Labrador and to a coat that is 4 inches in length, soft, wavy and fur like. Each has their own look. Some dogs will not shed and some will shed, but generally not as much as the Labrador. You will find that with F1 crosses that some of the coats will be allergy friendly and some will not.
Other breeders have gone on further, trying to improve the non-shedding aspect as well as being more allergy friendly. They are doing this by breeding the first crosses, F1s, back to the Poodles, producing pups called F1-Bs. Selecting the best of these litters, they breed their Fl-B Labradoodle to another selected F1-B Labradoodle or back to a Poodle. This gives you a pup referred to as a Multi-Gen. The focus remains to produce a better Labradoodle that will be allergy friendly and non-shedding with personalities that are pleasing and continue to be easily trained, making a wonderful family pet.
The term Multi-Gen is referring to two things, either it's the breeding of Labradoodles beyond an F2 generation developed in the U.S. or from the lines stemming from Rutland Manor or Tegan Park in Australia. Regardless of where the lines come from, Multi-Gen coats are very similar.
The Labradoodle breed is still in its development. They will always be a sought after dog because of their many wonderful qualities, whether or not they are recognized as a breed by AKC.
Labradoodles are not yet recognized as a breed by any club or organization, therefore no formal standard is in place yet. However, breeders of multi-generation dogs are working towards a standard to be recognized if the Labradoodle is accepted as its own breed.