Description of the AES Australian Labradoodle

General appearance and the purpose of the dog

A well-balanced dog with cheerful and friendly behavior and an intelligent and intuitive look in his eyes. The dog has first been bred in Australia in order to become an allergy-friendly and non-aggressive family dog as well as suitable for training in order to become an assistance dog, therapy dog, or even a medical alert dog.

General impression

The dog immediately gives you the impression of a powerful and light-footed athlete. His friendly temperament and intuitive nature is an essential part of the dog.

Temperament

Intelligent (smart), lively, friendly, and always joyful, focused on people by making eye contact and he always likes to work for you.

Note: With weak leadership, the Australian Labradoodle shows a tendency to stubbornness and obstinacy. Because of their intelligence, they tend to take advantage of weak leadership.

Conformation and size

The overall balance is more important than the specified measurements. The dog is slightly longer than its height.

Standard: height at withers larger than 60 cm

Medium: height at withers between 45-60 cm

Miniature: height at withers smaller than 45 cm

Head and face

The expression of the head is gentle, friendly, and lively. The eyes are oval or round and are a characteristic of the breed. They should be rather large than small. The expression should be lively, curious, cheerful, wise and they make eye contact.

The eyes are dark brown to light amber or hazel color nuances. Usually, the eyes have long eyelashes. The edges around the eyes might be black, liver, or deep pink.

The drop ears are well-furred and set slightly below the top of the head. The skull from both the dog and the bitch is large and slightly rounded.

The nose is large, round, and fleshy in appearance.

The teeth and gums must be healthy. The dog has a normal scissor bite.

The forehand

The shoulders should be muscular, powerful, and well-developed, and the shoulder blades are long and large hanging slightly. The elbows must turn neither in nor outwards. The front legs are relatively long and powerfully built with straight segments. The feet are strong and compact with strongly arched toes round or oval in shape. The feet have strong toes and solid thick pads.

The hindquarters

The hindquarters are strong, muscular, and well-developed from the hip to the hock with well-turned stifles and strong short hocks. Viewed from the rear, the hind legs are straight and parallel. Viewed from the side, the angulation of the rear legs is in balance with the front. The feet are oval or round, powerful, and compact with well-arched toes.

The coat

The coat is a distinctive feature of the authentic Australian Labradoodle, but his appearance differs from how the dog is trimmed and regularly maintained. There are basically two coat types: curly coat and fleece coat. Although it is said that dogs do not have an undercoat, it is a popular misconception. Australian Labradoodles do have both – top coat as well as an undercoat. An undercoat is quite similar to the top coat when taking under consideration the length and structure; however it differs in width of a single hair which is very easily recognizable when looking under microscope.  Both coat types don’t spread a typical dog smell.

The curly coat has curls like a Poodle, especially when the coat is wet.

The fleece coat has loose waves or wavy curls.

Fleece coats have equal hair-length all over the body (including legs and tail) mostly longer than 10 centimetres when not trimmed.

The hairs on the head have to be trimmed in such a way that the eyes are kept free. The hair of the feet have to be cut short in order to prevent the dog from slipping and sliding.

Note: Besides these two coat types, in some breeding lines a gene mutation exists causing that the coat trait of the dog differs. Mostly the coat on the legs and paws is short and the dog is shedding heavenly. This is called “Improper Coat”. However, breeders are obligated to eliminate the Improper Coat-affected dogs by certain testing and removing them from breeding programs. 

Coat-colour

The following colors exist: black, silver, cream variants, wheaten colored, caramel / or apricot, red (rare), chocolate, café au lait, parchment-colored, blue-black and lavender.

If the coat color is fading during his first two years, the dog has a diluted gene for his color.

Sometimes the color is fading at the end of the hair caused by the ultraviolet light.

Multi-colored dogs (called parti-color) can be seen in some breeding lines.

Movement

The dog moves easily, athletic, graceful and joyful. The top line remains horizontal when the dog walks. When trotting most dogs seem to dance or float effortlessly over the ground.

As speed increases, the feet are placed closer together right under his center of gravity like a racing horse. The tail is preferably in sable fashion but usually, Australian Labradoodle carries their tail high when they are playful or excited.

 Note: The AES Australian Labradoodle needs at least two years of regular exercise and appropriate nourishment to develop his body and grow into adulthood. Both mentally and physically. They need very consequent guidance.