Increasing number of bemused "labradoodle" owners

Today at the park Dexter was playing with a very large, very muscular black dog. I got chatting to the owners, a young couple, and asked which breed their dog was, as I couldn't tell.

The wife gave a bitter laugh and responded: "He's a labradoodle." She went on to say she felt they had been "conned" by the breeder. The breeder had told them the dog's parents were a Lab, and a miniature Poodle.

I guess the dog could just have had a very large Lab mother and a mini Poodle father, though...?

It looked like the parents had been a Lab and a standard Poodle though, because this dog was very tall indeed.

Anyway, the wife told me that if she could 'do it all over again' she would have double checked and ensured she got a much smaller "labradoodle'", which was what they thought they were going to end up with...

I am meeting an increasing number of bemused and less than happy "labradoodle" owners in our local parks. Guess we will see more of these dogs turning up in rescues as time goes by.......

A lot of people get duped by 'Doodle' breeders. Pretty much all the Doodles around here are owned by first time dog owners who believed the non-shedding hype, the "hybrid vigour" hype (first generation cross breeds apparently being healthier - yeah, right!) and the "they are calmer than their purebred counterparts" hype (double yeah right!). Quite a few of them are regretting their lack of research I assure you.

A friend of my sister rehomed her labradoodle for this very reason ..

Her so called small medium sized dog turned out giant ...

I don't think non dog people would even think about going back to the breeder ...

you and me both , i recently judged a labradoodle. it looked more like a komondor

that's the problem though isn't it? Often the dogs don't turn out as expected and are rehomed. Breeders of designer dogs sometimes make promises about size, coat type and temperament when they actually have no idea what the pups will turn out like, especially first crosses. Sadly though, many people do think that a crossbreed is guaranteed healthier than a pedigree and that they are buying a quality dog.

I have been told of a pug cross that was rehomed at around 10 months because it was just ugly and not the cute puggle type the woman wanted ..

Thats because people think 'labradoodle' is a set type of dog. If you get a springer spaniel (for example) you know pretty much what size, shape, colour etc you will get. Took me ages to explain to my boss that she didn't like 'labradoodles' - she liked the labradoodle she knew, who was small and curly but it wasn't until we met a labrador type 'labradoodle' that I managed to explain how different they could turn out

I have a customer, first time dog owner, who has a labradoodle, lovely dog obedience wise, but the owner says she looks nothing like the pictures she was shown at the breeders. Again, she was told of them being healthier, less shedding blah blah blah.

The dog is a lovely dog, very intelligent and willing to please, and that is the main thing, her family love her to bits, but, not what the family expected.

Spot on. That is the key thing, well said.

Yes, that is a really good point. Before I joined this forum I used to think it was true, the 'hybrid vigour' myth

Like many buyers of all these designer crosses, I didn't realise that if you combine two breeds, you can also get the WORST of both breeds