New England has no single state dominating the Australian Labradoodle market the way other regions do.
Rhode Island’s Two Programs Both Carry ALAA’s Golden Paw
The smallest state in the United States is Rhode Island, however it has two recognized breeders who test their breeding animals at levels that exceed the minimum health testing standards of the Australian Labradoodle Association of America (ALAA).
Ocean State Labradoodles
Stefani Whiteman owns Ocean State Labradoodles, and her “in-home” operation based in North Smithfield, RI, prices puppies around $2,750 with a $350 non-refundable deposit. Each litter also comes with a two-year health warranty on every puppy, and they go home vaccinated, microchipped, and already spayed or neutered.
Location: North Smithfield, Rhode Island
Phone Number: 401-727-0250
Website: Ocean State Labradoodles
Registry: ALAA
Highland Beach Labradoodles
Highland Beach Labradoodles, located in Warwick, RI (central Rhode Island), has been awarded the Golden Paw award by ALAA for several years due to its superior health testing results. All Highland Beach Labradoodles are tested using OFA, PennHIP, Paw Print Genetics, and/or UC Davis panels. Litters are typically sold out before the puppies are even born.
Location: Warwick, Rhode Island
Website: Highland Beach Labradoodles
Registry: ALAA (Golden Paw)
Vermont Has Exactly One ALAA-Registered Program
There is one registered breeder of the Australian Labradoodle in Vermont: Green Mountain Australian Labradoodles, a program recognized by ALAA for its superior health testing results since 2022.
Green Mountain Australian Labradoodles
Owner Pam McEwing offers multi-generation miniature and small-medium Australian Labradoodles bred out of Essex Junction, Vermont, just outside Burlington. This small boutique program views itself as a low-volume breeder rather than a large kennel, and each puppy is guaranteed free of inherited genetic disorders for two years.
Location: Essex Junction, Vermont
Website: Green Mountain Australian Labradoodles
Registry: ALAA (Golden Paw)
New Hampshire Has the Most Breeders of the Three States
New Hampshire has four registered programs with the Australian Labradoodle Association of America (ALAA), most of which are based in southern NH near Boston.
Nestlewood Labradoodles
Nestlewood Labradoodles, LLC is based on five acres of land in the Merrimack Valley region of southern New Hampshire, approximately an hour northwest of Boston and twenty minutes from Manchester Airport. MaryPat Thate, the owner of Nestlewood Labradoodles, follows all of ALAA’s health screening guidelines for her breeding stock. She does not ship puppies; families are required to travel to Nestlewood Labradoodles, LLC and visit the facility so she can show them where their new puppy was raised.
Location: Bedford, New Hampshire
Website: Nestlewood Labradoodles
Registry: ALAA
Storybook Labradoodles
The owner of Storybook Labradoodles is Amy Koeppel. She runs a family-run operation out of New Boston. All of the dogs used for breeding have OFA certification. The pups are raised in the home and are said to be very socialized when they leave. In addition to raising pups, the program offers a Guardian Home Option to families who would like to raise a future breeding dog.
Location: New Boston, New Hampshire
Phone Number: 707-338-0170
Website: Storybook Labradoodles
Registry: ALAA
Autumn Haze Labradoodles
Autumn Haze Labradoodles, located in Newmarket, uses ALAA to register all of its litters and provides an individual registration number for each pup. Autumn Haze Labradoodles tests for DNA markers related to about 130 different genetic issues that could potentially occur in the breed. Prior to breeding, both parents are OFA-certified. Their primary goal is to preserve the breed’s low-shedding coat while maintaining the temperament required for therapy and service work.
Location: Newmarket, New Hampshire
Website: Autumn Haze Labradoodles
Registry: ALAA
Lakeshore Labradoodles
Lead breeder Rahna Barthelmess, along with a few members of her family, operates Lakeshore Labradoodles, which is located in Wolfeboro. Lakeshore Labradoodles participates in a third-party review called “Raising the Breeder Bar,” which reviews their health testing. Each pup is extensively socialized and trained prior to leaving for its new home.
Location: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
Website: Lakeshore Labradoodles
Registry: ALAA
None of the Three States’ Consumer Laws Reach a Hobby Breeder
Rhode Island’s pet-sale statute, R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-19-4.1, requires licensed pet shops to post health certificates and breeder contact information and to file sales records with the state twice a year. It applies only to pet shops, not to individual breeders, and animals obtained from a rescue or shelter are exempt entirely.
New Hampshire provides the most protection for puppy buyers in the form of a “puppy lemon law.” Under RSA Chapter 437, a buyer is entitled to have a veterinarian inspect the pup within 14 days after the sale and to receive a refund of the purchase price or a substitute puppy of equal value if the veterinarian determines the pup suffers from any illness or disease. However, this protection does not apply to any breeder who sells fewer than 30 dogs per year.
Vermont comes closest to a true puppy lemon law. Under 20 V.S.A. § 3921, a buyer who gets a veterinary certification within seven days showing a contagious or infectious illness, or within one year showing a congenital or hereditary condition, can choose a full refund, an exchange, or reimbursement of vet costs up to the purchase price. This law only covers “pet dealers,” defined as anyone selling three or more litters in a 12-month period, and pet shops, so every breeder featured in this article operates well under that threshold.
New England Sits at the Historic Center of Lyme Disease in America
Lyme disease gets its name from Lyme, Connecticut, where the illness was first identified in the 1970s, and the region has never really shaken that association. Roughly 70% of all U.S. Lyme disease cases come from the Northeast each year.
According to 2024 data, Rhode Island reported 2,563 Lyme disease cases, an incidence of 233.6 cases per 100,000 people. That number climbs even higher in Washington County, on the southern end of the state, at roughly 723 cases per 100,000 residents. Vermont and New Hampshire see similarly high rates, and Vermont is typically ranked among the top Lyme disease states in the country. Anyone bringing a puppy home in this region should expect tick prevention to be a year-round conversation with their vet, not a seasonal one.
The Breed’s Origin Traces to a Single Guide Dog Request
The Australian Labradoodle didn’t originate from a marketing strategy. Rather, it came from one person’s attempt to solve a single problem: a woman living in Hawaii wanted a guide dog, but her husband’s allergies ruled out most of the breeds commonly used as guide dogs at the time.
The idea behind creating the Australian Labradoodle began in the 1980s while Wally Conron worked for the Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia. Conron attempted to solve the allergy issue by breeding a Labrador Retriever with a Standard Poodle. While the resulting puppies had the proper temperament for guide work, they shed just like a typical Labrador. To address this, breeders continued refining the cross using Cocker Spaniel, Irish Water Spaniel, and Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier bloodlines to create a coat that would shed much less.
By the early 1990s, two Australian programs, Tegan Park and Rutland Manor, had developed the stable coat and temperament associated with the breed today. Most of the small New England programs featured here trace their foundation stock back to those original lines, whether directly or through several generations of American breeders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vermont comes closest to a true puppy lemon law, with 20 V.S.A. § 3921 offering a refund, exchange, or vet-cost reimbursement for illness found within seven days or a hereditary condition found within one year. New Hampshire’s RSA 437 gives buyers a similar exam-and-refund right. Rhode Island’s law only covers licensed pet shops.
Generally, no. These laws only affect sellers of three or more litters a year, and vendors moving thirty or more dogs a year, so every breeder listed here operates as a small home-based program well under those thresholds, and it’s worth asking each one directly about their own health guarantee.
Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire are among the three smallest states by population, and because Australian Labradoodles are typically bred through a small number of dedicated home-based programs rather than commercial operations, the total number of ALAA-registered breeders stays low across all three states.
Rather than being an occasional problem, Lyme disease is an ongoing issue here. Rhode Island alone reported over 2,500 Lyme disease cases in 2024, and the greater Northeast region accounts for the vast majority of Lyme disease cases nationally, so tick prevention is something to discuss with a veterinarian from day one.
Verify that the breeder is currently registered with ALAA by contacting the association directly, ask for documentation of OFA, PennHIP, or genetic panel testing performed on both parents, and ask what tick-borne disease precautions the breeder takes with their own breeding dogs and litters.
Conclusion
Between Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire, New England has seven ALAA-registered Australian Labradoodle programs, though most of these operate as small home-based programs rather than large kennels. The laws protecting consumers vary significantly by state, but none of the three statutes were built with a hobby breeder in mind, so a written health guarantee from the breeder carries far more weight than the underlying statute.
Given how extensively this region is affected by Lyme disease, tick prevention deserves the same level of attention as vaccinations and diet when planning for a new puppy, regardless of which of the three states a family calls home.
Australian Labradoodle Breeders In Other Places
| Alberta | British Columbia | Nova Scotia | Ontario | Ottawa |
| Australia | New South Wales | Queensland | Sydney | Victoria |
