What makes a Labradoodle Australian?
Labs
and Poodles were first bred together in Australia to create a
non-shedding dog with service/therapy qualities. There, the
term"labradoodle" was coined. Other countries followed suit, breeding
hybrid crosses. American labradoodles have only the Labrador and Poodle
parent breeds in them. They may be early generation or
multi-generational.
Two breeding and research centers in
Australia started working with these hybrids to increase the quality
and consistency of their traits. They did outcrosses with Irish Water
Spaniels and Cocker Spaniels to improve the boning and size of the dogs
as well as the quality of the coat. Australian labradoodles are dogs that have 3 or more of these parent breeds in their ancestry.
Types of Labradoodles
There are so many different types of labradoodles available, it can be confusing. Really though, it doesn't need to be any more confusing than other breeds. Keep in mind that other breeds have different subtypes within their breed as well; it just isn't as well known by the public. For instance, in Labrador Retrievers there are American lines and English lines. They do have subtle differences but the AKC and CKC do not distinguish between the 2 types and both types still meet the breed standard in both breed clubs. The same is true for German Shepherds. There are American lines and German lines but the registries do not distinguish between the 2 and both meet the breed standard. It doesn't matter where the dogs are bred, it matters what lines they come from. There are great English Lab lines in North America as well as some great American lines in England. That being said, here is some information on Labradoodles.
There are labradoodles of different types; such as Australian Labradoodles and American Labradoodles(or just plain labradoodles). The difference was outlined above. Labradoodles( or American Labradoodles) have only 2 breeds in them- Lab and Poodle.
Australian Labradoodles have 3 breeds in them- Lab, Poodle, and Cocker Spaniel.
Each of these 2 types can be either early generation crosses, or, they can be multigenerational. There is no official definition of how many generations is multigenerational. Theoretically, it should be as many as 5,6 or more but technically as little as 3 can be considered multigenerational.
With labradoodles(or American Labradoodles), there are only 2 breeds being crossed so the generation descriptions are stated as:
f1- which means first generation cross of parents from 2 different breeds. (the offspring of a breeding between a pure lab and a pure poodle).
f2- is the second generation breeding which means that they are the offspring of a breeding between two f1 labradoodles. You keep going up generations from there.
The confusing part is when you add in a back cross. If you breed an f1 labradoodle back to a purebred poodle then the offspring are called f1b. Once you have f1b labradoodles, there is much confusion among breeders as to how to describe the subsequent generations. Genetically speaking, an f1b bred to an f1b would be an f2; however it is accepted practice to call the offspring of the mating of 2 f1b's an f3. All of these designations are early generation labradoodles and they are all consisting of only lab and poodle so none of these descriptors are used for Australian Labradoodles. You can breed labradoodles on past 3 or 4 generations and some have done this. As you can see, it takes a lot of work and time before you end up with a multigenerational labradoodle. That is the reason for the price differences, not that some are better than others, just some have taken many more years and breedings to get there.
Since Australian Labradoodles have more than 2 breeds in them, none of those descriptors apply. There are different ways to get a dog that has 3 breeds in it. You can breed an f1 labradoodle to a Cocker Spaniel, or you can breed an f1 labradoodle to an f1 cockapoo, or you can breed any generation of labradoodle to either a Cocker Spaniel or to any generation of cockapoo and the offspring would all be considered an early generation Australian Labradoodle. So, Australian Labradoodles can be early generational too but do not use numbers or codes to describe them, only early generational or multigenerational. However, since there are 3 breeds and since the Australian Labradoodles were being created in Australia over 20 years ago, Australian Labradoodles are often multigenerational. Just keep in mind that it is not necessarily the case. Multigenerational can describe either American or Australian Labradoodles and early generational can also describe American or Australian Labradoodles. The only difference is that early generations of American Labradoodles have several descriptors involving the f1,f1b,f2, etc., etc. terminology.
What type of labradoodle is best for your family?
That is something that will need to be researched before you decide for your family. Early generational and multigenerational are different in price, look, coat type, the amount of shedding, the amount of or lack of curl, etc., etc. Which type is best for allergies? There is no specific type that is any better or worse for people who are allergic to dogs. It is different from person to person, and from dog to dog, even puppies in the same litter. Generally, breeds that shed less are better tolerated but that is not always the case. The amount of curl also has nothing to do with allergies since it is possible to have wavy and straight coated dogs that do not shed. If you have allergies, especially to dogs; the best place to get information about allergy friendly dogs is from your doctor, not from articles or breeder's websites on the internet. Allergies are a medical condition and need to be addressed accordingly.
Size
A MINI sized labradoodle ranges from 14-16 inches. They are typically 10-25lbs.
A MEDIUM sized labradoodle ranges from 17-20 inches tall. Medium doodles weigh 25-45lbs.
A STANDARD sized labradoodle ranges from 21-25 inches tall. They range in weight from 40-70lbs.