The breeds · side by side
for a family
Labradoodle or Labrador Retriever.
The cross against the parent most families start from. The coat is why people look at the doodle; the exercise ask and the drive are closer to the Lab than the coat suggests. Ask the breeder which generation and what both parents are like at home.
Every value below shows its source and how sure we are. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog. Nothing here is a prediction about one dog.
What the question turns on
Coat
f1 lineVariable: Wally Conron, who bred the first litter, describes F1 coats from wiry to soft and curly, wavy or straight, and only one of his first three pups was allergy-friendly for the client it was bred for; appearance, working ability and behaviour 'remain somewhat unpredictable'
Short, straight and very dense, fairly hard to the hand, with a soft weather-resistant undercoat; a slight wave down the back is permissible; black, yellow or chocolate
field lineLighter bone structure, more length of leg, a less dense coat and a narrower head with more length of muzzle
show lineStockier, heavier of bone, denser in coat, with a head often incorrectly described as square or blocky
Shedding
f1 lineNot predictable in the first cross: considerable variability within a litter; the paper cites an estimate that about one-third of Labradoodles in a litter end up with a Labrador-type coat that sheds, and a 2012 allergen study found no evidence to call any breed hypoallergenic
Shedding 4 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)
Grooming load
2 of 5 · Parents differ: Labrador Retriever once a week (RKC band, 2) and Poodle every day or regular clipping (RKC band, 4). The coat a given dog carries varies, so the load runs between
2 of 5 · Once a week (RKC grooming band); coat length short; sheds
Exercise need
Parents differ: Labrador Retriever more than 2 hours a day (RKC, 150) and Poodle up to 1 hour a day (RKC, 60)
More than 2 hours per day
Trainability
2.7 of 4 · C-BARQ trainability breed mean 2.73 (Labradoodle n = 166), against Labrador Retriever 2.63, Standard Poodle 2.70, Miniature Poodle 2.54; not significantly different from any parent breed
Not recorded for this breed yet.
The rest, read the same way
Height at the shoulder
23.8 in (21.5 to 27)
dogs 23.5 in (22.5 to 24.5) · bitches 22.5 in (21.5 to 23.5)
Weight
dogs 68.8 lb (60 to 80) · bitches 53.8 lb (40 to 70)
dogs 72.5 lb (65 to 80) · bitches 62.5 lb (55 to 70)
Heat tolerance
3 of 5 · Parents differ: the Labrador's short, very dense double coat scores 4 (short dense) and the Poodle's dense curly coat, kept clipped, scores 3 (medium); an F1 may land anywhere between
4 of 5 · Short dense double coat: short, straight, very dense outer coat with a soft weather-resistant undercoat
Median lifespan
Not recorded for this breed yet.
13.1 years (13 to 13.1)
Life expectancy at birth
Not recorded for this breed yet.
11.8 years (11.7 to 11.9)
Exercise need
Not recorded for this breed yet.
More than 2 hours per day
Energy
Not recorded for this breed yet.
5 of 5
Grooming
Grooming is the expectation most often unmet: in a US survey of 2,191 owners, more than twice as many doodle owners as purebred or mixed-breed owners said their dog's maintenance (chiefly regular grooming) was more intensive than expected; one Labradoodle owner wrote that she had not realised there were generations that were less hypoallergenic
Once a week
Role
Assistance-dog origin: Wally Conron, puppy breeding manager at Guide Dogs Victoria (Coren: the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia), crossed a Labrador Retriever with a Standard Poodle in 1989 to produce a guide dog for a vision-impaired woman in Hawaii whose husband was allergic to dog hair, after none of 33 Standard Poodles he tried succeeded as guide dogs. Today a companion cross; ALAA describes the Australian Labradoodle as people-focused with a desire to please, suited to therapy and assistance work
Retrieving gun dog with the substance and soundness to hunt waterfowl or upland game for long hours under difficult conditions
Primary game
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Waterfowl
Also used on
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Upland game
Range
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Close: a non-slip retriever works from the handler's side and goes out on command; test retrieves should not normally exceed 100 yards (Junior, Senior) or 150 yards (Master)
Field trial standard
Not recorded for this breed yet.
AKC retriever hunting tests score four abilities 0-10: marking (memory), style, perseverance/courage/hunting, and trainability (steadiness, control, response, delivery); dogs must perform equally well on land and in water; Senior and Master dogs run blind retrieves and honor another dog's retrieve; tests are designed to approximate upland or waterfowl hunting
Water work
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Retrievers shall perform equally well on the land and in the water and are tested on both at every level
Cold water
Not recorded for this breed yet.
4 of 5 · Undercoat provides protection from water, cold and all types of ground cover; the standard describes a dog with the substance and soundness to hunt waterfowl for long hours under difficult conditions
Hip dysplasia
Not recorded for this breed yet.
11.3% · 11.3% dysplastic of 325,251 OFA hip evaluations on record (all data through Oct 2026; OFA hip registry dates from 1974); 87.5% normal (21.8% excellent, 57.1% good, 8.6% fair); breed rank 121 of the breeds listed
Elbow dysplasia
Not recorded for this breed yet.
9.9% · 9.9% abnormal of 149,110 OFA elbow evaluations on record (grade 1 7.6%, grade 2 1.7%, grade 3 0.6%); breed rank 49
Most common disorders
Owner-reported disorders in 583 UK Labradoodles aged up to five (2023 survey): diarrhoea 46.3%, vomiting 40.7%, dietary indiscretion 25.0%, otitis externa 23.6%, ophthalmological disorders 15.7%, pruritus 12.2%. Against Labrador Retrievers the cross had lower odds of hip and/or elbow dysplasia (OR 0.37), lameness (0.35), multiple masses (0.35) and wounds (0.52) and higher odds of otitis externa (1.80); against Poodles, higher odds of allergic skin disorder (4.39), dietary indiscretion (2.03), wounds (1.82), diarrhoea (1.64) and vomiting (1.54), lower odds of patellar luxation (0.24). Odds did not differ from the parents for 50 of 57 (Poodle) and 52 of 57 (Labrador) disorders
Most prevalent disorders in UK Labradors under primary care (2013, sample n = 2,074): otitis externa 10.4%, overweight/obesity 8.8%, degenerative joint disease 5.5%; 61.6% had at least one disorder recorded. Median longevity 12.0 yr in that sample; chocolate-coloured dogs shorter-lived (10.7 vs 12.1 yr) with more otitis and pyo-traumatic dermatitis.
Energy
2.2 of 4 · C-BARQ energy breed mean 2.20 (Labradoodle n = 166), against Labrador Retriever 2.11, Standard Poodle 2.07, Miniature Poodle 2.04; excitability 2.04 against Labrador 2.00 (no significant breed difference on either scale)
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Toward strangers
0.6 of 4 · C-BARQ stranger-directed aggression breed mean 0.56 (Labradoodle n = 166), against Labrador Retriever 0.47, Standard Poodle 0.57, Miniature Poodle 0.65 (difference not significant); stranger-directed fear 0.69 against Labrador 0.50
0.4 of 4 · C-BARQ stranger-directed aggression breed mean 0.41 (online sample, n = 349); breed-club sample 0.36 (n = 277); ranked 5th (online) and 6th (breed club) of the 8 breeds common to both surveys, where rank 1 is the most aggressive (Dachshund)
Toward other dogs
0.6 of 4 · C-BARQ dog-directed aggression breed mean 0.62 (Labradoodle n = 166), against Labrador Retriever 0.95, Standard Poodle 0.74, Miniature Poodle 0.92 (not significant); dog rivalry 0.19 was significantly lower than the Miniature Poodle's 1.02, the only scale on which the Labradoodle differed from a parent
0.6 of 4 · C-BARQ dog-directed aggression breed mean 0.59 (online sample, n = 349); breed-club sample 0.46 (n = 277)
Being left alone
0.8 of 4 · C-BARQ separation-related problems breed mean 0.76 (Labradoodle n = 166), against Labrador Retriever 0.55, Standard Poodle 0.62, Miniature Poodle 0.93; not significantly different from any parent
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Aggression, as studied
In the Royal Veterinary College's 2023 C-BARQ survey (583 UK Labradoodles), the Labradoodle sat between its parents: better than Poodles on six scales (owner-directed aggression, dog-directed aggression, dog rivalry, stranger-directed fear, dog-directed fear, separation problems) and worse than Labrador Retrievers on five (dog rivalry, non-social fear, separation problems, excitability, trainability); no difference from either parent on stranger-directed aggression, touch sensitivity or attachment. Of the three crosses studied, Labradoodles showed the fewest undesirable-behaviour differences
Among breed-club Labradors, field-bred dogs scored higher than conformation-bred dogs on owner-directed aggression (z = 2.18, P < 0.05); stranger- and dog-directed aggression did not differ between the lines. The authors note this is the opposite pattern to English Springer Spaniels, so show breeding is not itself the cause.
What to ask a breeder for
Clearances
- Labrador Retriever parent: prcd-PRA DNA test (optional, recommended) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Labrador Retriever parent: Cardiac evaluation (optional, recommended: advanced cardiac incl. echo for stud dogs) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Labrador Retriever parent: Centronuclear myopathy (CNM) DNA test (optional, recommended) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Labrador Retriever parent: D Locus (dilute) DNA test (CHIC requirement since 11/1/2016) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Labrador Retriever parent: Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC) DNA test (CHIC requirement; the dog does not have to be clear to be bred) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Labrador Retriever parent: Eye examination by a board-certified ACVO ophthalmologist, results registered with OFA; annual for breeding stock (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Labrador Retriever parent: Elbow evaluation (CHIC requirement, at or after 24 months) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Labrador Retriever parent: Hip evaluation (CHIC requirement, at or after 24 months) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Labrador Retriever parent: DNA (best practice): hereditary nasal parakeratosis (HNPK) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · UK
- Labrador Retriever parent: DNA (good practice): CNM, EIC, macular corneal dystrophy (MCD), prcd-PRA, skeletal dysplasia 2 (SD2), Stargardt disease (STGD) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · UK
- Labrador Retriever parent: Eye testing (clearance to ask for on both parents) · UK
- Labrador Retriever parent: Elbow scoring (clearance to ask for on both parents) · UK
- Labrador Retriever parent: Hip scoring (clearance to ask for on both parents) · UK
- Standard Poodle parent: DNA (Standard): PRA (rcd4), prcd-PRA, von Willebrand disease (vWD1); imported Standard Poodles must be clear or carrier of prcd-PRA and rcd4 for registration since 6 January 2025 (clearance to ask for on both parents) · UK
- Standard Poodle parent: Health elective, at least one of: OFA thyroid evaluation, OFA sebaceous adenitis evaluation by an approved dermatopathologist, or heart evaluation by an ACVIM board-certified cardiologist (Standard; CHIC requirement) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Standard Poodle parent: Yearly eye exam by a board-certified ACVO ophthalmologist (all varieties; CHIC requirement) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Standard Poodle parent: Von Willebrand Disease I DNA test (Standard; AKC/CHIC listing) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- Standard Poodle parent: Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures (NEwS) DNA test or clear by parentage (Standard; AKC/CHIC listing) (clearance to ask for on both parents) · US
- prcd-PRA DNA test (optional, recommended) · US
- Cardiac evaluation (optional, recommended: advanced cardiac incl. echo for stud dogs) · US
- Centronuclear myopathy (CNM) DNA test (optional, recommended) · US
- D Locus (dilute) DNA test (CHIC requirement since 11/1/2016) · US
- Elbow evaluation (CHIC requirement, at or after 24 months) · US
- Hip evaluation (CHIC requirement, at or after 24 months) · US
- Eye examination by a board-certified ACVO ophthalmologist, results registered with OFA; annual for breeding stock · US
- Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC) DNA test (CHIC requirement; the dog does not have to be clear to be bred) · US
- DNA (good practice): CNM, EIC, macular corneal dystrophy (MCD), prcd-PRA, skeletal dysplasia 2 (SD2), Stargardt disease (STGD) · UK
- DNA (best practice): hereditary nasal parakeratosis (HNPK) · UK
- Eye testing · UK
- Elbow scoring · UK
- Hip scoring · UK
The health clearances each breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
The selector
Which one, for your life?
A few minutes of honest answers: the birds, the ground, the water, the house, the week. The selector ranks both of these against what you said, explains every rank, and shows exactly where the one you came in wanting lands.
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