Hello, we are Mai Doodle
I’m Hemma Maiberg. My husband Rene and I live with our children and dogs on the outskirts of Graz, right by the Plabutsch. Hiking trails begin behind our house, deer regularly stop by our garden – and yet the city is very close.
Our dogs are a permanent part of our family life. That is exactly how we want our puppies to grow up too: not apart in a separate puppy room, but in our home, right in the middle of everyday life and our family. Mai Doodle is intentionally a small, family breeding program in which we put our hearts into every single litter.
One year in Australia. A breed for life.
Dogs have always been a great love of mine. As a child I was not allowed to have a dog of my own, so every Sunday I visited my great-aunt, who always had German Shepherds. There I was allowed to walk the dogs, “do dog school” with them and simply spend time with them. Later I regularly looked after dogs and got to know many different breeds.
Even so, I had to wait quite a long time for my first dog of my own. University, travelling around the world, four children, renovating our house – somehow it was never the right time.
In 2019 our family finally spent a year in Australia. That was where I came across a breed I had never heard of before: the Australian Labradoodle. Their friendly nature and special presence fascinated me immediately. I wanted to know more and began researching the breed in depth.
While we were still in Australia, we contacted an Austrian breeder and joined her reservation list for a puppy. At first, the process felt almost a little like a job interview and was completely new to me. At the same time, I found it very reassuring that the breeder wanted to know so much about where her puppies would live and whether dog and family would truly be a good match.
Maroni – our first Australian Labradoodle
Then things suddenly moved faster than expected: we moved up the waiting list and were able to welcome Maroni into our family only six months later. I still remember exactly how happy we were when this little chocolate-brown fellow finally moved in with us.
Maroni very quickly showed us what wonderful companions Australian Labradoodles can be. He is friendly, attentive, incredibly people-oriented and full of energy and eagerness to learn. Today he is a certified therapy companion dog and regularly joins me at a primary school in Graz. There he works as a reading dog and helps children who find reading aloud difficult. He has also visited a retirement home as a visiting dog – and it touches me every time to see how much joy a dog can bring to people.
Of course, Maroni's life is not all about his work. He loves mantrailing, scent work, trick training and above all hiking together. He needs activity, but just as much he needs rest – and through all of it, first and foremost, he is our family dog.
Maroni is not part of our breeding program. Even so, he is deeply important to Mai Doodle, because life with him played a major role in my wish to breed Australian Labradoodles myself.
The wish for our own breeding program
With Maroni, our enthusiasm for Australian Labradoodles kept growing. At some point I realised that I could imagine more than simply being happy with my own dog. The wish to raise puppies of this breed myself became stronger and stronger.
What fascinates me most is the combination of a friendly, people-oriented nature, eagerness to learn and versatility. For us, Maroni is a family dog, hiking companion, training partner and therapy companion dog all at once. Those are exactly the kinds of dogs I hope for other people too: dogs that share our everyday lives and make them richer, enjoy doing things with their people and are reliable companions along the way.
From the beginning, it was clear to me that I wanted to breed within a breeding association and according to high ethical and health standards. Small, family-based and with plenty of time for every single dog and every litter. No puppy production, no kennels and no raising puppies somewhere apart from family life. Our puppies should grow up where we live too – right in our home and right in the middle of our everyday life.
That wish eventually became Mai Doodle.
And then came Hazel
As the wish for our own breeding program became more concrete, the search for the right female began too. And eventually Hazel came to us – our sweet caramel-coloured Australian Labradoodle girl from Slovakia. Many thanks to my mentor Denisa, who entrusted Hazel to me!
Hazel has a wonderful character and exactly the temperament we hope for in our future breeding program. She is gentle, patient, cuddly and loves being close to her people. At the same time she is curious, adventurous and always enthusiastic about joining us on our hikes.
Of course, Hazel is first and foremost our family dog. But with her, a new chapter begins too: she is intended to become Mai Doodle's first breeding female and to have her first litter in 2027.
We are especially curious to see how her calm and people-oriented nature will be reflected in her puppies. Our hope is for dogs that are not only beautiful, but above all convincing in character – as family dogs, reliable everyday companions and perhaps one day as therapy companion or assistance dogs.
With Hazel, an idea that has grown over many years is slowly becoming reality.
Meet Hazel