Crossbreeds and Labradoodles: The Unspoken Truth

From the outset, I want to make something clear — I have nothing personal against crossbreeds and Labradoodles. Or, for that matter, malice towards Schnoodles, Aussiedoodles, or any other Poodle mixes or dog blends. They’re all dogs — and I really love dogs.

I am, however, passionately against stupidity, cruelty, falsehoods, propaganda, and profiteering. And unfortunately, they’re rife in the so-called — and stupidly-named — designer dogs world.

So, if you want to hear the truth about crossbreeding, and if it can ever be justified, stick with me.

The Beginning of Dog Crossbreeds

Ok look, I’m not naive. 

Dog crossbreeding has been around for centuries. Perhaps the most famous enthusiasts were the posh English Lords in the 1700s trying to create the perfect racer by mixing Greyhounds, Lurchers, and Old English Bulldogs.

And sure,it happens without human interference. A stray bitch on heat anywhere near a male dog is going to be mated — neither animal is asking about the other’s breed history first.

However, it’s the ridiculous, pointless, and dangerous rise of crossbreeding in the last 20 or 30 years that I object to. And regrettably, it all started with an Australian countryman of mine, Wally Conron.

Labradoodles — Creating Frankenstein’s Monster

Back in 1989, Wally Conron, an Australian dog breeder, created the Labradoodle.

His original purpose was to make a guide dog for a little blind girl who was allergic to dog hair. So, he crossed a Poodle with a Labrador — going for the guiding skills of the Lab, and the non-shedding coat of the Poodle.

He shouldn’t have done it. 

Most of the time, it didn’t work. He made more than one litter — many dogs still dropped their coats, and their health issues were compounded beyond control. What’s more, the dog’s temperaments weren’t correct — he even admitted that, for every perfect one, you’re going to find a lot of crazy ones.

But, it wasn’t this first foray into Labradoodles and Australian Cobberdogs that was the issue, it was the crossbreed dogs tsunami that it created.

Once the Labradoodle was paraded on the Aussie TV show Burke’s Backyard — Australia, and then the world, went mad for Labradoodles. Then the trend began to turn away from the hypoallergenic justification — which was complete BS anyway — to crossing anything with everything. Just for the sake of it.

So today you’re getting Blue Bulldogs crossed with French Bulldogs — creating a genetic fault that typically results in the dogs going blind. I’ve seen a Poodle crossed with a Rottweiler. Why would you do that? A dog that’s very overly and easily excitable mixed with a dog that has an innate instinct to protect. This just overwhelms its ability to survive.

None of it makes sense. It’s irresponsible, stupid, and dangerous. It’s this practice that I’m trying to fight — not the dogs.

Designer Dogs — A Breeding Factory

Breeding by Numbers

Listen. There are some crossbreeders out there who look after their dogs, are relatively responsible, and always strive to ensure their dogs go to a good home — however misguided their crossing is. At the end of the day, they do care about the animals.

The issue is, they’re few and far between.

The demand for Poodle cross breeds — most of the desire being manufactured by breeders and the media — has turned dog breeding from a love and a vocation into an industry. At least, for the most unscrupulous of dog farms.

I’ve been breeding now for 18 years and I’ve been involved with dogs for the last 38 years. I’ve grown up in the dog world, written articles, given advice, shown and judged dogs, and served canine committee boards. I’ve paid my dues.

And just recently, I’ve reached 310 puppies — that’s what I’ve produced in my 18 years. A local dog farm breeds seven to eight hundred — a year! That’s a lot of puppies. Ask anyone who has gone there, and they’ll tell you about the supermarket-like process.

Crossbreeding Farms Exposed

So, you pull into a big car park where you’re met by a huge barn. You walk into one door, and someone from the farm asks you what type of Oodle you want, what color, etc., etc. Then, you go to the next employee, pay your money, and you get your dog. That’s it. 

No one asks you why you want a dog, inquires about your home situation, or generally assesses your suitability to care for a dog for the next 10 years or so. The only question they ask you is this — do you want to be part of our breed preservation program?

I call BS. It’s a cheap and exploitative breeding program, it’s nothing to do with preservation. The deal is, you let the farm use your dog to produce three litters — and you get a reduction in the purchase price of your new dog.

What the farm doesn’t explain is that any of those three litters could kill your dog — it might even be the first one. 

What’s more, your dog gets pregnant and then has to stay at the farm — with complete strangers — for eight weeks. She doesn’t know these people, they don’t know her, she really doesn’t want to be there. They’re only interested in cashing in on what she’s produced.

It’s disgusting, immoral, and stupid. But, that’s the truth behind Australian Labradoodles

and all the other designer dog breeds.

Inactivity of Authorities

The farm I described above is, shockingly, one of the less shocking examples of crossbreeding farms. I’m not even going to describe what happens in the others.

So, I guess you’re thinking — if it’s that bad, why don’t the authorities do something about it?

Here’s the thing.

I breed Lagottos — purebred dogs. We’re required to be registered, otherwise, my dogs couldn’t be sold as purebreds. The same goes for breeders of Rottweilers, Poodles, Spaniels, whatever the pure breed.

And, when you’re registered, the authorities know everything about you. They give you the rules you need to adhere to — and can arrive unexpectedly on your doorstep to check you’re doing everything in line with the guidelines.

Crossbreeds — or mongrels — aren’t registered. So, no one knows who they are. They can get away with anything they want — constantly. Me and other purebred breeders have to put up with rules and regulations because we want to be responsible.

Crossbreeding — Creating Problems

The problems of crossbreeding aren’t just about the farms themselves — but also the dogs they produce.

Typically the health downsides of pairing two different breeds aren’t known beforehand — and even if it is, it doesn’t stop unscrupulous breeders looking to make easy cash.

Today, you see crossed dogs with serious issues, yet the breeders carry on mating the dogs. 

Look at the American Pocket Bulldog — they can’t even stand up properly. When they’re being shown, the handler has to hold them up otherwise they fall over. What’s more, they have to be assisted in mating. How natural is a damn dog that can’t even mate without human assistance?

Trust me, in all crossbreeds you get problems — exaggerated genetic problems, unpredictable behaviors, exacerbated allergies, and inconsistent temperaments. 

Another example is the Wolfdog. A domestic dog crossed with a wolf — and the breeders call that a dog! Trust me, you have no control over it — if he decides he’s angry, you’re going to die. They need a strong alpha — if you have one moment of weakness, you’re going to lose your face.

And, the idea that these crossbreeds are desirable or rare. Complete rubbish.

I recently saw a Bernese Mountain and Toy Poodle cross — selling at $12.5k, because it was rare. Seriously? You don’t see the issue of mixing a massive animal with a tiny one?

That could never happen in nature — a human is doing that. And you know how? They masturbate the dog. Yeah, that’s what you’re paying for. You’re not dishing out your cash for a rare breed, you’re paying for someone to jerk off a dog.

The bottom line is that the crossing of animals has become an epidemic. People are going too far. Stop it please, you need to stop. There’s just no reason for it.

The Acceptable Face of Crossbreeding

The designer dog crossbreeding fashion has to stop, it’s not acceptable. However, there is a circumstance where the practice is both necessary and desirable — when it’s the only route to saving a breed. And that is a matter close to my heart as a Lagotto breeder.

In the early 1990s, the Lagotto Romagnolo — despite having been around for centuries — wasn’t registered with the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale). A young Italian man discovered this exclusion, as the Italian Kennel Club wouldn’t recognize Lagottos unless they were FCI registered. So, he made it his mission to have the breed included.

He began to research and locate all the Lagotto Romagnolos — and discovered there were only 32 of these dogs left. He then started a program to rescue the Lagotto, which meant examining the genetic make-up of all other non-shedding breeds, seeing how close they were related, and then mating the closest families to produce more Lagottos.

So, anything that had a genetic presence of Lagotto was used in the breeding program to keep the dogs going. And this original 32 began the line that has led to all the Lagottos in the world today — and allowed the Lagotto to be registered with the FCI in 1995.

All the crossbreeding has now stopped. It was necessary to create the 99 percent pure Lagotto Romagnolos that I now lovingly breed today. 

Anyway, this is why I, and other Lagotto breeders, end up in arguments with the Labradoodle breeders and enthusiasts. They smugly come up to me, backed by their self-important research, and say — Yeah, you’re a hypocrite, you criticize us for crossbreeding, but your dogs are a result of a cross.

Ok, but the Lagottos were crossed for a purpose — to protect and save the breed. That’s justifiable. Labradoodle breeders just don’t have a purpose — they have a reason, which is to cash in on the designer dog market and make themselves rich — but it’s not an honest purpose.

Final Thoughts on Crossbreeding

I don’t care whether we’re talking about a Goldendoodle or Labradoodle, Aussiedoodle or Cavapoo — it’s not a crossbreed, it’s a mongrel.

Let me tell you something. 

I once had a random Cattle Dog jump the fence and mate with one of my beautiful, beautiful black Staffies. I was so embarrassed with having these mongrel puppies I gave them to people to take them away for free. Years later, I told what had happened to my kids…..they said, do you know how much money you could have made from designing that? 

And that’s the sad truth.

Crossbreeding isn’t designing dogs, it’s just sticking two breeds together. It’s crossbreeding propaganda and the media jumping on the bandwagon that have turned creating mongrels into an apparent art. And if masturbating a dog is art, I don’t want any part of it.

It’s now simply an industry that cares nothing for the well-being — of the dog or the owners — and just exists to make money. It creates health problems for the dogs and creates animals that shouldn’t exist in nature.

I know I’ve preached a little — but someone has to stand up to the might of the farms. If I don’t tell people the truth, and try to educate, they will never learn, and the media will win. 

If we don’t do something soon about the crossbreeds and Labradoodles, we will lose purebred dogs everywhere — because we are getting outnumbered and outbred.