LABRADOODLE OR COBBERDOG (2024)

Australian Cobberdog Origin The True History of the Breed

Is the Australian Cobberdog the same as the Labradoodle? NO!

Traditionally in Australia, country of its origin, your 'cobber' is your best and most loyal friend; buddy, pal, the one you can count on through thick and thin. The name I chose fitted my vision for the breed.
The Australian Cobberdog was accepted by the MDBA as a Pure Breed in development in January 2012, following 7 months of assessing my submission and records. Since then, the Cobberdog has gained immense popularity across the world, which in turn, has seen a big influx of new breeders before the breed has had the time to be stabilized. Because of this, not all Australian Cobberdogs will exhibit the characteristics that made them so popular in the first place. So be sure to let your chosen breeder know exactly what your needs are.

​Australian Cobberdogs are no different in genetics than anumber of individual established Pure Breeds which all have a portion of shared ancestry, having come from the same root stock. Yet they are individual Pure Breeds with their own DNA imprints. There are dozens of these, but just some examples are the SkyeTerrier, the Scottish Terrier and the West Highland White Terrier, who allcame from the same root stock.

Since the Australian Labradoodle formed some of the branches that make up the ancestral tree of the Australian Cobberdog, then it has to include pure breeds such as Irish Water Spaniels, American and English co*cker Spaniels, two sizes of Poodles, Irish Soft Coated Wheatens (only Irish) and even Labrador Retrievers although these were bred away from as quickly as possible in th very early days, in pursuit of elbow and hip health, and to realize the vision of allergy friendly non shedding to low shedding coats.

The ​authentic Australian Labradoodlewas the brainchild and vision ofMellodie Woolley of Tegans (my daughter) back in the late eighties/early nineties. Together and independently we developed it with a series of intentional infusions from specific pure breeds at indicated stages and for special reasons to avoid a genetic dead end and for genetic diversity as well as to correct flaws in type or temperament as they appeared.
​There was no DNA health testing back then and it was basically a matter of "try it and see"! It was a huge global success but it suffered from over popularity in the hands of new breeders who bred for the wrong reasons, until finally its reputation was tarnished. The Australian Cobberdog is on the brink of the same fate in 2023.

How many breeds make up the Australian Cobberdog?

I have no knowledge of breeds being present such as Golden Retrievers, Irish Terriers, Cattle Dogs, Curly Coated Retrievers, Springer Spaniels, or Cavaliers, just to name a few which are rumored to be in the ACD. If they managed to be sneaked in there, I had no knowledge of it until 2022 when I learned that it was possible that someone had put in Cavaliers and Daxies to reduce the size!!

In about 2002 mydaughter Mellodie (nee Angela Cunningham) became very ill and was forced out of breeding for approximately ten years and I struggled to keep the vision alive. I gathered together some authentic Australian Labradoodle bloodlines that had not been corrupted and added more infusions as I went along. Not many people know this, but when I submitted the developing pure breed for acknowledgement by the MDBA In 2011 it was under the name "Australian Labradoodle". The MDBA advised me that the name had such a stigma attached to it, that it would never be accepted by any pure dog breed registry in the world, including the MDBA. but they also said that my very lengthy submission and meticulous records would be accepted if I came up with a different name.
​In Australia, the Cobberdog's land of origin, your best buddy/friend/pal is your "cobber" so that is how the breed got its name. At one point I was trying to think of a word to go with 'Mate'. Then I realized that it's a weird sort of word Down Under, because Aussies use that same word to their best friend, but they also use the SAME word to someone they hate, just before they knock his block off! Nooo... that name would never do!
​After the MDBA accepted my breed, I then invited Tegans to participate and helped her to start breeding again by gifting her with a young adult proven female, Rutlands Wh Amelia, and several doses of frozen sem*n from my best stud dogs. This was NOT to repay her her for gifting me with my first two Australian Labradoodles years before as it is claimed by some. I purchased my first Labradoodle breeding stock from Ron Evans in Victoria, Australia. He had some very nice dogs and was up to the second generation Labradoodles, most of which he used in his favorite pastime of hunting water fowl.

The Australian Cobberdog (ACD) was recognized in January 2012 as a pure breed in development sprungpartlyfrom the root stock of theauthenticAustralian Labradoodle but with other pure breeds infused. Like most pure breeds it is different to the breed/s from which it originated.

What is the Status of the Australian Labradoodle in 2023?

The Labradoodle registries have never accepted my Wheaten infusion I did in 2004 (IRISH WHEATEN ONLY) which I believe is part of their current problems. The MDBA has accepted it. The Australian Labradoodle became so corrupted that several different registries were set up to try and improve them from their temperament, to problems with health and coat. The trouble has been that some breeders joined the Master Dog Breeders & Associates (MDBA) purely for the purpose of acquiring one MDBA registered Cobberdog, to mix with their faulty Labradoodles. The result has been a hodge podge mixture of some good puppies and some not so good, all sold using the name of (usually the ACD sire) to promote their stock, I myself have unwittingly released ACD breeding stock to breeders who have been less than honest with me.

Can the Original Breeding Recipe Be Repeated or Repaired?
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Personally, I don't think it can, because it isn't possible to recreate the individual dogs that influenced the breed over the years. So there is no blueprint that can be followed.
Most pure breeds have been around for hundreds and even thousands of years. So the Australian Cobberdog breed is still in its infancy. Tools such as DNA testing are certainly speeding up the breed development process, but it is expected that for some time to come there will be differences in the Cobberdogs being bred by various breeders who are still selecting for different traits along the way. The important thing is a unity of purpose amongst them all.
​To this end, I believed when I handed the reins over to the MDBA in 2012 that it would be a good thing to have my life's work under the control of one entity.

What Does it Mean to Close the Studbook?

Benefits of an Open Stud Book

When Will the Australian Cobberdog Stud Book Close?

Before the Stud Book can be closed there are technical requirements to be met, such as at least 500 individuals of generation F4 or above, to be assessed and judged on the consistency of their physical attributes and behaviours. The breed needs to have a wide genetic base on which to build future generations. The challenge is that fresh bloodlines introduced, must be genetically rich in specific traits unique to the breed. Otherwise there could be no consistency and generations of non-typey dogs would be produced which would at best slow down progress, or even halt it altogether.

The health and width of gene pools can be and often are, impacted by politics, differing views of what is the best path to take to get to the desired goals, differing views of what the desired goal/s should be, and numerous other variables.

Some breeders are pushing for the Stud Book to be closed already, claiming that the breed will stagnate otherwise. I fail to see how a breed can stagnate when it is only an infant in dog breeding terms. But I do recognize the dangers in closing the Stud Book too soon. At the present time, in 2023, a look at the various breeders' websites across the world, will clearly illustrate that the 'type' of Australian Cobberdogs varies widely, depending on which breeder you get your puppy from. To close the Stud Book now or even in the next ten years would seal in this variability by reducing the gene pool far too early.

​I believe that the best way forward for the next few years is to regularly back track to individuals who have proven to exert a positive influence regardless of the bloodlines they have been blended with. This will 'set' the desirable qualities of the ACD whilst at the same time weaving freshblood into the tapestry whilst the open studbook still permits it, without losing the gains of past generations of work already put in by some breeders.