What is the Labradoodle? Where does it come from? Well, the Labradoodle is part Labrador and part Poodle. Did you know that the Labrador is ranked number 1 for the best family dog?
The Poodle is ranked at number seven for the best family dog. In this article, we will first talk about the Labrador. We will then segway into the Poodle and give you some general history about the breed.
We will finally go and meet the Labradoodle, what are their pros and cons, what is their temperament like? What’s their size when they are fully grown. We have those answers and much much more!
So without any further ado here is the Labrador!
The Labrador
- Weight 50-80 pounds
- Height 22-24 inches
- Lifespan 10-12 years
- Temperament Loving, caring, loyal, playful
America’s favorite breed of dog, the Labrador Retriever, is an agreeable and friendly companion that is a popular choice for families. Labs are highly social and have a love for all people, children, and animals alike, which explains their widespread popularity.
The Labrador was bred in Canada, to help fishermen and hunters retrieve their catches. They needed a friendly dog that loved to go fetching and also enjoyed being in the water.
The Labrador was brought over to England by the 1800s by several English noblemen. Those breeds are now the English Labrador Retriever, they were bred more for being a show dog and companionship. Rather than their, American cousins who were bred for work.
The English Labrador is shorter, stockier, thicker necked and more mellow than their American cousins. If you would like to know more about the differences between the English Labrador Vs. the American Labrador we have that article here!
The Poodle
- Height 15-21 inches
- Weight 45-60 pounds
- Lifespan 12-18 years
- Temperament Watchful, loving, caring, playful
Poodles have three different siblings, there is the standard which is above 15 inches at the shoulder, the miniature poodles are 15 inches or bellow, and then there is the baby sister the Toy poodle 10 inches and bellow. Poodles are not dumb they are in fact brilliant, the Poodle is a very active dog. So they would go great with people who are out being active a lot of the time!
Poodles originally came from Germany as “duck dogs” but were brought over to France and became the thing to have! Due to its popularity, France made it, the national animal.
The Labradoodle
- Weight- 45-65 pounds
- Height- 21-24 inches
- Lifespan- 12-15 years
- Major Health Concerns- Elbow & hip dysplasia, Hypothyroidism, and Epilepsy
- Grooming- A weekly brushing, and when you give the Labradoodle a bath use Shampoo for their fur is hair.
- Colors- Cream, Silver, Red, Brindle, Black
- Eye Color- Hazel
- Exercise- 50-60 minutes a day of walking, running, playing, training
- Training- 15 minutes a day while still a puppy, they learn very fast!
- Socialization- Take her to puppy classes
- Temperament- Eager to please, playful, cuddly, watchful, goofball, Loyal
- Good in an apartment?- yes
General
The Labradoodle has a different name Labrador Poodle mix, this breed was created in 1988, by a guy named Wally Conron. The Labradoodle was established in Australia. His primary purpose in creating this magnificent breed was to combine the low shedding of the human hair of the Poodle.
With the gentleness and the easy trainability of the Labrador Retriever, the Labradoodle is one of the smartest dogs I have seen other than the German Shepherd Rottweiler mix. In this part of the article, we will go over the most important things for you to know about the Labrador Poodle mix.
What are the Training, Socialization, and Temperament of the Labradoodle
The Labradoodle is excellent for a first-time dog owner, the Labradoodle picks up your training very quickly. Train them from the first day that they arrive at your home. You will need to train your Labrador Poodle mix for at least 10-15 minutes daily, always remember to intersperse training with at least 5 minutes of playing.
A Labrador Poodle mix that follows your commands to the letter will be the envy of the city! So all ways remember to train your Labradoodle each and every day until he reaches the age of two.
If you do not train your Labradoodle correctly then he will be quite a handful, creating mischief where ever he can, so you need to be firm but loving with your training. Teach him the basics like sit, lay down, stay, down, and come, you should start teaching when you come home with your new pupper!
Socialization
The Labradoodle needs to be socialized at an early age, I would take her to puppy classes this kills two birds with one stone. You get her trained by a great pet trainer, and you get her socialized with other puppies her own age.
You can also take her to the city where she will get a nose full of different smells, sights, people, and noises. The one place that you should take her is the dog park. She is unvaccinated, furthermore, dogs at the dog park can be rude to a young puppy this could scar your puppy for life from ever being comfortable in another dog park.
Temperament
The Labradoodle temperament is –
- Kind
- Gentle
- Loving
- Playful
- Loyal
- Obedient
- Caring
The Labradoodle loves meeting new people and is a perfect match if you have babies or small children. Labrador Poodle mixes are not aggressive towards anyone, they will, of course, bark whenever someone unfamiliar comes to the door but other than that they will not make a good watch/guard dog.
They will, however, make a great hunting dog, you will have to watch them. They tend to go on a hunting expedition whenever they are off-leash, definitely watch them when they are off-leash.
Labrador Poodle mix can get into a bad habit of chasing smaller animals, especially cats if you don’t train them from an early age that, that action is not appreciated.
Remember what I am about to tell you for it will make a world of difference if you take it to heart. You are the Alpha pack leader, not the dog if you tell your Labradoodle a command he should immediately follow it.
How much Exercise and Grooming does the Labradoodle need?
Labradors and Poodles are very active dogs, so if you are a couch potato that only wants to get home and watch tv. Then the Labradoodle is not the right type of dog for you, the Labradoodle takes up their parents’ genes!
The Labradoodle needs a good 45 minutes of walking, hiking, jogging, running, or playing daily. You could do it all in one go, or in several different segments. If you do not give you Labradoodle enough exercise in his body and mind daily. You will have a lot of destroyed items in and around your house.
They again need mental and physical stimulation throughout the day, give them their exercise, and then sit down and give them their daily training. This is the best way to sedate their constant need for mental and physical stimulation needs.
Grooming for the Labradoodle is a must, the Labradoodle fur can become very tangled so you will need to give her a daily brushing.
The Labradoodle Health and Grooming
Well, in order to know what types of health problems the Labradoodle has, we have to take a closer look at the parent’s health problems.
The Labrador
- Hip and Elbow Dysplasia
- Retinal Atrophy – PRA for short is a disease that causes blindness over time.
- Obesity – The Labrador is known to eat whenever he gets the opportunity
- Cold Tail – Cold tail normally happens to sporting dogs. It is where the tail gives out due to overuse this can be very painful to a dog.
- Cancer – The Labrador is very prone to thyroid cancer
The Poodle
- Epilepsy
- Hip Dysplasia
- Progressive Retinal Atrophy- which is a disease that aggressively attacks the eyes which eventually makes the dog go blind.
- Bloating, bloating is very dangerous, bloating happens when you exercise your dog right after eating. The stomach can twist itself into knots if this happens, you need to take him to the vet immediately. There they will do open surgery to untwist the stomach.
- Thyroid issues
The Labradoodle
- Hip and Elbow Dysplasia
- Retinal Atrophy- PRA for short is a disease that causes blindness over time.
- Obesity- The Labradoodle is prone to overeating if given the opportunity
- Von Willebrand’s disease- It prevents the blood from clotting correctly, which means if your Labradoodle has a cut it will be very difficult for you to stop the bleeding.
- Epilepsy
The Labradoodles grooming needs is a bit on the “need to be brushed daily if you want a rock star look” But if not then a brushing every two to three days to make sure that the knots stay away, is all that is required in the brushing category.
In the washing category, the Labradoodle normally has human hair, and so instead of washing with regular dog soap. The Labradoodle needs human Shampoo to keep their hair looking gorgeous and healthy-looking.
This concludes the Labradoodle article! I hope I have persuaded you to get the Labradoodle!
If you have any questions, comments or you have a Labradoodle, we would love to hear about it and see your photos. Just drop an email!
Also if you would like to see what other types of Lab Mix’s, then here is a link to 30 Lab Mix dogs. We also have an article on The English Labrador vs the American Labrador article here as well!
Thanks to Trish Johnson for sending us her beautiful Dudley the Labradoodle!