 In the
beginning, it was unusual to see a
Labradoodle any other color than Cream with
a black nose and paw pads, and black eye
rims and lip rims. When the first
Black was born, what excitement there was!
Chocolate had been introduced through the
Irish Water Spaniel infusion and a little
later on, via the Standard Poodle so
Blacks became more frequent. But the
Brown shades (Chocolate and Cafe Au Lait)
were the most popular because they were new
and different.
In those
early times Blacks took a little while to
catch on. It was in the days
before digital cameras and the beautiful
Blacks didn't photograph as well as the
Browns, so subsequently they were not as
popular. Each time we held an Open Day
and visitors met one of the gorgeous Blacks
in person, there would be a rush to
change preferences on the puppy applications
from another color to a Black.
But
then, as memories faded, and good quality
photos were still difficult to get, Black
Labradoodles were the least favorite of all
the colors that were developed. As so
often happens, when public demand wanes for
a particular color, the majority of
breeders tend to shy away from breeding that
color.
This is
what has now happened to the fabulous
Blacks. Very few Australian
Labradoodle breeders intentionally breed
Black puppies, and even go to great lengths
to restrict the numbers that could appear in
their litters.
This
puzzles me, because never has Rutland
Manor's wait list been so full of families
wanting Black puppies than it has been over
the past couple of years. I can only
surmise that now that we have bred so many
of them, and more people are seeing them,
that at last the Beautiful Blacks are
receiving the attention they so richly
deserve. They are beautiful!
|
Today's Dilute Trend -
The Problem |
 The
current craze amongst breeders the world
over is the (beautiful) rose nose (dilute) in their
breeding programs in their efforts to
restrict the numbers of Blacks they breed.
I find this trend quite worrying. Why?
Because Black is the color purifier (my
term, not the least bit scientific ).
Hypothetically speaking, if every breeder
decided to breed nothing but dilutes, the
result would be that one day there would no
longer be rich Chocolates, dark Reds or
vibrant Apricots. And once it's
lost......it's lost forever. And even
worse, generations of dilute breeding would
mean the pigment would become so weakened in
the breed that concerns such as sunburn
would be common place within the breed.
Although
the rose nose itself is not a lacking in
pigment, if dilute to dilute breeding
continues for long enough, the lovely rose
nose would be a scaly pale pink severely
lacking in pigment along with all the
problems this brings. Stretch the
imagination a little further, and who knows
if this trend would eventually result in
albinos.
Breeders Should Not Discard Blacks in
their Breeding Programs.
 Reds
in the Australian Labradoodle are
extremely rare - that is, the TRUE Reds.
In fact there are so few world wide that
even fewer breeders have ever seen one!
(although they may think that they
have). But the first time someone
see a True Red the first words out
of their mouths are that they had never
ever realized the color could possibly
be so deep and vivid in a dog and that
it almost looks as if it's been dyed.
Many puppies are born looking as if they
are a Red, and they are sold in the
genuine belief that they ARE Red when in
fact they are Apricots.
Photographs can often be very
misleading, and often make a dog look
much more 'red' than it is in real life.
This also applies to Apricots.
Photographing Reds with a person can be
an indicator of the color when compared
to the skin tones of the person.
The majority of Apricot and existing 'Red'
puppies very quickly fade over the
first twelve months of life. What
this means, is that they were not Red or
Apricot in the first place, but looked
as if they were when they were young.
Because a Red was bred to another Red in
no way guarantees that any of the
progeny will themselves be a true Red.
It will depend on the solidarity of the
Red breeding behind both parents.
If there is a dilute in the first six
generations behind either parent it is
very unlikely that a true Red puppy will
breed on or even be a True Red itself.
It is
true that public demand can
set the trends that breeders tend to
follow, but an eye also needs to be kept on
the future of the breed. It would be
very sad to see the lovely colors in the
Australian Labradoodle disappear altogether
due to breeders focusing on current trends
in the 'market place'.
I am
frequently asked for breeding stock, which
'must breed such and such colors'.
Often times I am asked very few questions
other than 'what color will he/she throw?'
This always concerns me. Yes, I can
understand how certain colors are desirable
because they may be easier to find homes for
as various 'fashionable' trends run their
courses. BUT it is only when all other
important aspects are covered and a breeder
is confident of the health, conformation and
overall quality of the lines
behind their breeding stock, that color
should be a consideration.
So let's lift our glasses.....a toast to the
Beautiful Blacks! |
