A Labradoodle is a product from crossbreeding of a Poodle to Labrador retriever breeding. The Australian Labradoodle is a product from crossbreeding of a labradoodle; a standard kind of bred typically found in Australia and a poodle. This term Labradoodle was first coined by Wally Conran, a breeding manager for Australian Guide Dog Services, in 1955. The main objective of Wally Conron to produce labradoodle was to create assistance dogs that do not shed hair, especially for the people suffering from allergies. The crossbreeding of Australian Labradoodle solely commenced between the standard or a miniature poodle with a Labrador Retriever.
The Australian Labradoodle currently consists of 7 different breeds. The confirmed breed of the Australian Labradoodle is the Poodle. Following are the names of the Poodles:
- Standard Poodle
- Miniature Poodle
- Labrador Retriever
- Irish Water Spaniel
- Curly Coat Retriever
- American Cocker Spaniel English Cocker Spaniel
The life expectancy of an Australian labradoodle is up to 13 to 15 years. If provided with good nutrition and better diet, then they can live up to complete 15 years.
Appearance
- An Australian Labradoodle comes in 3 different sizes, ranging from 14 to 24 inches tall, weighing between 15 to 65 pounds.
- Australian Labradoodles can grow up to 24 inches tall and weigh about 50 to 70 lbs, approximately.
- The standard height of an Australian labradoodle is 53 to 60 cm.
- Female Australian labradoodle can weight around 45 – 60 pounds or 20 – 27 kg whereas a male Australian labradoodle can weight 55 to 77 pounds, approx or 25 to 35 kgs.
- A miniature Australian Labradoodle can grow up to 17 – 22 inches (44 – 56 cm) whereas a miniature can weight up to 30 – 50 pounds (14 – 25 kg) and males are much large.
- Australian Labradoodles have two types of coat types: – one, fleece-textured or second, wool-textured. They can also have spiral-shaped curls.
- Fleece-textured: Fleece-textured coats are soft and have hair that is either straight or wavy.
- Wool-textured: Wool-textured coats are soft like wool and are generally have curly hair.
- Australian Labradoodles also come in various shades of colours, such as the party, white, apricot, chocolate, and black etc.
- Australian Labradoodles look like and also described as teddy bear-like.
Temperament
- Australian Labradoodles are often very gentle and friendly. As mentioned above, they are affable, are not aggressive and are very soft with children.
- Australian Labradoodles are quite intelligent and possess the quality of learning things quickly and grasping the instructions.
- Australian Labradoodles are allowed as therapy dogs and service dogs because of the reason that they are so friendly, gentle, intelligent and easy to train.
- They are quite playful. Australian Labradoodles enjoy time with their human families. As a gentle breed, they are great with children and other pets. They are very friendly and amiable.
- Australian Labradoodles are very active and energetic dogs. So they need, atleast, 30-60 minutes of exercise or daily activity, ideally.
Health Issues
Australian Labradoodle can have several health-related issues which can be due to years of inbreeding. These health issues can be, also, due to genetics or either parent having any of the health issues.
Following are the potential health concerns you should be aware if you are considering to keep a labradoodle as your pet:
- Hip and Elbow Dysplasia – just like all the medium or large dogs, Australian labradoodle are also prone to canine hip and or elbow dysplasia. In this issue, the dog might suffer from painful arthritis and lameness. Similar to hip and elbow dysplasia, these dogs are also pone to another health issue – patellar luxation.
- Eye Issues – Australian labradoodle can also suffer progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). This problem causes loss of vision which could also lead to blindness, if not treated on time. These dogs are also at risk from multifocal retinal dysplasia. This eye problem causes retinal detachment and eventually blindness.
- Von Willebrand Disease – Von Willebrand disease is a type of bleeding disorder caused by low levels of clotting protein in the blood. Australian Labradoodles are prone to Von Willebrand disease. The symptoms of this disease may include recurrent and prolonged nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums, increased menstrual flow and excessive bleeding from a wound.
- Allergies are a common ailment in dogs, so an Australian labradoodle is not an exception. There are three main types of allergies found in Australian labradoodle: first is food allergies, that are curable and treatable by cutting out certain foods from the dog diet; second, contact allergies, that caused because of a reaction to a topical substance such as bedding, flea powders, dog shampoos, and other chemicals; and third is inhalant allergies, that caused due to airborne allergens such as pollen, dust, and mildew. Treatment for all these allergies varies accordingly to the cause and includes dietary restrictions, medications, and environmental changes.
- Gastric Dilatation – Volvulus: This health issue is also known as bloat. This issue is a life-threatening condition that can affect large dogs such as an Australian Labradoodles. Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus is more common in older dogs. The chief cause of bloat is when the dog stomach brimmed with gas. In this, the dog is not able to vomit out the stuff to get rid of it or the air in his stomach. In severe cases, the blood pressure drops and the dog may go into shock.
Food and Diet
To provide your pet labradoodle with the best nutrition, then the pet owner should choose one of the high-quality diets that are appropriate for the species and are available. If you are feeding your pet Australian Labradoodle a dry food item, the owner can give your pet around 2½ to 3 cups of food item per day.
Training
This breed of labradoodle is known for being easy to train, gentle and intelligent, so if you are considering to keep an Australian labradoodle as your pet dog, then the dog is capable enough to pick up on tricks and rules in a brief duration of time. To train your dog adequately; it is necessary to keep the training sessions engaging and good for the dog. It is also essential to give positive reinforcements to your dogs, such as rewards, treats, and praise your dog to motivate your pet and avoid becoming harsh. The dog owner should always remain calm, patient, consistent, and firm so that the pet dog will learn the rules and tricks in no time.
Grooming of an Australian Labradoodle
As we know that an Australian labradoodle has curly coats, and these types need regular grooming. You can groom your dog with a slicker brush every two weeks, atleast, and give the dog a trim, scissoring or clipping atleast twice or thrice a year to keep him tidy. Most Australian Labradoodles shed very little hair or no hair and are acknowledged to be a non-allergenic breed of dogs.
Pros and Cons of the Australian Labradoodle
Pros
- Australian labradoodle is loyal, gentle, non-aggressive and friendly companions that get along with children and even get along with other pets.
- Australian Labradoodles are quick to learn tricks and rules and even respond to all the instructions well to if they provided with consistent, positive training by a calm, patient and positive trainer.
- The most magnanimous flex of owning this mixed breed dog is that they are safe for allergy sufferers. Australian Labradoodles are known to be non-allergenic.
- Australian Labradoodles make good service and therapy animals because of their friendly, calm and non-aggressive behaviour.
- Australian Labradoodles have a great temperament. These dogs are known for having the best disposition and also conceded as highly intelligent dogs that are perfect for families who are considering to own an Australian labradoodle as their pet dog.
- Australian Labradoodles are known as non-shredding dogs as they have less number of issues when it comes to their shredding part. As these dogs do not shed much, hence you will not find a furball or fur balls around your house which is very tedious to clean up. Their fur needs to trimmed twice a week or needs combing.
- Australian Labradoodles commonly counted as healthy dogs. As an Australian labradoodle healthy breed of dog, their average life expectancy is 13 to 15 years. If provided with good nutrition and a proper diet with regular exercises, then they would live with a better lifestyle for up to 15 years.
- Plausibly, there is no other hybrid or purebred dog who can be pleased as you can please an Australian labradoodle. Once, you have started to become comfortable with the labradoodle then, becomes a pleasant journey with the labradoodle.
- A person can choose from three coat options. An Australian Labradoodle is available in three coat options, that is the straight coat, curly coat and wavey coat or also referred to as fleece coat. Australian Labradoodles resemble like and described as teddy bear-like.
- An Australian Labradoodle is available in various colours. The colour options are a part, white, apricot, chocolate, chocolate to red, gold, or white and black etc.
- Labradoodles are generally easy to train. They are highly intelligent to catch up with rule and tricks. With the right motivation and positive rewards, an Australian Labradoodles are easy to teach.
Cons
- Australian Labradoodles are the breeds of dogs that are not suitable for living in a small flat or apartment. As they are highly energetic and active, they require a lot of exercise and a minimum of 30-60 minutes of activity daily. For this much exercise, a large area of space necessitated to keep up with regular, of the Australian labradoodle. Hence, an Australian labradoodle is not suitable for living in a small apartment.
- It is well established that Australian Labradoodles do not shed much and are supposed as more of hypoallergenic in comparison to Labradors and poodles. But there is still a little possibility of an Australian labradoodle shedding or even more than the others. But the fact is that less shedding problems do not mean that even allergies will reduce.
- There are several health issues with an Australian labradoodle if you are going to consider keeping this breed of dog as your pets. Every bred of dogs has some or the other type of health issue which the owner will have to face and take care.
- Australian Labradoodle can have several health-related issues which can be due to years of inbreeding. These health issues also are due to genetics or either parent having any of the health issues. They can suffer from:
- Hip dysplasia. In this issue, the dog might suffer from painful arthritis and lameness. Similar to hip and elbow dysplasia, these dogs are also pone to another health issue – patellar luxation;
- Eye problems. This problem causes loss of vision which could also lead to blindness, if not treated on time. These dogs are also at risk from multifocal retinal dysplasia. This eye issue causes retinal detachment and eventually blindness;
- Von Willebrand Disease. It is a type of bleeding disorder caused by low levels of clotting protein in the blood. The symptoms of this disease may include recurrent and prolonged nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums, increased menstrual flow and excessive bleeding from a wound;
- Allergies: There are three main types of allergies found in Australian labradoodle: first is food allergies, that are curable and treatable by cutting out certain foods from the dog’s diet; second, contact allergies, that caused because of a reaction to a topical substance such as bedding, flea powders, dog shampoos, and other chemicals; and third is inhalant allergies, that caused due to airborne allergens such as pollen, dust, and mildew.
- Gastric Dilatation – Volvulus: This health issue is also known as bloat. This issue is a life-threatening condition that can affect large dogs such as an Australian Labradoodles.
- An Australian Labradoodle is quite expensive as it is a designer hybrid dog. A purebred dog is way cheaper than a designer hybrid dog.
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