Whats the attraction with labradoodles?

Good luck with that if you meet a properly bred one

I can appreciate Standard Poodles , but I would never own one . I like big bones , feet and heads . Of all mixes , I love Doodles ... whether Lab or Golden.

I felt the same way as BP before meeting my first one. Maybe it's the fact that I'm such a hard core poodle lover and didn't understand why they needed to be mix....why mess with perfection was my thought..lol But I'm now in LOVE with some of the labradoodles that I groom, very sweet guys.

I still wouldn't want to get one though, poodles still have my heart. But I keep telling one of my labradoodle clients that if he never came to pick his boy up I would keep him and not say a word...LOL

i've apparently not met the right ones, because... blech. i've met some nice goldendoodles, though. and i think they're much more aesthetically pleasing. but i'm not much for the scruffy wirey coat i see on so many labradoodles.

Interestingly, I've heard the same thing from two other trainers/agility people. That the mix is, in some ways, greater than the sum of its two parts, and that the doodles somehow wind up being dogs with better work ethics and drive than either retrievers or poodles. Now, my only experience has been bad (very under exercised/under stimulated labradoodle across the street who barks non-stop), but it's interesting to me that you've noticed the same thing I've heard.

the very first labradoodles were bred by a fella in Oz in the 1970s. he need a hypoallergenic retreiver & didn't have access to water spaniels or curlies (don't even know if these are hypoallergenic) at a reasonable price. so crossed a very smart poodle he knew of onto his working labs. he selected & linebred for the median dogs w/ the hypoallergenic coat and good working ability (and he started the name labradoodle).
now the history in the USA i am not up to speed on and only got this because i wound up chatting w/ a pigdogger who was personal friend of the fella. he whipped out a whole archive of personal pics and old articles from Ozzie publications. this was about 8 years ago when boardogs still had a forum.

That's where doc's sophie came from.

the working dog community is a small world and getting smaller everyday.

Foster is a Goldendoodle, not a Labradoodle, but that does not describe him at all... He is sweet, outgoing, far from timid, and he is VERY playful, he can have serious zoomies but I would not call him hyper at all... He is smart, but goofy... LOL

The first time I saw a labradooodle, I exclaimed "Those are UGLY! Why do people want to breed those?"

I don't get it. Every one I've met still sheds like crazy, including goldendoodles.

ETA: as far as temperament goes, I have not meant one that isn't completely crazy, out of control, hyper, etc. We don't have well bred doodles here,so that explains that,...

I hate it when anyone calls a breed ugly, many don't appeal to me but not a dog alive do I consider ugly ... I don't think Foster is Ugly... and he does not shed a lick, I know many do, but he simply does not...

As a Pup:


Adult, Full Coat:



Adult, Shaved:




Goofy, funny, smart, friendly, loving to a fault... I know why people love them...

I know of one or two service dog organizations here in the US who breed labradoodle/poodle mixes - labradoodledoodles. I don't know what their reasoning is, whether they are better than just lab/poodles, and the one I met looked exactly like a poodle of course. Maybe they were "experimenting." *shrugs*

The designer breed whose popularity truly mystifies me is the Puggle. Living here in rich people land I have seen every designer mix imaginable. Though some of the pug-beagles are cute, they are stubborn, difficult to housebreak, shed like mad, and are food obsessed. This is not surprising in view of the fact that both Pugs and Beagles are known for being stubborn, difficult to housebreak, shedding like mad, and being food obsessed. What were people thinking here?

As a lover of large breeds , I really don't pay much attention to small breed mixes , If you love them , adopt them ! To me these are designer dogs . Cute mutts who need homes !

Poodles seem to have some temperament issues. I haven't met many, but they can be pretty stand offish. They also swim funny, I don't know if its the structure of the front end or not, but they splash so much water, the pond is lucky to have water in it at the end of the day.

The coat is an issue too. A lot of people don't know you don't have to keep them in a funny clip. The labradoodle, being a "not a breed" you have more "leniency" on how to cut it. I'd still probably go with the short haired lab, but they can be shaggy type cute.

drmom... I do like puggles. A little bit of short faced, wrinkly cuteness, but with a working body. The adults remind me of miniature mastiffs in head form rather than bulldogs, which I consider a very good thing. Puggle, pug. I'll take the mix! http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/images16/GangPugPuggleMillerBrooklyn.JPG

Take in mind that they are all very poorly bred around here. The ones I have seen around here ARE ugly, especially the first one I ever saw. Course, that was several years ago.

Nothing wrong with having an opinion. I personally believe Brussel Griffons are ugly, "puggles" too... they just don't appeal to me.

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I wont jump on the ugly bandwagon, but i will say that labradoodles are not easy on my eyes.

Me too, I'd take a puggle over a pug any day too. We get a LOT of puggles in though and they are not often easy dogs. A lot are very very stubborn but imo they're very cute. I still like them much more than pugs.

Labradoodles are far from ugly. I don't know that I'd classify them as pretty but they're very adorable. Especially the puppies. I will admit the poorly bred one around here is not very attractive. He seems to have gotten a very uneven/wiry coat that you don't see in the multigeneration ones. He's just very very scruffy looking.

I used to never understand the whole labradoodle thing until I met one. I met him the beach last year and after spending a couple minutes with him I knew exactly why someone would want one. His shagginess even won me over, and I'm not a shaggy dog person. I could see having a well bred one.

That having been said, this subject came up on my lab bard and when I mentioned not having a problem with ethically bred doodles (and took offense to a poster referring to a doodle pup as "that thing") I was roundly shunned. I guess chaz people are just more open minded.

I think my issue with labra/golden/doodles is lessening. Mainly because i am seeing alot more "well bred" ones then before. I really dont like the scruffy, almost terrier coat ones that seem to be mostly BYB dogs. I like the more "fluffy" kind, but probably because they are more poodle like, which i obviously prefer. If for some odd known reason i were to get the breed, i personally would get a goldendoodle. I just really like the ones ive met, and their coats were Super soft, even as they got older. I really havnt seen a huge amount in my area, but there have been plenty of doodles. Now, the morkies, there are Tons!!
I think the main reason i dont/didnt like labradoodles is because i just do not like labs! They are just a breed you couldnt give me for many reasons. And to mix them with my favorite breed, no thanks!!