What is your opinion on Labradoodles and hybrids in general?

Is that common for labrador/poodle crosses or do they vary in how much grooming they need? I could probably cope with clipping every three months

All the poodle crosses I've met have been really lovely dogs! I've met spaniel, schnauzer, lab, and golden retriever poodle crosses.

Ha, yes...

 

Mmmm...that's interesting! Maybe because she's a mix and maybe her size? I always had the little guys (6-10 lbs) so it would make sense that a couple inches of hair would look long on them whereas on Hattie it would still be nice and neat. And maybe it doesn't tangle as much either because she's not all poodle? Advantages of a mixie dog!

 

I don't think that is the case in the US. It seems like most of our Guide Dogs are Labs and I would guess that GSDs are second.

 

Sophie works for a breeding kennel producing a labradoodle mix. Five different breeds of dog in their make up including Australian water dog I think. They are hugely popular. Over £1500 a pup - not sure of the exact price.
They vary considerably in size and colour.
Most of their coats are pretty curly and low shed but the odd one pops up that is more of a shedder. Some of them need more grooming than others.
They are lovely natured.
Not nearly as food-orientated as labs which I find difficult!! I would guess training may be more a challenge.

 

Thank you @Emily_BabbelHund for starting such a thought-provoking thread. Has got me thinking that breeding animals should NOT be allowed to be a commercial venture given that they are sentient beings. We should be similarly appalled as we are by human trafficking. In some countries, women who donate human eggs are not allowed to receive payment, it may not be a commercial transaction, they may receive only expenses. It should be the same for dogs, that you pay only the costs for breeding (which should be appropriately high given the expenses of health tests and the time needed to raise a happy puppy). In my ideal world, the only people breeding dogs would be the ones who ensure healthy, happy dogs are produced and that loving homes are secured before the mating takes place. Ah... ideal... It should be the same for humans.

Where I live, if you append "doodle" the dogs become highly sought after. And @charlie I'm sorry if I offended by saying the Labradoodles in my area appear "moth eaten" -- the ones I've seen are not fluffy like Poodles, but instead have predominantly Labrador fur with a few wisps around the head, tail, and feet, but with Poodle-shaped faces, looking like they've lost hair. I think that is why I'm seeing so many more Golden Retriever x Poodles, because they super fluffy.

 

If you want people to do a thorough, professional job of breeding and raising puppies why shouldn't they make money at it? I wouldn't expect just my expenses to be covered for my job.

Personally I think the most important thing is to educate the buying public so that as far as possible they're buying healthy, fit for purpose (whether that's family pet or field trialling) puppies.

 

I kind of tossed out this thread and then ended up having a busy day at work and couldn't come back to it too much to join in the discussion - drat! But I really appreciate all the different viewpoints. I have to admit to having similar feelings to @snowbunny about preferring an established breed over the hybrids (and for the same reasons), but then there's @charlie with Hattie proving that a hybrid can be responsibly bred and placed with a loving family just as a purebred can.

I think some of my "enough with the Labradoodles already" (apologies to Helen for using the "L" word) is that when they started to get popular in California, people were paying huge sums to have them shipped out from Australia, which seemed the definition of insane not to mention a horrible experience for the poor puppy. I was also doing a lot of fostering at the time, and we saw so many dumped "poo this" and "chi that". Chiweenies, cockapoo, maltipoo, chug...people bred them for money, they'd pass the cute puppy stage and plunk on the street they'd go. It just put a bad taste in my mouth for all hybrid breedings done for a profit, whether the target market was someone willing to buy a dog from Australia or from the local flea market. My feeling was either you get a rescue or you get a purebred from a responsible breeder who is working to improve the health and temperament of the breed. "Hybrid" didn't figure into that equation.

On the other hand, I know that a lot of modern breeds (the Doberman is a good example) got their start from breeders mixing older breeds until they got what they wanted. And just because a breeder has only purebreds doesn't make them a responsible breeder either.

My waffling between choosing a Lab and a Rottie for my next dog led me down the garden path of trying to find a cross in Germany. Despite me really believing that Germany is doggie paradise, apparently the BYB market for crosses is doing a booming business. Could I find a Rottie/Lab cross online? Sure. But no health checks and a lot of "our Lab's great and so is our neighbour's Rottie so look - we made a bunch of puppies - wanna buy one so we can pay our rent?" It just made me sad and I decided not to go down that road either.

All that brought me to my father, who keeps touting Lab/Poodle crosses because he sees them all the time in California. Mainly because of the grooming, I'd rather stick to my plan of a Lab, but it got me thinking, "If you do want one, how do you find one?". If you want health-tested parents, responsible and caring breeders...without an AKC/UKC, kennel club regulations, registry, database and all that stuff, is it even possible to know what you are getting? Isn't any hybrid breed just supporting BYB (backyard breeding) practices under the veil of trendy names and high prices? Or am I being a "breed snob" (or even a "rescue snob"!) by thinking a dog must either be a rescue or from a responsible breeder? Could even the definition of "responsible breeder" not always mean purebred, following kennel club guidelines, etc.?

Bottom line: I have no idea! Already @Boogie and Helen have challenged my ideas that hybrids are always BYBs and not in the best interests of the dogs. I think for me, for now, I prefer to go the rescue mix or responsible breeder purebred route, but it's good to understand that there are different ideas out there.

 

I get what you are saying, but part of my personal "is this a good breeder" test is that they are NOT professionals in fact. Or at least not professional dog breeders. I completely expect a breeder to charge enough for all costs associated with breeding, but if they are fully supporting themselves on puppy sales, it just puts me off in a big way. Same way that I get the heebie-jeebies when I see on a breeders's webpage the dreaded words, "We ship puppies worldwide".

I know there are famous kennels out there who run their operations as a for-profit business, but it's just not my thing. I'd rather have a hobby breeder who breeds 1-2 litters a year maximum, raises the puppies in their home and does careful placement. Of course I've not found my puppy yet and I may learn that I've got the wrong idea, but I hope I'll find someone who fits the bill.

 

Personally I doubt there are many people breeding and raising puppies to a high standard who make a living from that alone.

My friend is currently looking for a stud for her bitches second litter. She's already done health tests, now she's spending a lot of time researching dogs. She will have visited at least three kennels to view the dogs. A trip back for mating (assuming it goes well). Extra food, vet visits, time off work for whelping and raising pups. Vets fees for puppies.

That's a lot of money right there if you factor in time as well as capital outlay.

 

Yes!

When I was looking for Tatze I first went to a well known professional breeder. All was well, excellent pedigrees, health checks, KC registered etc etc. We saw both parents and where they were housed. All excellent, very clean and well run.

But not what we wanted. We wanted a pup who had all these things but was whelped and lived for the first 8 weeks in the home with plenty of visitors. We were shown two lovely little girls ready for sale, but we moved on.

Tatze was born in the kitchen of a family home, surrounded by 'normal' sounds and activity from day 1. Lots of visitors handling the pups. That's what gives you confident, steady pups imo - along with good genes, of course.

 

I totally agree. I know that Ella's breeder made a huge loss on her litter. Three living puppies, emergency caesarean at 4am on a Sunday morning. Then one puppy was returned at ten weeks (their young daughter was unexpectedly diagnosed with a serious illness) and the breeder gave them a full refund of their money before re homing the puppy with her adult daughter, free of charge. Also, due to the birth complications, she retired Ella's mum and had her spayed. That's a lot of outlay for the sale of two puppies!

Having said that, her next litter (although nearly 2 years later) was complication free and she had 9 puppies so you would think she made a profit that time.

You couldn't guarantee your mortgage repayments on your breeding "business" though.

 

Yes, I totally agree! You will never hear me complaining about puppy prices for a what I consider a responsible breeder, in fact it seems entirely reasonable to charge quite a bit more than most currently do. I imagine most responsible hobby breeders actually lose money on the whole endeavour, especially when you factor in not only the immediate costs of a litter, but also all the hard work (shows, training, health exams) to even get to the point of the actual breeding.

 

That right there is my Holy Grail of puppy searching.

 

This is my sister's Goldendoodle (nearly a year old). He requires A LOT of grooming, and is at the groomers every six weeks. He is also ALWAYS dirty... But he has a lovely nature.

 

OOOO he's beautiful x

 

Hattie doesn't tangle much at all and I do keep her groomed, but yes she is mostly Poodle with a little Labrador. My friend has one like Angus the GD she never grooms him herself and he is clipped every 3 months too

 

You didn't offend me at all please don't worry x

 

He may always be dirty, but he is also adorable!

 

The low grooming seems pretty common, some people prefer to have them clipped every 6 - 8 weeks, Hattie doesn't need it that often so 3 months is good for her

They are very lovely dogs, the Poodle makes them extremely easy to train because they are very intelligent Hattie is living proof

 

Not getting at you Helen, this is a genuine question: in that case, why not get a poodle? I ask because my friend with the labradoodle bought from a breeder who previously bred poodles. She now breeds labradoodles simply because (in her words) poodles seem to have gone out of fashion and she just wasn't selling many puppies any more. Now she has several litters a year of labradoodles. I don't quite understand why no one seems to want poodles any more - is there some health or temperament issue I am not aware of?