The Australian Labradoodle is a breed created from foundation stock of: Lab, Poodle, Irish Water Spaniel, English and American Cocker Spaniel, and finally the Irish Soft Coated Wheaten. The diversity of these bloodlines have the potential to safeguard the breed from genetic health problems of inbreeding.
In the late 1970’s the Guide Dog Association of Australia set out to produce a non-shedding dog suitable for service training. Mr. Wally Cochran was the driving force behind this program, and the goal was to produce a non-shedding guide dog. The result of these crosses produced intelligent, easily trainable puppies that were the beginning of the Australian Labradoodle as we now know it.
Crossing these breeds together compliments the Australian Labradoodle giving these wonderful dogs a hybrid vigor and a variety of coat types:
- The Wooly Coat: Somewhat poodle like which requires regular grooming is non-shedding and allergy and asthma friendly.
- The Fleece Coat: The ultimate coat that is easily maintained, non-shedding, allergy and asthma friendly and somewhat like that of an Angora Goat.
- The Hair Coat: Anything from flat and straight to curls down that back and possibly wavy and minimally shedding, that is less likely to be allergy and asthma friendly. You will usually see this coat in American bred Labradoodles first and second-generation bloodlines.
MERLE LABRADOODLES COAT COLORS
‘Merle’ is a dilution gene. A color gene that dilutes the base color into a myriad of lighter colors without a pattern. The dilution can be seen in the coat, the skin, and occasionally the eye pigment. This is the most beautiful trait as one or two blue eyes can be very striking. It is one of the more complicated genes which is truly fascinating to a breeder.
In Merle Labradoodles this gene has been brought into the Australian Labradoodle from the poodle or the cocker spaniel, the puppy pictures reflect the merling from these infusion breeds. We now have Merle Australian Labradoodles in our breeding program and they will pass this merle color into their offspring and we can provide your family with one of these amazing Australian Labradoodles puppies.
Merle Labradoodles come in two main colors: black or chocolate. Blue merle is a blue-gray color that is carried over through black dogs and a chocolate merle which is a diluted color from chocolate in the Australian Labradoodle breed. Variations on these two colors can also include a parti gene making the dog have large patches of white mixed with the color or a phantom gene giving the dog tan points. Australian Labradoodles are known for their characteristically wavy fleece coats, their intelligence, their upbeat nature, and their incredibly friendly temperaments. As such, it is no surprise that these dogs are fast becoming among the most beloved breeds available.
