shayaalliard: selling puppies out of a pet store and intentionally creating a designer litter because it was your “Heart dog” is laudable because…?
[QUOTE=Nootka;6629441]
buys a designer :rolleyes:
for 12k no less… you have to click find out which “breeds” were the lucky one
At least it does go to charity
“Usher’s hefty charitable donation will help Pencils Of Promise’s efforts to build 100 schools”[/QUOTE]
It IS a cute puppy and the money did go to a good cause. He is donating his time as well… so that is good. Hopefully the puppy gets a great home out of it as well 
(then again, I don’t imagine he would pay $12k for a dog that will be publicized then neglect her! LOL)
Edit - That said, I don’t condone “designer” breeds. There are tons of “designer” breeds and purebred dogs at any given animal shelter, any given day. I worked for a high kill shelter for a while and would take home some overflow dogs since I lived on a large farm with lots of kennels at the time… I had all sorts of breeds - the following were all PUREBRED dogs: Golden Retriever, Rottweiler, Akita, Pharaoh Hound, Chow Chows, Pit Bulls, Cocker Spaniel, and a Weimaraner. I had multiple other mix breeds as well (Lab mixes, Pit mixes, Jack Russell mixes, etc) but you can pretty much find ANY breed you want if you just take the time to look at shelters. So why pay tons of money for it? I just don’t get it. (unless someone wants to show in breed shows, then obviously they would need to buy a registered dog)
People have been calling my little Pekingese/Poodle mix a “Pug” for ages. I just found out that her grandpa, who has himself ended up at a rescue, is a full fawn-colored Pug! :lol:
I think it’s funny how POed people get about this issue. If I want to spend $50 or $5000 on my new dog, what does that matter to you?
I am the proud owner of a “designer breed” (SPCA special - I only justify this b/c I don’t support breeding for pets) and have no qualms about proudly announcing her as such.
Hybrid vigor does exist, but it refers to more similarly related animals breeding together. You can’t cross a Chihuahua with a Lab and expect something decently conformed just because they’re both dogs.
Where is that banging the head against a wall icon when you need it.
It matters because reputable breeders DO NOT BREED MUTTS.
Intentionally crossing dogs with no genetic testing, no titles, and no value as breeding stock to produce a quick buck is unethical, irresponsible, and contributes to the number of unwanted dogs in the country.
The argument can be made for crossing dogs for performance or field work (flyball dogs, etc.) to provide certain attributes in a smaller dog but that is the exception. Most designer breeds come from someone crossing 4 different small breeds with poodles to create designer dogs they can ship around the country at 6 weeks of age for $2k a piece.
Meh, as others have said, most people just don’t know that much about dogs. I have a standard poodle, and the questions people ask are quite odd. I can count on one hand how many people have called her a poodle, a standard poodle even less so. However, there are countless, “is that a labradoodle?”, or “what kind of doodle is that?” Once I tell them that she’s a standard, they tend to get a confused look on their face and exclaim, “wow, she’s a huge poodle,” or “I didn’t know poodles grew that big.” That’s hilarious, as standards are the originals bred to retrieve water foul; what’s more, my dog is actually small for a standard. I have trouble imagining how people can look at her and NOT think poodle:
IMG_3141 by anti-kantian, on Flickr
Not to mention that she cost quite a bit less than the $5,000+ that some people apparently pay for goldendoodles or other crosses. And, I have a more-or-less complete 30++ generation pedigree, with the oldest dog going back to the early 1900’s, and a lot with ofa/hip tests, age, cause of death, so I was reasonably sure what I was getting into.
Oh, and doodle breeders touting low coat maintenance as a plus? Poodles shed, they just don’t shed all over your house. I spend close to $100/month on grooming. I guess I could offset that by collecting her hair and starting a company that sells “purebred” poodle yarn
The only negative with my spoo is that she hogs the bed and occasionally kicks me in the face when she turns over to the ‘cool’ side of the blankets.
