May 06, 2010
quoted from dogtime.com Newsletter
Labradoodle "creator" regrets his decision.
If you own a Labradoodle, you might be surprised to learn that the man who bred the first one now regrets it.
Wally Conran, 81, who crossed a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle in 1988 and then coined the term "Labradoodle," wishes he'd never done it.
He originally bred the two dogs after receiving a letter from a woman in Hawaii who was looking for a seeing-eye dog for her husband, who had allergies.
Conran was the manager of the puppy program at the Royal Institute of the Blind in Melbourne, Australia, at the time.
"But now when people ask me, ‘Did you breed the first one?' I have to say, ‘Yes, I did, but it's not something I'm proud of,'" he said. "I wish I could turn the clock back."
Conran doesn't explain why, but it's possible he regrets seeing the popularity of the hybrid designer dog surpass purebred dogs. Some Australian pet shops report that Labradoodles outsell pure-bred puppies by 3 to 1.
"I'm not at all proud of my involvement in it," Conran told The Australian. "But the genie's out of the bottle, and you can't put it back."
The American Kennel Club doesn't recognize the Labradoodle, but there's no denying they're a popular dog - and darn cute, too.
If you own a Labradoodle, you might be surprised to learn that the man who bred the first one now regrets it.
Wally Conran, 81, who crossed a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle in 1988 and then coined the term "Labradoodle," wishes he'd never done it.
He originally bred the two dogs after receiving a letter from a woman in Hawaii who was looking for a seeing-eye dog for her husband, who had allergies.
Conran was the manager of the puppy program at the Royal Institute of the Blind in Melbourne, Australia, at the time.
"But now when people ask me, ‘Did you breed the first one?' I have to say, ‘Yes, I did, but it's not something I'm proud of,'" he said. "I wish I could turn the clock back."
Conran doesn't explain why, but it's possible he regrets seeing the popularity of the hybrid designer dog surpass purebred dogs. Some Australian pet shops report that Labradoodles outsell pure-bred puppies by 3 to 1.
"I'm not at all proud of my involvement in it," Conran told The Australian. "But the genie's out of the bottle, and you can't put it back."
The American Kennel Club doesn't recognize the Labradoodle, but there's no denying they're a popular dog - and darn cute, too.