Goldendoodles are not the only popular mixed breed with health benefits.  It is hard to understand, with all of the diseases that can increase when a dog is purebred, why breeders still feel that a purebred dog is better. The trend of mixed breeding of dogs is slowly increasing and is very poodle oriented. The mix between Labrador retrievers and poodles is very common. This mix is referred to as a labradoodle. Labradoodles receive genetic susceptibility to certain disease from both labradors and poodles.http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/labradoodle Purebred labrador retrievers and poodles are known to have a genetic tendency for over 10 ailments each. Labradoodles are know to only have a genetic tendency for around 8 ailments or diseases.

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This a significant decrease, especially when the decrease includes some serious illnesses.  Tricuspid valve dysplasia(TVD) is a serious illness that is increasing in prevalence in purebred labrador retrievers.  TVD is a congenital heart disease that ranges in severity. http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/your-dogs-health/disease-information/tricuspid-valve-dysplasia.html The dogs are born with this disease, and depending on the severity the dog may not be able to live a full life. This is only one of the group of ailments lost due to mixing breeds. The loss of the genetic tendency for TVD should be reason enough to breed labradors with other dogs. I feel that dog owners and breeders need to become more aware of the issues with purebreds, and begin to keep up the mixing of breeds, rather than inbreeding to keep the lines pure.

Here is a link that contains a list of the known diseases common in labrador retrievers: http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/labrador-retriever#health
Picture from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Labradoodle-male-australian-9-months.jpg