Labraoodle ‘creator’: Wally Conron – responsible for puppy farming?

Wally Conron, the man who ‘created’ the Labradoodle many years ago has publicly stated that he has “created a lot of problems” and that he is regrettably responsible for puppy mills producing ‘Frankenstein’ versions of his ‘designer dog’. As Australian Labradoodle breeders, we feel obliged to comment and indeed, help to educate the public.   

It’s not as if puppy farms and unscrupulous breeders didn’t exist before Labradoodles, or indeed any other Poodle crosses became popular. Wally Conron isn’t responsible for the creation of puppy farms…it just so happens that Labradoodles have become popular  and therefore puppy farmers have started to breed them as opposed to other dogs which they can’t make as much money out of. Unfortunately, the media is wrongly portraying that all breeders producing crossbreeds are essentially puppy farmers. We feel that this portrayal does have some grounding – yes, there are people out there mass producing crossbred puppies trying to make a ‘quick buck’ out of what currently seem to be ‘fashionable’ dogs, however, it is extremely unfair to tar all breeders producing crossbred dogs with the same brush! There are a number of excellent breeders of crossbred puppies who are licensed, breed responsibly, use low inbreeding coefficients, health test their dogs and provide their customers with good service. In fact, it wasn’t so long ago that the media actively portrayed that breeders of purebred dogs were disreputable – Google ‘pedigree dogs exposed’. So are there no good breeders out there at all? At the end of the day, puppy farmers will always breed whatever dogs they can make the most money from. Puppy farming is a huge problem for pure breeds and crossbreeds alike, and the most important thing is that people looking to buy a puppy do their homework and make sure that they find a good breeder with a good reputation. It is very important that all breeders are not tarred with the same brush that puppy farmers are, because there are some very good and credible breeders out there – you’ve just got to find them, and indeed, be willing to put in the effort to find them! The only people that have the power to prevent puppy farming are the general public; if puppy-buyers demand higher standards, puppy farming can be stopped. People should not buy a puppy because they “feel sorry for it”, that simply fuels the fire.

Good breeders will produce puppies from health-tested breeding stock, work with low inbreeding coefficiencies, will breed no more than one litter from each of their girls in a 12 month period, the mother of the puppies will be available to meet prospective puppy buyers, the puppies will be kept in clean conditions and should be visibly healthy. Breeders should also be willing to spend time with their customers, first of all asking them questions to ensure that they can provide a suitable home for a puppy, but also educating them as regards how to look after their new puppy properly. The best breeders also provide ongoing support for their customers for the duration of their puppy’s life.

Wally also commented that “Instead of breeding out the problems, they’re breeding them in. For every perfect one, you’re going to find a lot of crazy ones”. Whilst this can happen if the breeder doesn’t know what they are doing, doesn’t do the health testing and closely inbreeds their dogs, there are a lot of breeders out there who have high standards and consistently produce fantastic puppies. The Australian Labradoodle is a crossbreed by definition, but it is very different to any of the other Poodle crosses. They have been developed over the last 35 years and we are now seeing consistency in the puppies being produced – there are certainly not “a lot of crazy ones for every perfect one”!

Wally Conron should not be held responsible for unscrupulous breeding or puppy farms on any level – crossbreed or not, it makes no difference. Unfortunately, puppy farms will exist as long as there are customers willing to buy puppies from them, so it seems the onus really needs to be placed on the public to do their homework and ensure that they are buying from a reputable breeder.

  

Pedigree or crossbreed?

What is a pedigree dog?

When most people think of a pedigree dog, they envisage a breed which is Kennel Club recognised and registered, and therefore has a Kennel Club supplied pedigree. However, a dog doesn’t need to be a pure breed and certainly doesn’t need to be Kennel Club registered to have a pedigree! A pedigree is simply a document which details the dog’s parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so forth; just like a family tree. If a breeder has bred a pair of dogs which both have pedigrees, they can produce a pedigree for the resulting puppies. Pedigrees are important so that breeders can make well-informed breeding decisions and prevent close inbreeding; without pedigrees, nobody would know how closely related two dogs were and would therefore be taking a huge risk by breeding the pair.

What is a crossbreed?

A crossbreed is defined as a dog which doesn’t fall into a Kennel Club recognised breed, but still has known lineage, i.e. has a pedigree! So why are they not usually referred to as pedigree dogs? Because unfortunately the vast majority of people don’t understand all these terms and what they really mean. When most people say “pedigree dog”, they actually mean “Kennel Club registered dog”; there is a common misconception that if a dog is not Kennel Club registered, it cannot have a pedigree, which is of course untrue.

Is Kennel Club recognition important?

In our opinion, absolutely not.

Pedigrees: The Kennel Club provide pedigrees for registered puppies, but those pedigrees are produced using data provided by the individual breeders themselves with no requirement for DNA testing. In real terms, that means that a Kennel Club pedigree is of no greater value or significance than a handwritten pedigree that Joe Bloggs dreamed up and scribbled down on a scrap of paper.

Breed Standards: The Kennel Club also produce a ‘breed standard’ for the breeds which they recognise. This is a document which details the physical traits that the breed should display – breeders who are interested in showing their dogs use it as a target or a set of goal posts and they aim to breed dogs as close to that standard as possible. If you have no interest in showing and are looking for a family pet, this is irrelevant. In fact, the Kennel Club has been heavily criticised recently for producing breed standards which have compromised the health of many dog breeds. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels suffer from Syringomyelia (a condition where the brain becomes too large for the skull), the Pug’s ‘screw tail’ is caused by Hemivertebrae which is a deformity and Bulldogs are prone to severe breathing problems due to their short noses. These health defects are all a result of breeders exaggerating the traits which the Kennel Club has termed ‘essential’ or ‘desirable’ within their breed standard, so it is easy to understand why they have been so heavily criticised!

Health Screening: Whilst the Kennel Club promotes health screening, they still happily register puppies from parents without any form of health screening, and indeed from parents who display serious health issues – it’s not as if they visit the breeder to check the dogs’ health and wellbeing! It wasn’t so long ago that a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, known to suffer from Syringomyelia, reportedly won ‘best in breed’ at Crufts, the biggest dog show in the world which is presented by the Kennel Club!

Where do Australian Labradoodles fall into the equation?

Australian Labradoodles are a crossbreed – they are not recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club. Is this a problem? In short – no. Breeders all over the world keep pedigree records and work together to ensure that a good gene pool is maintained and dogs are not inbred. It is up to individual breeders to carry out their own health screening and make the certificates available for their puppy buyers to view. It is also up to the public to demand to see health certificates prior to buying a puppy. In our opinion, the Australian Labradoodle is probably one of the most extensively health tested ‘breeds’ out there. The Australian Labradoodle founders developed a ‘breed standard’ which breeders around the world work toward, not for showing purposes, simply to ensure a common goal and generate consistency in the Australian Labradoodle. The result is that Australian Labradoodles have far fewer health issues than many of the Kennel Club recognised breeds!  

Hope this has helped!   

        

Lomond Hills finally enters the 21st century!

First we built a website, then we joined Facebook and now here we are with our very own blog! That's one small step for man but one giant leap for the Lomond Hills clan!
However, now that we have finally arrived in the 21st century of technology we are looking forward to sharing the beautiful Australian Labradoodle with you all. So lets kick things off...

The Australian Labradoodle was originally bred around 30 years ago to provide allergy and asthma friendly service dogs. Their popularity has rapidly increased (is it any wonder?!) and they can now be found not only in service, but in homes around the world as very much loved family companions.They make wonderful pets, primarily because they are incredibly sociable and love to be with their people, but they are also extremely intelligent, well balanced dogs. Calm, gentle and loving, but full of fun!

On our blog we hope to provide you with helpful information, interesting facts and advice, and of course, lots of very cute pictures of our four-legged family here at Lomond Hills.

Check out these little beauties enjoying some time in the sun and wishing you a warm welcome to our new blog page!