Foley and the Truth about Labradoodles

Did you read that the guy who bred the first labradoodle says he created a monster?  I don’t think he created a monster. Everyone who has ever met a Labradoodle knows they are adorable and caring dogs.  If there was a monster created by this equation, it was the guy who saw a Gen-challenged dog and decided to create his own master race of mutts.

Let me tell you what the scuttlebutt is about this guy.   He was a breeder, and he got an order from a family that wanted a poodle and a labrador. He got careless and forgot to check who was in whose bed the night of the breeding.  A few weeks later, the female gave birth to half poodle/half labrador. An honest man would have admitted his mistake and returned the deposit. But this guy never met a deposit he wanted to refund.  He took the two dogs out of the birthing room, walked outside, held them like he was Mufasa, and announced that he had created the “poobra!’  

The other dogs groaned.  “Okay, I created the Labrapoo."  There were more groans. “Labradoodle?” he tried.  

“Close,” a bulldog said.  

The man thought for a bit.  “Labradoodle?” he asked meekly.     

“It’ll do,” a sheepdog said.  

The man then waited for the family who ordered the pups to appear.  Later that day, they drove up to see the pups. “What the hell is that?” the youngest child asked. 

“They are Labradoodles!” the breeder said.

“It’s a mutt,” the man said.  “Give us our money back!”

“Now wait!” the breeder said.  “These are special dogs. I have taken the best parts of a labrador and the best parts of a poodle, and I put them together to make dogs who have been specially bred for people who need a guide dog like a lab but are allergic to their fur.” 

“Really?” the dad asked.

“Either that or dogs who are hyper and shed like mad.  I don’t know. It’s literally a crapshoot.”

The dad thought about it.  “I would like a dog who is a good guide dog without the shedding,” he said.   “Can you guarantee that is what I can get?” 

“As much as I can guarantee that I meant to create this genetic freak,” the breeder said.   The father was satisfied. The family brought the dogs home, and everyone loved them. Of course, they did.  Who doesn't love a puppy? The breeder could have put together a Shih Tzu and a Great Dane, called is a Shizstain, and it would be adored.  We are just that good. 

The dogs do have a unique look.  People asked about them, and the owners said they were spectacular, which caused other breeders to begin creating and charging big money for the dog formally known as a mutt,  Soon the Earth was overrun with Labradoodles. 

Like when peanut butter and chocolate were combined to create the Reese's Cup and spurned several other peanut butter and chocolate combinations, breeders began to gather different breeds that had names that sounded catchy when combined, mated them, and created new breeds.

Now there are hundreds of crossbred dogs whose breeders claim that their new creation has the best qualities of both breeds while suppressing the negative ones.  These new breeds mow the lawn, get rid of unwanted facial hair, pick up the kids from school, finds the slipper that had been lodged under the chaise lounge for several weeks and get rid of the heartbreak of psoriasis. 

Frankly, I would prefer we were all mutts.  There would be no comparing breeds or trying to fix what is already perfect. Dogs don't see breeds.  We just see friends.



Humans should stop experimenting and do the same.