After many decades of trying to make sense of these things, I have come to the following conclusions, which I plan to clutch to my bosom to my dying day:
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The reason people gravitated to the ‘designer dogs’ is because of the failure of closed stud book breeding to produce reliably genetically healthy dogs, the failure of selection for conformation shows to produce unexaggerated normal dogs, and the failure of anyone to breed for the one thing that matters above all else to the general public, which is a good safe, friendly temperament. The promise, whether fulfilled or not, of these overhyped crossbreds, is that they will be genetically safer than the insanely inbred AKC breeds (the science supports this, at least in the case of damaging mutations embedded in any given AKC breed crossed with a totally different one). And people LIKE FLUFFY, okay? I don’t, but everyone else does. That’s the main reason for the doodle part, as far as I can tell.
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The reason breeders of registered AKC breeds hate the popularity of any other idea of breeding is mysterious. Who the hell cares? It’s not like those registered breeds are any better (see #1). And they’re often worse. But it’s human nature to get irrationally self-righteous over differences only the in-group cares about.
The public cachet of a “purebred” “registered” dog is essentially over. It was a Victorian conceit in which the burgeoning middle class could pretend to the kind of luxury animal breeding previously only available to the wealthy, which reached its height of popularity and respect around the mid-twentieth century. The AKC stopped publishing their annual registration statistics when every year was less than the year before, despite ever-greater numbers of people buying dogs.
I like real working dogs of all kinds, stockdogs in particular. Some of them have their own registries and some don’t give a damn about registries. The AKC offers working dog breeders nothing they can’t get elsewhere. Same with doodle cross breeders. So if the AKC dwindles to just another niche group like the Shape Note Singers of America, or the Native Iris Society, I’m fine with that, myself.
If it matters to me to educate myself about these things, I do so – but I never claim not to be ignorant about things I’m unfamiliar with. If I want to become more knowledgeable, I consult people who know more than I do, or I do research. (I’m a trainer, but recently got into showing – and since this is new to me, I took handling classes, spent a lot of time researching and contacting mentors, and getting information and help from experienced breeders/handlers - as well as watching lots of videos online of show handling. I soaked up every bit of knowledge I could before getting into the ring with my dog. As a result, I am now less “ignorant” of show handling protocols, acquired the necessary skills, and was actually very comfortable handling my dog at her very first bench show.)
