Labradoodle Inventor Now Regrets Creating a ‘Monster’

 

The creator of a popular mixed dog, the labradoodle, has expressed great regret at inventing the breed 30 years ago.

Australian Wally Conron was working as a breeder of guide dogs in 1989 when he received a special request. A blind woman needed a guide dog but her husband was allergic¹ to Labrador retrievers, a breed commonly used to assist humans.

Conron got to work. He carried out tests on more than 30 poodles. Such dogs do not cause allergy² problems because they have short, non-shedding fur. Conron’s aim was to find a poodle that would be an acceptable guide dog.

But his efforts were unsuccessful. He said all the ones tested had either physical problems or behavior issues that ruled them out as guide dogs.

So he got the idea to crossbreed a Labrador retriever with a poodle. Conron found the crossbreed to be the perfect dog for the couple.

But today, Conron has major regrets about starting the breed. He recently spoke³ about his feeling toward the labradoodle in a podcast produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Conron noted⁴ that the dogs have developed problems related to poor breeding history. Years ago, he said he had no idea the dogs would grow to become so popular throughout the world.

“I opened a Pandora's box and released a Frankenstein monster back in the 80s,” Conron said on the program.

Conron’s breeding was successful and his experiment resulted in three puppies – the world’s first labradoodles. One of the three tested non-allergic. That puppy was sent to his new home in Hawaii, where the blind woman lived with her husband.

Conron said he was surprised at how difficult it was to find anyone to take the other two puppies. Many people did not like that they were crossbreeds.

So Conron decided⁵ to create a special name for his creation: labradoodle. He went to the media to get publicity⁶ for this new dog. “It was a gimmick⁷,” he said on the podcast. “They were crossbred, nobody wanted them. But everybody wanted a labradoodle. Same dog, different name."

What followed was a flood of publicity and requests for labradoodles from all over the world. Demand for labradoodle breeders grew. Famous people – including Jennifer Aniston, Tiger Woods and Christie Brinkley – became proud labradoodle owners. Even President Barack Obama’s family considered a labradoodle before choosing a Portuguese⁸ water dog for the White House.

Conron said he is saddened that irresponsible breeding has led to problems for many labradoodles. He said he believes that most of the dogs “are either crazy or have a hereditary⁹ problem.”

He did, however, add that he has come across some nice labradoodles that are similar to the ones he bred in the past. “But they are few and far between,” he added.

The Australian Labradoodle Association of America addressed Conron’s comments in a statement on Facebook. The group said the labradoodle is a much more developed dog today than it was back in 1989.

The organization admitted that irresponsible breeding does happen. Some breeders ignore health or breed standards. The group urges people seeking labradoodles to go through registered breeders who keep records on their dogs.

The organization said many labradoodle owners enjoy the dogs because they are very friendly and “highly social with their humans.” These qualities, combined with being non-shedding and allergy-friendly, make the labradoodle a good choice for many American families, it added.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

breed – n. a type of animal

allergy– n. medical condition in which your body reacts badly to something that you eat, breathe, or touch

Pandora's box – n. something that creates a lot of new problems that you did not expect

gimmick – n. something invented esp. for the purpose of attracting attention and that has no other purpose or value

crazy – adj. acting¹⁰ strange or foolish

hereditary – adj. having genes¹¹ passed on from parents to children

standard – n. an expected level of quality

1 allergic   

adj.过敏的，变态的

参考例句：

• Alice is allergic to the fur of cats.艾丽斯对猫的皮毛过敏。
• Many people are allergic to airborne pollutants such as pollen.许多人对空气传播的污染物过敏，比如花粉。

2 allergy   

n.(因食物、药物等而引起的)过敏症

参考例句：

• He developed an allergy to pollen.他对花粉过敏。
• The patient had an allergy to penicillin.该患者对青霉素过敏。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 gimmick   

n.(为引人注意而搞的)小革新，小发明

参考例句：

• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
• It is just a public relations gimmick.这只不过是一种公关伎俩。

8 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

9 hereditary   

adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的

参考例句：

• The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
• In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。

10 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

11 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪