The man who created the first labradoodle has said introducing the now much-loved crossbreed is his "life's regret".

Wally Conron, who lives in his native Australia, said breeding the dog "opened a Pandora's box and released a Frankenstein's monster".

He added that the popularity of the dogs has caused "unethical" breeders to jump "on the bandwagon" and "sell them for big bucks".

He shared his regrets in the Sum Of All Parts podcast made by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Mr Conron said: "I bred the labradoodle for a blind lady whose husband was allergic to dog hair.


"Why people are breeding them today, I haven't got a clue."

Mr Conron was working for the Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia in Melbourne in the 1980s, when he received a letter from a blind lady in Hawaii whose husband was allergic to long-haired dogs.

He took on the task and initially thought it would be fairly straightforward, believing that "the standard poodle would do the job".

But after trialling 33 of the dogs he concluded that the breed did not have the right temperament to guide the blind.

Mr Conron spent three years trying to find a solution before coming up with the idea of crossbreeding a labrador and a poodle.

He went on to introduce Brandy, a labrador bitch, to his boss' male poodle Harley.

Nine weeks later Brandy delivered the first known litter of labradoodle pups.

Coat clippings and saliva from each of the dogs was sent to Hawaii for testing, with just one of the dogs coming back as compatible with the couple.

The labradoodle, named Sultan, was then trained up and sent off to the US state to join his new family.

Image: Labradoodles are a cross between a labrador and a poodle. File pic

Despite a six-month wait for a new labrador guide dog, Mr Conron said not a single family was willing to take one of the two remaining crossbreeds.

Mr Conron spoke with the guide dog association's PR department, who subsequently invented the name labradoodle.

The centre later became inundated with enquiries about the dogs from all over the world.

Mr Conron said: "I realised what I had done within a matter of days."

He added that his priority as a breeder was always about bringing about healthy pups, but labradoodle breeders who "got on the bandwagon" did not have the same motivations.

Mr Conron said: "I realised the reason for these unethical, ruthless people (was) to breed these dogs and sell them for big bucks."

He told the podcast that introducing the crossbreed to the world was his "life's regret".

Mr Conron added: "I opened a Pandora's box and released a Frankenstein's monster.

"When I'm out and I see these labradoodles I can't help myself, I go over them in my mind.

"I find that the biggest majority are either crazy or have a hereditary problem.

"I do see some damn nice labradoodles but they're few and far between."