They’re soooooo cute!
The original breeder of the popular crossbreed Labradoodle says he regrets creating the breed – and the craze around it that followed – which he now calls “a Frankenstein monster.”
Speaking with Australia’s ABC News in a podcast released last Friday, Wally Conron described how the Labradoodle and hype around the dog have veered far from his original purpose in mixing a Lab and a poodle.
“I released the reason for these unethical, ruthless people to breed these dogs and sell them for big bucks – that’s my big regret.”
Wally Conron
Labradoodle Breeder
The Labradoodle was first bred not for its cute face or scruffy hair, but to solve a problem.
Conron was breeding guide dogs in Australia in the 1980s when he received a letter from a blind woman in Hawaii. She wanted a guide dog, but her husband was allergic to Labrador retrievers, the standard service dog, Conron told ABC News.
He tried to breed a poodle to become a service dog because some people with allergies can tolerate their non-shedding coats, but nothing worked. Soon, time was running out to get the woman her dog, Conron said, so he gave it one last attempt – this time with a cross.
Conron struggled to find the right poodle to breed with one of his Labradors, but eventually he settled on his boss’ poodle after other pure breeders scoffed at the idea of breeding a mix.
The two dogs – Brandy the Lab and Harley the poodle – mated one afternoon, and weeks later, three Labradoodle pups were born, Conron told the Australian broadcaster.
A ‘Frankenstein monster’: Why the Labradoodle creator regrets breeding the dogs
Calamity Jane