What is the Labradoodle? Where does it come from? Part Labrador and part Poodle, the Labradoodle temperament is cheerful and affectionate and always ready for play.
The Poodle is ranked at number seven for the best family dog. In this article, we will first talk about the Labrador, then segue to the Poodle and give you some general history about both breeds.
We’ll get into more of the Labradoodle temperament, health issues, pros, and cons.
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 Labrador is ranked as the #1 family dog.
The Poodle
- Height – 15-21 inches
- Weight – 45-60 pounds
- Lifespan – 12-18 years
- Temperament – watchful, loving, playful
Poodles originally came from Germany as “duck dogs” but were brought over to France and became the breed to own. Due to its popularity, France made it their national animal.
Poodles have three different “siblings”. There is the standard Poodle which is above 15 inches tall at the shoulder. Miniature poodles are 15 inches or shorter. The “baby sister” of the Poodle family is the Toy Poodle at 10 inches and below.
Poodles are very smart, very active dogs and make great companions for people who enjoy being out and active daily.
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- Puppy classes, reinforced at home
- Temperament – Eager to please, playful, cuddly, watchful, goofy, loyal
- Good in an apartment? Yes, if given ample walking and exercise time each day.
General
Another name for Labradoodle is Labrador Poodle mix. This breed was created in Australia 1988, by a guy named Wally Conron. His primary purpose in creating this magnificent breed was to combine the low shedding of the human hair of the Poodle, with the popular family favorite Labrador breed.
With the gentleness and the easy trainability of the Labrador Retriever, the Labradoodle is known to be amongst the smartest of dog breeds. In this part of the article, we will go over the most important things to know about the Labrador Poodle mix.
Socialization, and Labradoodle Temperament
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. You also get her socialized with other puppies her own age along with their owners.
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. Labradoodle temperament is not an aggressive dog breed, they will, of course, bark whenever someone unfamiliar comes to the door. But other than that they will not make a good guard dog.
They will, however, make a great hunting dog, if you train them right! If you are walking them off-leash, they tend to go on an unplanned hunting expedition.
The Labrador Poodle mix can get into a bad habit of chasing smaller animals, especially with cats. If you train your Labrador Poodle mix not to chase any animal at an early age, you should have no problems when they are older.
Labradoodle Training and Exercise
The Labradoodle is typically an excellent breed for a first-time dog owner. Eager to learn, the labradoodle is easy to train if you begin from the first day home and stay consistent, especially in the first month.
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 wherever he can, so you need to be firm, loving, and consistent in your training. When you arrive home you should start training your puppy the basics.
Like sit, stay, lay down, off, and come those six commands are essential. Once you get those commands down, you can then go to puppy classes. Where they will train you and your puppy in more advanced training.
Exercise
Labradors and Poodles are very active dogs, so if you are a couch potato that wants to get home and watch tv after work. 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 your Labradoodle enough exercise in his body and mind daily. You will have a lot of destroyed items in and around your house.
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. The tail gives out due to over-usage.
- 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.
Conclusion
This concludes the Labradoodle Temperament 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 as well!
From the Community
Thanks to Patricia Johnson for sending us her beautiful Dudley Labradoodle photos!
“You have characterized the breed very well! We also owned a Labrador Retriever for 14 years, a gem of a dog. This is Dudley, our nine-year-old Labradoodle.”
~Patricia Johnson
Happy Tails and Furry freinds!
Labrottie team