Labradoodles were originally bred to be guide dogs for allergic people. The lady who had the first one as a guide is (now) a graduate of the guide dog school where I got Brodie, and lives in Hawaii. (At the time, Hawaii still had quarantine laws, so she went to Australia, which also has quarantine laws, to get a guide dog). Now they've got all kinds of wacky stuff bred in. I guess a lot of breeds start out that way, but Australia is closer to making it a breed than the US is.
I hate to even think of a time without Brodie, but since one of my partners is allergic, my next guide dog will also be a labradoodle. (Brodie is not hypoallergenic by any means, and she does shed, but she's a hell of a lot easier for my SO to deal with than, say, a golden retriever). Interestingly, my school refuses to call them that, and just calls them "lab-poodle crosses", or "LPs" for short. If someone asks if she's a doodle, I say yes, because hey, I call my tissues Kleenex, even though they're PUffs. It's just easier. :)
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I hate to even think of a time without Brodie, but since one of my partners is allergic, my next guide dog will also be a labradoodle. (Brodie is not hypoallergenic by any means, and she does shed, but she's a hell of a lot easier for my SO to deal with than, say, a golden retriever). Interestingly, my school refuses to call them that, and just calls them "lab-poodle crosses", or "LPs" for short. If someone asks if she's a doodle, I say yes, because hey, I call my tissues Kleenex, even though they're PUffs. It's just easier. :)