Five good reasons to own a Labradoodle

While the cockapoo is currently the most popular hybrid dog breed in the UK, the Labradoodle is quite possibly the best known, and the hybrid dog type that has been around in large numbers for the longest period of time.

Many hybrid breeds such as the Labradoodle and the cockapoo are now outstripping many pedigree dog breeds in the popularity stakes, and for good reason-when a hybrid crossing is performed with two good quality parent dogs and with an eye to improvement, your hybrid dog will theoretically possess the best of both worlds in terms of the core traits of the parent breeds.

People that own Labradoodles do of course each have their own reasons for picking a dog of the type-but if you’re considering buying or adopting a Labradoodle and you’re still not quite decided, read on! In this article, we will share five good reasons to own a Labradoodle dog.

They can be found in a range of sizes

A Labradoodle is bred by crossing a poodle and a Labrador retriever, or of course from crossing two Labradoodles, or a Labradoodle and one of the two parent breeds. While the Labrador retriever is a medium to large dog breed, poodles, on the other hand, come in three sizes. These are toy, miniature and standard, and there is a lot of variation in terms of their heights, with the toy poodle being tiny and the standard being what most of us would think of as a large dog.

This means that depending on the size of poodle used in the crossing, Labradoodles can be found in sizes ranging from medium to very large, and so there is lots of choice in terms of picking a dog of the right size to suit you!

They may be a good pick for people who suffer from allergies

Some of the very first deliberately bred Labradoodles were specifically crossed in order to produce dogs that would have all of the skills and intelligence to make good assistance dogs, while being less likely to trigger allergies in people who are often sensitive to dogs.

This is because the poodle coat is formed of wiry, tightly curled fur that does not tend to be shed from the coat, instead tangling up in the growing fur until the dog is brushed or groomed. This means that they shed less hair and so, less of the allergenic proteins that can affect people than most other dogs do.

While there is no such thing as a truly hypoallergenic dog, the Labradoodle comes close-assuming that they have inherited the poodle-style coat!

They benefit from the advantages of hybrid vigour

Virtually eveyr pedigree dog breed recognised in the UK has been subjected to inbreeding and selective breeding over the years in order to produce the uniform breed traits-but this also means that the comparative size of any given breed’s gene pool of unrelated dogs is reasonably small.

Ultimately, this means that hereditary health problems and genetic anomalies that arise within a pedigree breed tend to spread across the breed over time, without the introduction of other breeds or unrelated stock to help to dilute it.

The Labradoodle, like all hybrid breeds, benefits from hybrid vigour-the robust health traits that come from an injection of new DNA into the gene pool. This means that any hybrid dog is statistically much less likely to suffer from health problems specific to either of their parent breeds, and will usually live longer too!

They are very intelligent dogs

The poodle is ranked in second place when it comes to canine intelligence, beaten only by the Border collie-and the Labrador retriever too is a real canine smartypants, coming in seventh place.

This means that your average Labradoodle may be a real comedian and natural entertainer, but they are also really clever, which means that they can be taught lots of commands and skills, and may even make for great working dogs or sporting dogs too.

They are also keen to learn and very amenable to training, which is always an advantage!

They are highly personable and very adaptable

The Labrador retriever is renowned for being a real people pleaser, and the poodle too is fairly outgoing and loves the company of humans. This means that the Labradoodle is generally one of the best natured, most friendly and generally social dog types you will ever come across, both with people and other dogs alike.

They are likely to be in the thick of it in the dog park and don’t tend to be shy about meeting new people too, and they tend to be excellent companions for families with children. They are very tolerant of kids, love to play with them, and are happy within all sorts of living situations.

Do you own a Labradoodle? What made you pick a dog of that type? Tell us in the comments!