It was originally meant to be a guide dog.
The inventor of the labradoodle says he completely regrets creating the breed.
The dog was originally invented for a blind woman in Hawaii who’s husband was allergic to Labrador guide dogs. It took Wally Conron three years to come up with the labrdoodle, where the fur is that of a poodle.
However, while speaking on the ABC podcast Sum Of All Parts, he says that it had a knock-on effect, with people breeding them for aesthetic reasons.
“I realised what I had done within a matter of days,” he said.
“I realised the reason for these unethical, ruthless people [was] to breed these dogs and sell them for big bucks.”
Wally said that his main concern is that they aren’t bred correctly, which then leads to health problems.
“I opened a Pandora’s box and released a Frankenstein’s monster. I find that the biggest majority are either crazy or have a hereditary problem. I do see some damn nice labradoodles but they’re few and far between.”
However, John Gosling, who was manager of the Guide Dog Services program where Wally worked in the 80s said they he came up with a beautiful thing.
The first ever labradoodle, Sultan, is now buried in John’s back garden.
