Miniature Labradoodle

Everything You Love About the Larger Labradoodle is Available Here in this Adorable, Miniature Package.

If you prefer the outgoing personality of the Labrador, but also want the nonallergenic characteristics of the Poodle, consider adopting Miniature Labradoodle puppies as pets. Miniature Labradoodles, like their full-sized counterparts, generally have the personality traits of their parents, such as the intelligence and social graces of the Poodle, but the calm and playful personality of the Labrador.

Miniature Labradoodle History

Labradoodles were first referenced in literature by Sir Donald Campbell, who talked about his crossbred Labrador-Poodle in his 1955 book. In 1988, Wally Conron, a breeder from Australia, officially crossed the Standard Poodle and Labrador Retriever to come up with the first true Labradoodle. His goal was to produce a gentle, trainable dog similar to the Labrador in personality but with hypoallergenic characteristics of the Poodle. As a result of his success, people with allergies can enjoy owning Miniature Labradoodles with no ill effects.

Miniature Labradoodle Appearance

Because Labradoodles are hybrids, appearances can vary greatly. Generally, Labradoodles' coats are either fleece, similar to that of an angora goat, or woolly-curly, like that of a Poodle. A third type is simply called "hair," and texture can be straight, wavy, or curly, but can look much more like a Labrador's coat than the previous two types. Neither type of coat sheds, so the choice is up to you. Both the fleece and woolly-curly types of coat are considered hypoallergenic. Colors can be coffee, tan, white, brown, green, gray, black, or red.

What's the difference?

Miniature Labradoodles are indeed miniature "copies" of full-size Labradoodles. They are not regarded as a separate breed but instead are simply a downsized version, if you will, of the standard Labradoodle. Everything about them is simply scaled down to perfect size. While a standard Labradoodle weighs between 45 and 77 pounds and stands 22 to 24 inches at the shoulder, Miniature Labradoodle puppies weigh just 30 to 50 pounds and stand between 14 to 17 inches at the shoulder.

Types of Miniature Labradoodles

In addition to size, Labradoodles can also be classified by the way breeders produce them:

An F1 Labradoodle is 50% Labrador Retriever and 50% Poodle. If the Labradoodle is a Miniature Labradoodle, the Poodle parent is of the toy variety.

An F1-B Labradoodle is 75% poodle and 25% Labrador Retriever. This dog is obtained by breeding an F1 Labradoodle and a Poodle. Again, for the dog to be a Miniature Labradoodle, the F1 Labradoodle generally has a toy Poodle as its parent and is then bred with another toy Poodle.

An F2 Labradoodle is a crossbreeding of two F1 Labradoodles, again with toy Poodles as the Poodle parents of the dogs being bred.

An F3 is a crossbreeding of two F2 Labradoodles.

Multi-generation Labradoodles can also be obtained by crossbreeding two F3 or higher generation Labradoodle parents.

Note:

Using toy Poodles for breeding will produce smaller dogs, although some first-generation (F1) dogs may not be as small as offspring from crossbreeding two Miniature Labradoodles. First-generation (F1) Miniature Labradoodles, with one breed for each parent, though, are generally healthier and have fewer problems than subsequent crossbreeds.

F2 or greater Labradoodles may retain greater shedding tendencies if Labrador characteristics appear more prominently in the genetic outcome. Again, a first-generation toy poodle/Labrador cross is less likely to shed than dogs born from subsequent crossbreeding.

Personality

The temperament of the Miniature Labradoodle, like coat and shedding traits, is somewhat unpredictable because Miniature Labradoodle puppies are a hybrid rather than a purebred species, Labradoodles in general are friendly, sociable, outgoing, very smart, loyal, and eager to please. When bred carefully, Miniature Labradoodles retain the parents' most desirable personality characteristics. While Poodles can tend to be high strung, for example, this is less often seen in the Labradoodle, because the Labrador's gentle, much more relaxed personality supersedes that of the Poodle.

While Miniature Labradoodles are very smart like Poodles, they will need strong discipline – a firm and gentle hand – to reinforce their cooperative, obedient natures. Your pet will behave quite sell if you provide strong boundaries, guidelines for acceptable protocol, and consequences for bad conduct. Labradoodles, like poodles, learn very quickly and will know what is expected of them in very short order as long as you provide proper leadership.

Miniature Labradoodle puppies can also develop something called "small dog syndrome" in some instances. Although this behavior disorder is more often seen in true toy or teacup varieties of dogs, your pet can still develop a personality like a spoiled child if you treat your dog like a baby. Dogs by their nature are pack animals that need a dominant "alpha dog" personality for guidance. You, the owner, must provide that alpha personality; if you do so, your dog will be much happier and better-behaved.

Health

First-generation crossbred Miniature Labradoodles (originating from Labrador retriever and toy Poodle as parents) are generally much healthier than F2 or more inbred types. This is because the first generation Labradoodle is more likely to retain the healthy characteristics (both in personality and in physical resiliency) of the parental breeds. Hip dysplasia can be present even with first-generation breeds, though, because this is also a problem that Labrador Retrievers have. Addison's disease may also be present with the Labradoodle, a defect which is currently being studied for its possible prevalency in the hybrid.

Despite these problems, though, the Miniature Labradoodle is generally a very hardy dog, and your pet should only need regular visits to the veterinarian for checkups to live a long and healthy life, in most cases. The average life expectancy for a first-generation Labradoodle is 13 to 15 years or even longer.

Grooming

In general, Miniature Labradoodles that are first generation breeds are truly hypoallergenic dogs, because they retain the "non-shedding" characteristics of the Poodle. If your pet is a non-shedder, it will need regular trims to keep the coat groomed. Labradoodles that are beyond first-generation breeds may not be entirely suitable to an owner with allergies because they may shed to some degree. While the term "hypoallergenic" is often misinterpreted to mean "non-allergenic" or free from any kind of allergic stimuli, the truth is that hypoallergenic connotes a reduced number of allergic irritants which still may trigger an adverse reaction in people with heightened sensitivity. A careful brushing is necessary regardless, though, at least once a week, with occasional bathing as needed.