What is a labradoodle?

With the focus of our program being on breeding and raising labradoodles that are intelligent, willing to learn and eager to please our puppies are well suited for families that are novice dog owners to the most experienced trainers and anyone in between.  However, good basic obedience and training is ESSENTIAL to ensure that they grow to be pleasant companions, both for their family and anyone else who meets them.  It is also important for the health and well being of the dog.  Teaching basic behaviors such as come, stay, place, off, leave it, etc. can begin as soon as your puppy comes home.  These commands will build on the foundation we instill in our puppies through our use of Puppy Culture early rearing techniques.

Finding a trainer to work with before bringing a puppy home is important as learning appropriate behavior from the beginning is key.  This is far easier than trying to correct bad behaviors later.  We recommend finding a balanced trainer that uses a combination of positive reinforcement and correction techniques.  Even for experienced puppy families working with a trainer is ideal. Depending on where families live there may be several options in the area, or a family may need to travel a distance to find a good trainer to work with.  Finding out this information before adding a puppy to the home will ensure a family has the time, and financial means to dedicate to raising a well behaved companion, not one that jumps on people, bolts out the door, does not come when called, or other dangerous and discourteous behaviors. 

​​With the exception of the Multigen Labradoodles and Australian Labradoodles every generation has variation of shedding, though the percentage of moderate to heavy shedding decreases with every generation.  This data is evidence that a breeder cannot simply state that because a Labradoodle is a certain generation, there is a guarantee of minimal shedding.  If a breeder states that an F1b litter will have all puppies with minimal shedding it would be prudent to reevaluate the knowledge that breeder has of coat inheritance.  At JNB Stables we did a considerable amount of research to ensure that we never mislead our families about the coat type of each puppy.  Through proper selection and using the limited genetic testing for coat variations available we can pair our dogs to produce litters that have the best chance of minimal shedding puppies (with the exception of earlier generations where we KNOW there will be coat variation).  We can evaluate each puppy's coat as they grow and make a strong approximation of that puppy's adult coat.  However due to recessive lab coat genetics that can unexpectedly come into play, we do not make any guarantees in regards to shedding nor allergy friendliness of the coats of our puppies.  (If allergies are a large concern, we can set up a meet and greet with our dogs or past puppies with coats similar to the litter you are interested in to evaluate any reactions).  So – why an F1, F1b, F2 or multigen Labradoodle? It is really hard to say which is best for you - there are different puppies in each litter that may have varying coats - so, pick a puppy that you think is best for you in coat type and color an BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, in personality!  Their temperament and intelligence are what make our Labradoodles so exceptional!

The Importance of Training

Labradoodle 101

The grooming requirements of a Labradoodle will vary greatly depending on the coat type.  Those with a hair coat (shedding) will be much lower maintenance than one with a fleece or wool coat.  A Labradoodle with a hair coat will need to be brushed once a week depending on the coat length, and will likely need to visit a groomer once every 10-12 weeks.  They are easy to bathe at home and are less likely to have matting or felting.  Fleece or wool coated Labradoodles will need to be brushed multiple times a week, those with longer coats will require brushing daily.  If time to groom is a concern these coats can be kept shorter, but brushing several times a week to prevent matting will be needed especially around the ears, muzzle, collar, legs and tail.  Labradoodles with wool or fleece coats can be bathed at home but after they dry (blow drying is preferred) they must be completely brushed out using the line brushing technique.  These Labradoodles need to visit the groomer every 4-6 weeks.  This extra time and expense needs to be taken into account before a family considers choosing a Labradoodle.  Grooming can be done at home to save money in the long run, we groom our own dogs at JNB Stables.  There is an initial investment of the equipment including a grooming table, quality clippers and scissors, and a dryer.  There are many videos on YouTube to demonstrate how to groom a Labradoodle, so it is not hard to learn.  But it is time consuming, it can be tedious and the resulting area will have hair....everywhere. Consider these factors before deciding if grooming a Labradoodle in the home is best choice.

Grooming

​​The Labradoodle arose from a cross between two amazing breeds, the Labrador and the Standard Poodle.  Combining the eagerness to please, devotion and drive of the lab along with intelligence, affectionate demeanor and non-shedding coat of the poodle produced the first generation, or F1 Labradoodle.  This first generation had esteemed qualities from both parent breeds, but these puppies still had moderate shedding hair coats and were not as allergy friendly as their poodle parent.  To create coats with more of a poodle influence these first generations were again back crossed to a poodle creating an F1b to obtain the fleece coats that are desirable in the breed.  Though many of the puppies had less shedding than the F1 Labradoodle, there are some that still had moderate shedding.  By selecting the puppies with more desirable coats that also inherited the best qualities of both breeds they set the foundation for the next generation, the F2 (which is an F1 x F1b, F1b x F1b, F1 x any higher generation or F1b x any higher generation), to try and produce puppies with even more coat consistency.  Each subsequent generation (to produce a third generation, or F3, a cross of an F2 x F2 or higher generation is needed)  that is produced through proper selection produces puppies with a higher percentage of minimal shedding coat consistency.  Once a breeder reaches puppies that are multigens (both parents are true third generations (F3) or higher the coat consistency is almost completely minimal shedding with desirable fleece quality.  Puppies that inherit more of the poodle coat genes may inherit the harsher wool texture.  This coat quality is still likely to have lower shedding but may not be as desirable as the fleece coat. 

What does this information mean for owners?  Knowing a puppy's generation can help future owners to understand the likelihood of shedding in a litter they may be interested in.  The chart below shows the data we have gathered from owners of Labradoodles all over the world and the shedding they experienced with their dog.

PLEASE NOTE: AUSTRALIAN LABRADOODLES ARE A COMBINATION OF LABRADOR, POODLE AND A SMALL AMOUNT OF COCKER SPANIEL (FOR COAT QUALITY PURPOSES).  NOT AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD.  THIS BREED WAS DEVELOPED IN AUSTRALIA WHICH IS WHERE THE NAME COMES FROM.