The Cobberdog was purpose-bred by the founders (Tegan and Rutland) in their quest to develop the perfect companion pet for people with additional support needs. Selective breeding by the founders produced a consistent type with the desired physical and character traits. Their breeding vision also included an allergy friendly, low to non-shedding coat so that people who suffered allergies could enjoy a companion pet.
Cobberdogs make great therapy and assistance dogs. They have an uncanny ability to feel human emotions and will respond by cuddling in, instigating play or just staying close. This unique breed really do make eye contact to connect with you like no other breed!
Cobberdog is a registered ‘Pure-Breed in Development’
The Australian Cobberdog is a registered breed in development with the Master Dog Breeders and Associates (MDBA), a worldwide pure-breed registry. Importantly, the MDBA has been entrusted with overseeing the continuing development of the Australian Cobberdog since 2012. The Australian Cobberdog partly originated from the authentic Australian Labradoodle.
The MDBA is also the institution responsible for ensuring correct breeding procedures to guarantee quality of life for future generations of the breed, through good breeder practices, whose breeding criteria must be that the puppies have a good personality and be in good health.
Only MDBA breeders have the legitimacy to guarantee that their dogs are purebred Australian Cobberdogs. In turn, this guarantees the quality of the dogs.
“A gracefully athletic and balanced dog, free of exaggeration, with a luxurious non-shedding, odourless coat. They are generally recognised by furnishings with the “groomed look” a fresh rounded appearance rather than droopy. Their innate desire and aptitude for training, is expressed through their sociable, joyful and friendly nature. They have a desire for close human companionship and an instinct to seek intimate eye to eye contact”
Cobberdogs have a wonderful temperament which truly sets it apart from all other breeds. This trait was purposely selected in its development so it is no surprise that the result is a dog which is affectionate, calm, gentle, social, funny and very clever. They approach people in a beautiful friendly manner and love to be touched and handled.
Cobberdogs have a coat that is low to non-shedding and odour free, making them great for people that may be allergic to dog hair. Grooming the coat 2 -3 times a week keeps it tangle free and in beautiful condition. When done regularly your Cobberdog will relish these times.
The Cobberdogs high level of intelligence makes then easy to train though you’ll have to careful they don’t end up training you! They love to learn and really connect with you and the people around you.
The coat of an Australian Cobberdog is low to non-shedding and well suited to those with allergies. Cobberdog coats are either fleece, wool or smooth. These different coat types have slightly different appearances.
Fleece coats can be wavy or curly.
Wavy coats, as the term suggests, appear very gently wavy (though genetically called a straight coat) and are silky to touch. The coat fibres contain natural moisture that catch and reflect light giving it a beautiful sheen, this is believed to contribute to the dogs apparent absence of skin dander along with little to no shedding. Dander is responsible for many allergic reactions that humans have to animals with hair.
The Cobberdog wavy fleece hangs in loose rippling waves of fibres held in formation by soft clusters called staples. The coat can be kept long with regular grooming to keep it mat free or shorter to keep it easier to manage. Dirt falls easily from these coats and they tend to lack the doggy-odour of other breeds. If clipped or shaved this wavy fleece coat will regrow its natural soft staples.
The Curly fleece is a Curly Coat and is characterised with more pronounced staples that have a soft crimped look. When clipped they will become curly to very curly. With intense coat care the curly coat can usually be regrown to almost as good as its original state. The curly coat is usually more dense compared to the wavy coat. A fine curly coated Cobberdog is beautiful and requires medium coat maintenance.
There are two versions – the wool coat and the spiral wool coat.
The wool coat looks very cute on puppies as it is soft and fluffy with a slight fuzziness in appearance. As an adult it becomes dense and will grow in tight crimped staples layer on layer. When brushed it is frizzy and is dry with little to no shine. When clipped it is like velvet and grows into tight inverted curls. Maintenance is high.
The Spiral Wool coat is the same as the wool coat without the extremes, it is the bridge between the dry wool and the shiny curly fleece.
There is very little shedding with this coat, so it is the very best coat type for allergy sufferers.
Smooth coated Cobberdogs look most different around the face as they do not have the typical facial furnishings, making the face smooth and longer. However, this is the easiest coat to care for as they don’t need clipping like the fleece or wool coats. They are not the best Cobberdog coats for allergy sufferers as they tend to shed a little.
DNA testing for coats is available and enables breeders to know what to expect from a litter. From our own research, most breeders do not breed smooth coated Cobberdogs.
Info extracted from MDBA Breed Standard for Australian Cobberdogs.
Black
Black with no other colours through the coat
Black dogs will brown off significantly if they spend a lot of time in the sun. The term for this is “sun bleaching”.
Pigment must be Black
Blue
Dark to medium Smokey blue/grey in colour
Born black with blue/grey skin pigment
Brown
Dark rich brown with Rose pigment
Puppies are usually born very dark brown
Café
Milk Chocolate to silver beige which develops over time
Pigment is Rose
Cream
Shades of white colour with a yellow tint of varying shades.
Pigment is Black or Rose
Gold
Colour varies from rich gold (not to be mistaken for Red) to the colour of the ripe inside of a ripe apricot.
Pigment either Black or Rose
Lilac
Smokey lavender/chocolate colour that can have the appearance of pink/lilac
Born chocolate, their colour will develop over their first few years.
Pigment is Rose
Merle [plus the coat colour]
Mottled patches of different colours in a solid or piebald coat. The dogs can have blue or odd-coloured eyes, and their skin pigment can be affected. A standard merle coat has two characteristics: a diluted base colour and random patches of full pigmentation. Dilute merles have a milder coat dilution with no patches. Harlequin merles have a white background with large patches of full pigmentation. Cryptic Merles are dogs which have the Merle gene but where the pattern cannot be seen in the base coat.
Red
A Solid even rich colour from chestnut red through to deep mahogany
Pigment either Black or Rose
Sable
Black tipped hairs on a background of any solid colour that has no designated pattern or location on the coat
Silver
Grey/pewter in colour to charcoal
Born Black and colours develop over 1 to 3 years due to a greying gene
Pigment must be Black
White
White has pale lemon highlights
Pigments are either Black or Rose
Parti
Coat is patched, usually two colours (such as brown or black) on a white background
White in the coat must be at 50% or more
Pigment is usually Rose
Parchment
Milk Chocolate to Silver Beige which develops over time
Pigment is Rose
Pie
Sometimes described as “cowlike”, piebald coats typically feature asymmetrical white spotting with areas of colour making them extra unique in appearance.
Pigment either Black or Rose.
Phantom [with the coat colours]
Coat markings which are in a secondary colour must be:
Above each eye, on the sides of the muzzle (also referred to as the side of the cheeks)
Across the dog’s chest
Down the legs
Under the tail
These dogs are born with their markings. This does not occur as the dog ages.
Primary coat colour [plus the secondary coat colour]
Any coat colour with more than one colour that does not fit in to other colour descriptions will be called the primary colour and the secondary colour, for example Black and white or brown and white
There are two colours of pigment in the Australian Cobberdog. Black and Rose (same as liver in other breeds).
Pigment is the colour of the nose and the skin lining around the eyes, lip rims, and on the pads of a dog’s paws.
The ‘rose’ pigment found in the dilute colours is not a lack of pigment, but is a definite colour. This means that there is no predisposition to sunburning or cancer in the rose pigmented Australian Cobberdog.
The Australian Cobberdog comes in 3 sizes which means potential owners can select a pet size that best suits their lifestyle and space. Height is determined by measuring the dog from the ground to the top of their shoulder (wither), whilst on a level surface.
The breed standard gives the 3 main sizes as:
Whilst there are 3 main sizes, it is not uncommon to breed between sizes which results in variations to the standard such as small mediums and small standards. For example, the height range of a Small Medium is typically 41 -47cm.
Breeding between sizes allows breeders to maintain genetic diversity. The sex of the dog does not affect size, but in general, females have a slightly lighter build than males.
At Three Bridges, we breed miniature to medium sized Cobberdogs.
Weights for each of the sizes mentioned above are typically:
Lots of the information on this website has been taken from the Tegan’s Australian Cobberdog website with permission. We are proud to be part of the Tegan’s Australian Cobberdog community and to have Mellodie, the co-founder, as our breeding mentor.
For more details on this amazing breed please visit www.tegancobberdogs.com
