Man Who Invented The Labradoodle Says It's His 'Life Regret'

Depending on how you feel about them, Labradoodles can be the best type of dog you could possibly want.

The poodle cross Labrador can be 'a lively and very friendly companion', 'gentle with children and enjoy being part of the family unit', and shed very little hair.

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Sounds like a perfect animal, right?

Well, the man who created the breed back in 1955 reckons it is now 'crazy', a 'Frankenstein', and his 'life's regret'. Pretty strong words for an animal that is regarded by many owners as cute, adorable and perfect.

But for Australian Wally Conron, he's watched his one-off creation be turned into a pet that is wrought with health issues and bad breeding practices.

It all started back in the '50s when Wally was working for what's now called Guide Dogs Victoria. He got a letter from a blind woman in Hawaii who was desperate for a guide dog but was allergic to long hair.

COBBERDOGKING - Australian Cobberdogs/YouTube

So Wally tried to train a poodle with the same skills a Labrador is given to lead the blind. He went through no less than 33 different types and none of them had the temperament that could help a human.

So then he decided to to fuse a Labrador with a poodle and see what would happen.

Speaking to the ABC, Wally said: "Our boss had one, a standard poodle, that as far as I knew it had no hereditary problems, so I used it. It was great, but I still had worries. Were they non-allergic? Were they going to be suitable?"

Nine weeks later and he was gifted with three puppies that became the first ever Labradoodles. He sent test samples to Hawaii to see if the woman would be allergic and it came back a-okay.

Wally told the ABC that he struggled to offload the other two pups and enlisted the help of Guide Dogs Victoria PR department.

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"I said 'can you get onto the media and tell them that we've bred a special breed? A breed called the Labradoodle - it's non-allergenic'," Wally said.

"It was a gimmick. No-one wanted a crossbreed but everybody wanted a Labradoodle. Same dog, different name."

He's since seen the breed explode in popularity and sadly it seems like his little creation is prone to some health problems when they're not selectively bred properly.

"I realised the reason for these unethical, ruthless people [was] to breed these dogs and sell them for big bucks," Wally says.

Oracle7/Creative Commons

"I opened a Pandora's box and released a Frankenstein's monster. When I'm out and I see these labradoodles I can't help myself, I go over them in my mind.

"I look at it thinking, does it have hip dysplasia, has it got elbow problems, any other problems I can see?

"I find that the biggest majority are either crazy or have a hereditary problem. I do see some damn nice labradoodles but they're few and far between."

So if you're thinking of picking one up, be really, really sure that it's from a proper breeder that has worked hard not to produce a dog with health issues.

Topics: Community, Animals, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie