The man who bred the first Labrador-Poodle cross has said he regrets creating “Frankenstein’s monster”.
Wally Conron, 90, was working for Guide Dogs Victoria in Australia when he came up with the Labradoodle in 1989.
Speaking on an ABC podcast, he said he deeply regretted sparking a trend for designer breeding.
"I opened a Pandora's box and released a Frankenstein’s monster," he said.
Mr Conron lamented that his invention paved the way for "unethical, ruthless people" to breed the dogs without considering the health of their offspring.
He said most Labradoodles are "either crazy or have a hereditary problem," with healthy examples of the breed "few and far between."
Cross-breeding can increase a dog's risk of congenital disease, particularly down the generations. The 90-year-old believes the practice has gone too far.
He said his original purpose in crossing a Labrador with a standard Poodle – which has a non-shedding – had been to create a guide dog for a blind woman in Hawaii whose husband was allergic to dogs.
The experiment was successful and one of the resulting litter of three was over to the island.
Mr Conron explained that since no one wanted the two remaining puppies, Conron asked his work’s PR department to advertise the new breed.
Labradoodles quickly became popular in Australia, and then the world.
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