Australian Cobberdog

Australian Cobberdog
A nine-week old dark gold Cobberdog with a white muzzle and forehead, thus making it parti-coloured. She is lying down and facing the camera. The dog has distinctive single coat hair (hypoallergenic) and "floppy" ears
A nine-week old parti-coloured Cobberdog
Common nicknamesCobberdog, Cobber
OriginAustralia
Traits
Height 35–61 cm (13–24 in)
Weight 7–40 kg (15–88 lb)
Coat single coat
Colour chocolate, dark gold, red, gold, black, white and cream
Life span 13–15 years*
Kennel club standards
MDBA standard
Notes*No verifiable study has taken place
Dog (domestic dog)

The Australian Cobberdog is a purebred dog breed developed in Australia by the Rutland Manor and Tegan Park Labradoodle Breeding & Research Centres. The breed was created as a continuation of Wally Conron's efforts to create a definable and carefully researched labradoodle. This effort was also in response to the increase in demand for labradoodles which had led to breeders referring to any combination of Labrador Retrievers and Poodles as labradoodles without temperament or hypoallergenic criteria. The inconsistency of standards for labradoodles led to the distinction of Australian Labradoodle and the further distinction of Cobberdog attributed to a purebred dog breed with more strict standards for breeding, temperament, and appearance.[1][2]

The Australian Cobberdog was bred to be an ideal candidate for being therapy and service dogs. Up until the creation of the Australian Cobberdog, no breed had been developed with the sole objective of having the ideal characteristics to serve as therapy and assistance dogs. This is in part because therapy and assistance dogs are relatively modern. Australian Labradoodles, as prescribed by the Australian Labradoodle Association of America, are derived from three breeds of previously purebred dog breeds. Cobberdogs are meanwhile derived from a combination of at least eight existing breeds in order to achieve the desired temperament.[3][4]

The large pool for the development of the Australian Cobberdog led to the breed's disassociation with the Australian Labradoodle; this caused the involved research centres to approach the obscure kennel club Master Dog Breeders and Associates for cataloguing. With a name change and the finalisation of the breed's DNA sequence the standards for physical and temperamental attributes were established and the Cobberdog was officially a pure breed and thus the only pure breed of labradoodle.[4][5]

Cobberdog breeders make the assertion that the Australian Cobberdog was an attempt to reach the originally intended goals of the Labradoodle. Prior to the explosion of the popularity of Labradoodles, they were carefully bred in an attempt to perfect the temperament and be hypoallergenic. After the popularity of Labradoodles began less careful selection and a lack of breed standards led to the modern, unrecognized crossbreed. Cobberdogs, as researchers state, are the product of continuing with the original goals of the Labradoodle project: a gentle, hypoallergenic dog with a calm demeanor and a tendency to comfort the people around them.[6][7]

  1. ^ Woolly, Mellodie; Dávalos, Antonio. "History of the Australian Cobberdog". Dog King. Tegan Park Labradoodle Breeding & Research Centre. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ^ "What is an Australian Cobberdog?". doodleDogs. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Home". Jae's Australian Cobberdogs. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b Erb, Luke. "From Australian Labradoodle to Australian Cobberdog". australiancobberdog.com. Arrowhead Labradoodles Ltd. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  5. ^ Erb, Luke. "History of the Australian Cobberdog Breed". australiancobberdog.com. Arrowhead Labradoodles Ltd. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  6. ^ Walker, Joan Hustace (1 June 2017). Labradoodles. Complete Pet Owner's Manuals. Sourcebooks, Inc. p. 14. ISBN 9781438068787.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).