Why would anyone 'regret' an adorably cute Labradoodle?
We certainly don't understand it but that's what Wally Conron has to say about the breed.
And just who is Wally Canron? Well, he's the guy who INVENTED the Labradoodle back in 1989. The Australian man first crossed a labrador with a poodle for a woman looking for a service dog that would be hypoallergenic because her husband was allergic. You see, Labradors are great service dogs. Poodles, not so great as service dogs, but their coats are hypoallergenic. So by crossing the breed, he found that some of the puppies that were born had a hypoallergenic coat, and a great temperament for service.
But there was a problem. Many service dog owners didn't want the new dogs because they were not purebred. In an effort to try to show the public how the breed could be a valuable service dog, he turned to the media to show them the new breed and dubbed it the 'Labradoodle.'
The media worked it's magic. Wally told the NY Times.
"It was a gimmick. They were a crossbreed, nobody wanted them, but everybody wanted a Labradoodle. Same dog, different name."
But Wally now says he really regrets inventing the breed because he feels it lost its original purpose. In addition, he says they're being bred so much and by so many unethical people that it's causing some issues with health and temperament. Wally says he's met so many Labradoodles who are 'just plain crazy' and he fears that the breed has just become a popular fad and fashion accessory instead of a service dog filling a special need.
In a podcast with Australia's ABC News, Wally says he realized he created a "Frankenstein monster':
"I released the reason for these unethical, ruthless people to breed these dogs and sell them for big bucks – that’s my big regret," .
But Labradoodle lovers aren't having it and have stepped in to defend the adorable pups, the president of the Australian Labradoodle Club of America President says Wally's description of 'crazy' Labradoodles is inaccurate, saying "ALL dogs are crazy."
But one thing is clear, whether you agree or disagree with Wally, labradoodles have many fans and aren't going away anytime soon.
Credit: Buzz 60