Labradoodle creator calls the breed his “Frankenstein’s monster”

Wally Conron bred the first Labradoodle—a crossbreed between a Labrador and a poodle—in Australia while in the employ of Guide Dogs Victoria. The breed was an inspired creation made specifically to help a blind woman whose husband was allergic to dog hair. The Labradoodle, being a hypoallergenic, intelligent dog was the perfect solution to the woman’s dilemma. Yet the creation of the breed led to a situation that Walton regrets. On an Australian Broadcasting Program podcast titled “The labradoodle of regret”, Walton commented on the breed’s current popularity.

“Why people are breeding them today, I haven’t got a clue,” and later adding that the breed is his personal “Frankenstein’s monster” was his “life’s regret.

Walton’s “Frankenstein monster” was created in the ’80s when he bred a poodle with a yellow Labrador. The two dogs produced three puppies, one of which, Sultan after being trained, was able to help the blind woman in Hawaii for which the breed was created.

Left with two other puppies, Walton took to the media to find owner’s for the two puppies and it only took a little while before the dog’s popularity took off. Walton regretted the creation because the breed suffers from a variety of problems “I find that the biggest majority are either crazy or have a hereditary problem,” adding “I do see some damn nice Labradoodles, but they’re few and far between.”

The Nest reported that Labradoodles often suffer from a variety of genetic problems, from eye and hip problems to a variety of diseases. Walton also regrets having created the precedent of poodle breeding “People are just breeding for the money… unscrupulous breeders are crossing poodles with inappropriate dogs simply so they can say they were the first to do it.”

However, one man, John Gosling, disagrees. Gosling adopted one of the first three labradoodle puppies and later adopted Sultan after he retired from his service. “It’s actually turned out to be something, in my opinion, quite fantastic,” he told ABC in regards to his experience with Labradoodles. “I don’t have any regrets at all.”