About Our Family
I have always been an animal lover, but unfortunately, very early on in my life, I realized I had pretty severe allergies to fur/animal dander. After years of asking my parents for a puppy, they conceded and we bought a Sheltie collie when I was a teenager. This not only exacerbated my allergies as they are a high shedding breed, but also triggered asthma symptoms in my early teen years and limited my ability to interact with the dog.
Fast forward to adulthood, I began to pursue breeds that were considered hypoallergenic or non-shedding and also small in size to limit allergen exposure. Although getting a non-shedding, hypoallergenic coat can help reduce allergy symptoms, there will still be allergen exposure, as the allergen is carried in the dander (skin cells) and saliva of the animal and not exclusively in the coat. Over several years, I adopted 3 Yorkshire terrier pups who had wonderful temperaments, were intelligent, loyal and great companions and kept my allergies controllable.
When I met my husband and our family started to grow, he wanted to get a dog that was a little bigger in size than my 5-12 pound Yorkies for the family. Unfortunately, one of my children also suffers from allergies/asthma as well so we had to seriously consider impacts on our health before getting a different breed of dog.
As a physician and a concerned mother, I researched several breeds of dogs to help find a breed that would be a bit larger in size (in the 15-30# range) and still not exacerbate our allergy/asthma symptoms. I serendipitously came across the Australian Labradoodle breed through my search and also had the ability to interact with several Australian Labradoodles who live in our neighborhood. To my surprise, our allergy symptoms did not worsen at all with these dogs.
Over the past almost 3 years, we have come to be the proud owners of 4 Australian Labradoodles that range in size from 18-35 pounds. They have been the best addition to our busy family!!! They are truly non-shedding and hypoallergenic in my experience. Their temperaments are awesome as they are sweet, smart, gentle and affectionate creatures who interact wonderfully with our children as well as with other families. On a typical summer day on vacation, you will see our family on beach walks with our crew, as the pups stop to say hello to passers-by for a quick pat or a game of catch.
I have come to love this breed so much and see how much joy they have brought to our family that I have decided to pursue breeding. The pups at Blue Bay Labradoodles will be raised in a child-friendly, loving environment in our home in CT surrounded by lots of hugs, love and handling from our 5 children and will also be well socialized with our other pups in the home. We look forward to sharing these wonderful puppy experiences with your family!