Mini Labradoodle - Guide, Care & Issues

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The popularity of designer breeds and crossbreeds has been steadily rising over the past few decades. There is no crossbreed more popular than the adorable Labradoodle. The Mini Labradoodle is a mix between the Poodle and the Labrador Retriever. The Poodle parent determines the size of the Labradoodle puppy. If you are interested in getting a Miniature Labradoodle for yourself and your family, here are some things you should know.

What is a Mini Labradoodle?

A Mini Labradoodle is still a part of this famous designer breed, but the difference between a Mini and the rest of Labradoodles is that one of Mini’s parents is a Miniature or Toy Poodle. For practical reasons, it is usually the father that is the Miniature or Toy Poodle. It would be impossible for a Toy Poodle female to safely deliver many Mini Labradoodle puppies.

What are Mini Labradoodles like?

The temperament and character of the Miniature Labradoodle are not significantly different than the temperament of a Standard one. If you are looking into becoming a new Mini Labradoodle owner, here are some character traits you should be prepared for;

Energetic

This might be more of a physical trait, but it will impact your dog’s needs. Mini Labradoodles are energetic, and they will not be satisfied with simple walks or occasional jogs. Your new Miniature Labradoodle will need to be adequately exercised, and you will have to invest time in working with your dog. It is a great idea to get a dog treadmill if you don’t have enough time to exercise your dog. Both of Mini’s parents are fairly energetic, so it is not unreasonable to expect the new mixed puppies to be energetic as well.

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Intelligence

Poodles and Labradors are among the smartest dog breeds in the world, so you can expect their offspring to be reasonably intelligent as well. Mini Labradoodles will need proper mental exercise. They love learning new things, and they come from two lines of working breeds. Working breeds need to be reasonably intelligent. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to perform their duties. The original idea behind the Labradoodle creation was to create a guide dog with a hypoallergenic coat.

Playful

Luckily, one of the best temperament traits of the Mini Labradoodle is their playfulness. Poodles are known as clowns of the dog world, and Labradors are as friendly as a dog can get. An ideal Miniature Labradoodle should be a mix between the two breeds. Most of these designer puppies are playful and friendly. That means you will have to take them to the dog park often and allow them to play with other dogs and humans.

Their playfulness is one of the reasons these designer dogs became so popular among dog owners worldwide. Playful dogs make fantastic additions to families; Mini Labradoodles are precisely like that. Minis love having company. They love playing with the kids, and they have plenty of energy that allows them to keep up with the insane pace of kids’ playing. If you are looking for a guard or a watchdog, a Mini Labradoodle would be a terrible choice.

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Sensitive

Believe it or not, most dogs are pretty sensitive. They thrive on their owner’s attention, and service breeds like the Labrador, or in this case, a Mini Labradoodle, need more attention than your regular pureblooded dog. If they don’t get enough attention, they will develop behavioral issues. That means you will go from having a good family dog to having a dog that is a nightmare to be around.

Miniature Labradoodles will become needy, destructive, and moody. All because their basic needs are not satisfied. Make sure you have enough time and energy to handle such a crossbreed.

Coat care

Another thing most future Mini Labradoodle owners need to prepare for is the famous Mini Labradoodle coat care. If you ask any existing Mini Labradoodle owner about the amount of time they invest in keeping their dog’s luscious coat in the best possible shape, you will realize that this is not a dog for everyone. You can do the grooming yourself, or you can invest in professional help. Keep in mind that regular grooming appointments can rack up quite a yearly tab.

Mini Labradoodles will require a lot of bathing, brushing, cutting, and overall coat care. The main reason for such a complicated coat is that most Miniature Labradoodles have a coat that is a combination of the Poodle’s curly coat and Labrador’s thick, heavy-shedding double coat. Mini Labradoodles usually have low-shedding, hypoallergenic, wavy, or curly coats.

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This type of coat can quickly get matted and tangled, which means regular brushing is absolutely necessary. Ungroomed Mini Labradoodles will develop skin irritations, hot spots, and health issues that follow lousy grooming habits. If you are considering getting a Miniature Labradoodle, you should know that grooming will be a part of the package with this designer breed.

Designer breed issues

Mini Labradoodles are cute as hell; there is no denying that. They have adorable coats, faces, temperaments, and everything about them screams “great family dogs.” However, like with most crossbreeds, you can never be absolutely sure what you will get. Dogs that are a mix of two pureblooded breeds inherit genes from both sides of the family.

There is an infinite number of combinations that can happen. Just because you expect, for example, a dog with a hypoallergenic coat doesn’t mean you will actually end up with one. Unfortunately, that is not the way genes work.

If you are interested in hypoallergenic dog breeds, check out the complete list of hypoallergenic dog breeds here.

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Mini Labradoodle puppies

If you are looking for a Mini Labradoodle puppy, you should know that this is a challenging thing to do. The main reason for that is - Labradoodle is not a dog breed recognized by any major cynology associations. Breeders are not registered and recognized, and finding out what breeder has good breeding practices could be problematic.

Plus, designer breeds are often being sold for ridiculous amounts of money. If you are looking to buy a Mini Labradoodle, you should be prepared to pay anywhere from $500 - $2.500, depending on your location and the breeder you are in contact with.

In conclusion

Whenever someone is looking for a designer breed, our sincere advice is - to look into adoption. There are different Labradoodle rescues where you might find a Mini Labradoodle in need of a new home. We believe that buying a designer breed is not the smartest or best option, mainly because there is no way of knowing what the breeder is doing and which dogs they are actually breeding. We would advise you to be careful and take your time searching for any dog or dog breed. 

World Dog Finder team