What Is It With Designer Dogs?

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=BuddyRoo;6559924]
I think a big part of this “problem” is the lack of education the common person has with regards to what to look for/the BS that some of these designer breeders throw out there like “hypoallergenic”.

If you’re going to pay big bucks for something, things like OFA, CERFs when appropriate, meeting the parents, etc etc are things I feel are a must. Yet do you think I could convince my own husband of that? I mean, if you’re going to drop a couple of grand on a dog, then by goodness, I want to have the best possible scenario to start with.

If you’re going to throw all that out the window, why in the heck would you do anything more than evaluate the dog in front of you, pay less, and take what you get–which is likely to be a great family dog ANYWAY?

As for the hypoallergenic BS, it drives me batty. I won’t soap box on that for now. But good gravy, it’s not the hair that’s the problem. It’s the dander. And even my purebred standard poodle WILL shed hair to some extent. Not like my lab obviously, but I can assure you, there is poodle hair being shed. Now cross a poodle with a lab and there’s no consistent outcome. AND it’s the dander, not the hair.

Argh.[/QUOTE]

Yes, there is no such thing as hypoallergenic when it comes to someone allergic to the to them foreign protein in another animal’s body.
I am allergic to dogs and I can assure you, more or less to every one of them.
I groomed Grandma’s three little poodles for years and if one happen to lick me, I had a rash there right away.

To help our dog club put on obedience and later agility shows, I started taking cortisone pills two days before the shows and taper them off after the shows.

There truly is no hypoallergenic animal, dog, horse or gerbil, for anyone that is allergic to animals.

You can keep your dog extremely clean, teach it not to lick, keep everything very clean in the environment and so stay below the threshold that causes symptoms, most of the time.
If you forget yourself and rub your eye after playing with the dog, well, you will have a red, swollen eye asap.

[Ghazzu]

@Wellspotted;6554014

Shelters are so full they can’t take any more animals.

Adult dogs–yes, the housebroken, trained, restful ones, the ones that don’t surprise you with how big they’ll grow because they’re already grown–aren’t being adopted.

If people want a mix, why don’t they just go to the shelter and rescue one?

No wonder southern shelter dogs are being shipped up north for adoption where–according to one COTHer–they actually have neuter/spay laws.

Partly regional.
I’m currently dogless, since my ancient Irish setter went earlier this year.
When I look at the shelter listings around here, I see primarily bully type dogs, along with various purse dogs that have apparently lost their charm.

I have zero interest in either type.

So I’m biding my time and getting ready to start filling out applications for a breed rescue or two.

As for spay/neuter “laws”–not sure what that means.
We do pay more for a dog license for an intact animal in my area, but there are no neutering requirements in most of the towns I’m familiar with.

[RiderWriter]

[QUOTE=bits619;6559133]

Aaaaand yes, for your viewing pleasure, picture of the poodle mixes
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/299792_10100772965677430_21943610_n.jpg.
left to right, Daisy, golden mix, the one my parents bought as a puppy (and are embarrassed to admit, especially since all the other dog park friends are rescues!), Scuba my schnauzer mix (oft referred to as Schnoo1), Scout the boxer mix, and Lulu my other schnauzer mix, in desperate need of a hair cut…[/QUOTE]

I think they are all adorable! I’m especially intrigued by Scout. If I ran into him I would immediately assume he was a Portugese Water Dog - do you get that?

This has been such an interesting thread. I’m afraid that I find myself actually liking some of the designer “breeds,” like Maltipoos (have known two who were great little dogs) and yes, Schnoodles. I think those crosses actually make sense.

That said, I adore purebreds and I absolutely can’t STAND it when people carry on and insist that their designer mutt is actually a real breed. I’ve run into this with someone I know who has two Goldendoodles, both purchased at top $$ from the local pet store. (By the way, I live in MO - need I say more? At least they weren’t on a truck across America first ) She is a know-it-all type anyway and it wasn’t worth arguing with her. If she wants to blow 4K on a couple of mutts and act like they’re the schizzle, good for her.

This summer I was at my Mom’s beach place in NJ. Doodle crosses are all the rage with that crowd, or purebred Porties. It can be extremely hard to tell the difference! Anyway, I really wanted to smack one snooty little boy of about 9, who airily informed me that his dog was an “Australian Labradoodle” and therefore, it was implied, far superior to the run-of-mill Labradoodles everyone else was sporting. I think the damn dog had even been flown here from the other continent. Whoo-frickin-hoo, kid, it’s STILL a mutt. You and your parents need to get OVER yourselves!

As an aside, maybe I’m dumb but it took me a long time to figure out why anybody would be stupid enough to get a pup from a pet store. Since a Petland opened five years ago not two miles from my house, I’ve had plenty of reason to dwell on the topic, as practically every new puppy that turns up in our n’hood comes from there. I mean, WHY would you do that when you can get an extremely well and carefully-bred pup from a reputable breeder for HALF the price? (Like I did) Two reasons:

1. Convenience. It took me over six months to find my puppy, and even then we only got her because of a last-minute drop of someone who’d been on the breeder’s waiting list for over a year. We also had to drive eight hours away. (She’s a PPES - Practically Perfect English Springer, LOL)

2. Price. More $$ MUST = a better dog, right?

I’m happy to report that every Sunday, the Petland is picketed by anti-puppy mill folks. Word has definitely spread, but the place is still in business… people evidently really want to believe the lies they are told in there. I knew someone who worked there and HE bought the “party line, too!”

By the way, my relatives had a “Borgie” many years ago (not purposely-bred, either). He was a terrific dog and still missed.

[Ghazzu]

@Sonesta;6556670

The DNA testing of dogs to tell you what breeds it contains is a SCAM.

Amen!

[Bumper]

I’m late to the party but here i go anyway. The issues i have with designer dogs are many and most have been addressed so i won’t get too wordy.

1 – designer breeders rarely do any health testing. I spend a lot of money making sure my Springers are health tested and won’t breed one that doesn’t pass. I also won’t breed a dog that won’t hunt. Period.

2 – they are mutts. They are not breeds. No matter that “all purebreds started out as mutts!”, that’s irrelevant. Those “mutts” who became purebreds were crossed with a purpose, to develop selected traits, to become something usable and functional (even if they have no function other than pets now). Designer dogs are crossed for profit and nothing else. Oh some are crossed because the name sounds so f-in COOL!! Like the guy who called a woman with two boxers to give away. He wanted to cross them on his chocolate lab so he could call the pups, “Boxochocolates”. True story. No, she didn’t give him the dogs, whom she had already fixed, but she did give him a piece of her mind.

3 – hybrid vigor is a myth. Cross two purebreds with inherent health issues and you get a litter of pups with health issues. Now, a mutt that’s from a long line of mutts might have a little more vigor and fewer health issues…might. He also might be a genetic health nightmare. It’s a crapshoot.

4 – the designer breed ‘registries’. They are bogus. Worthless. There are no breed standards at all, just a name.

Ultimately it’s about education. Most of the people who buy into the designer dog bullschit are completely ignorant when it comes to dogs. Most people buying dogs of any sort are ignorant as to what constitutes a reputable breeder. As people on this thread have stated, many people who buy designer dogs are OFFENDED at the idea their dog is a mutt. They refuse to hear anything different. They are willfully ignorant. You can’t cure stupid.

[bits619]

@RiderWriter;6560000

I think they are all adorable! I’m especially intrigued by Scout. If I ran into him I would immediately assume he was a Portugese Water Dog - do you get that?

This has been such an interesting thread. I’m afraid that I find myself actually liking some of the designer “breeds,” like Maltipoos (have known two who were great little dogs) and yes, Schnoodles. I think those crosses actually make sense.

That said, I adore purebreds and I absolutely can’t STAND it when people carry on and insist that their designer mutt is actually a real breed. I’ve run into this with someone I know who has two Goldendoodles, both purchased at top $$ from the local pet store. (By the way, I live in MO - need I say more? At least they weren’t on a truck across America first ) She is a know-it-all type anyway and it wasn’t worth arguing with her. If she wants to blow 4K on a couple of mutts and act like they’re the schizzle, good for her.

This summer I was at my Mom’s beach place in NJ. Doodle crosses are all the rage with that crowd, or purebred Porties. It can be extremely hard to tell the difference! Anyway, I really wanted to smack one snooty little boy of about 9, who airily informed me that his dog was an “Australian Labradoodle” and therefore, it was implied, far superior to the run-of-mill Labradoodles everyone else was sporting. I think the damn dog had even been flown here from the other continent. Whoo-frickin-hoo, kid, it’s STILL a mutt. You and your parents need to get OVER yourselves!

Scout actually looks really boxer-y in person. She’s about 55lbs, tall, and with a docked tail (?! it baffles the mind, her ‘breeders’ …but whatever) and very deep chest. She moves and plays like a boxer, that kind of low headset while jogging, lots of front paw action when bopping other dogs My mom keeps Scout clipped short, so you can’t really see much of a wave in her coat, but most people still guess poodle mix. The owners of boxers especially recognize the boxer parts!
as a little bit younger
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/199870_10100231988964100_7028343_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/304019_10100772976735270_1381779727_n.jpg
I’ll try to find a standing (confo?) picture of her.

I would get Portuguese guesses- more specfically porty puppy guesses- with Scuba.

and since im going through all my photos, here’s an old foster pup we had a few years back. He was estimated at 15 years old, poodle mix. Heart murmur, nearly deaf, etc. By a strange coincidence, we were able to reunite him with his owner- turns out he was a cockapoo, lost in his first week in town from out of state. Owner didn’t have a car or many resources to know where to look for him- hence us getting him as a stray from animal control. The dog was such a geezer, loved him.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/17439_894557647190_4447608_n.jpg

[vacation1]

[QUOTE=kdow;6557843]
Except that a heck of a lot of dogs that are labelled ‘pit mix’ or ‘rottie mix’ in shelters actually aren’t. People are notoriously horrible at identifying the breeds in a mixed breed dog. If you go by the dog rather than the label, many of those dogs might in fact be perfectly good pets.[/QUOTE]

No, people are actually pretty good at identifying common types of dogs. Few people look at a spaniel and think it’s a hound. There is undoubtedly some small percentage of error* when the parents are unknown, but given the sheer population of pit bulls and Rottweilers, it’s pretty safe to guess that the 50lb brindle animal with deep-set eyes and a build like a brick shithouse is a pit bull, not a Plott Hound/Lab mix.

*And that percentage of error is more than corrected for by the many shelters and rescues which willfully mislabel obvious “problem breeds” to make them more attractive to adopters. For example purebred Dalmations aren’t that common now, but there’s apparently a rogue sire out there because every stocky white dog with a spot on it’s face is now a Dal cross.

[Alagirl]

@vacation1;6561404

*And that percentage of error is more than corrected for by the many shelters and rescues which willfully mislabel obvious “problem breeds” to make them more attractive to adopters. For example purebred Dalmatians aren’t that common now, but there’s apparently a rogue sire out there because every stocky white dog with a spot on it’s face is now a Dal cross.

Ain’t that the truth.

[Highflyer]

I don’t know, around here there are definitely fewer FTGH/ adoptable lab mix types-- last time I went to our local pound it was probably 75% pit bulls or heavily pit mixes and 10% beagle or hound types-- not so much in the medium to large easygoing mutt category which is what I prefer. This is not to say I would BUY a labradoodle myself, but I sort of see where if you are looking for the kind of dog you had as a kid they might appeal to you.

[sunridge1]

IDK…I am a purebred snob. I have purebred horses, purebred dogs and purebred chickens. However I do have a “designer” dog that I bought purposely. We adore her. She is now 5 with zero health issues. I don’t have to worry about hips, elbows, blindness, etc.etc. I’m sure the parents were sub-par according to each standard. However, I didn’t have to give up my first born to have a pet. ( she was pretty cheap)

My very well-bred all European GSD is nearing the end at 12 YEARS OLD! Not 8 or 9 years nor 10 months. For two years I’ve been searching for another, from what I’ve seen you could not give me one. I will not pay $2K for a pet that will still be questionable physically and mentally. What a bunch of crap out there from US’s top breeders! Can’t they see or don’t they care?

GSD owner since before I was born, GSD’s owned by my family for years. None of us have them now and I recently bought an Aussy pup whose parentage has been tested for all the breed specific things. I quit my beloved GSD breed. It literally breaks my heart.

[Clayfields]

I think many of you isolated the roots of the problem. #1 is that most people don’t know dogs and believe the myth about hybrid vigor, and #2 is that if you put a high enough price on something then it must have more inherent value. There’s a story someone told me once, truth of which is unknown to me, about an antiques dealer who couldn’t sell an old wooden box, priced reasonably. So, they slapped a $10,000 price tag on it and along comes Mary Pickford who bought it. Moral? Slap a high price tag on something along with a good story and people will beat a path to your door, for, as P.T. Barnum supposedly said, ‘there’s a sucker born every minute’.
I’m another purebred snob, not because of any prestige but because I believe in due diligence to genetics, conformation, health testing and working for the improvement of what we have. I have an endangered breed, one for which I’ve taken on the role of stewardship. I have yet to make any money. I stick to it because I believe these dogs need to be preserved, much like those who work to conserve many unpopular domestic livestock breeds, horses included. There’s no money in it, but someday these genetic lines might be invaluable, so we take care of what we have because it’s the right thing to do.
Now, everyone-go hug your dog(s):)!

[oliverreed]

We had a mutt when I was a kid - born to the dog across the street, which must have mated with every conceivable kind of male dog because all of her puppies were vastly different. My dog ended up looking a lot like Benji. My Mom told everyone she was a New England Swamp Terrier and a lot of people believed her. (This was in the 70s).

[Alagirl]

@oliverreed;6564027

We had a mutt when I was a kid - born to the dog across the street, which must have mated with every conceivable kind of male dog because all of her puppies were vastly different. My dog ended up looking a lot like Benji. My Mom told everyone she was a New England Swamp Terrier and a lot of people believed her. (This was in the 70s).

:lol:
A lot more inventive than adding -poo to the end of the name!

[maunder]

[QUOTE=Alagirl;6564032]
:lol:
A lot more inventive than adding -poo to the end of the name! [/QUOTE]

:lol:

[GraceLikeRain]

@sunridge1;6561481

r I do have a “designer” dog that I bought purposely. We adore her. She is now 5 with zero health issues. I don’t have to worry about hips, elbows, blindness, etc.etc.

Why not? Were both parents OFA, CERF, etc. tested?

[ManyDogs]

About a year ago I found what I am 99% sure is a Puggle, running down the road. She was…free and is an absolutely fantastic dog. Everyone loves her, esp the vet/vet techs. I have a Yorkipoo, who was…free…from the pound (already spayed and they waived the adoption fee at that time.) I have two purebred dachshunds from the pound. One is a silver dapple and the other is a piebald mini. Wonderful dogs, good girls. One was spayed, we spayed the other one.
Why would I want to spend hundreds, if not thousands on a designer dog? The local shelter always has them. A very sad commentary, in my opinion.
Also have a Snowshoe kitty from the pound. $15. :no:
DH said I have always had a soft spot for strays, and that is why I married him many years ago. :lol:

[PaintPony]

A co-worker of mine spent a crap load of money on a designer breed called a Teddy Bear. I believe it’s a Shi-Tzu/Bichon cross.

I have to admit it is super cute, but it’s also an obnoxious monster. And it’s basically an expensive mutt with a cutesy breed name. Teddy Bear? Oh come on!!

On a side note, I have a DSH/Alley Cat I adopted from a rescue. When I take her to the vet the doctor always tries to convince me that she is a Russian Blue or Chartreux (sp?) or something “special”. Um, yeah - she’s “blue”, but so are a lot of DSH cats.

And she IS special. I like to refer to her breed as “Snuggle Monster”. How could you resist this? http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/68788_10151034182595213_822558329_n.jpg

[Alagirl]

Back before Animal Planet went down the toilet they had this Veterinary lady on thee quiet often, she was always pushing ‘Toy Munchkins’ as perfect breed for small children…the thing looked like a Pom with a shaved butt! And to the tune of 5k…I found her terribly obnoxious! Not to mention a 2 pound dog is NOT perfect fr small children…

[Bicoastal]

$$$$ Portie puppy with vet frequent flyer miles

[QUOTE=RiderWriter;6560000]

This summer I was at my Mom’s beach place in NJ. Doodle crosses are all the rage with that crowd, or purebred Porties. It can be extremely hard to tell the difference!
… I mean, WHY would you do that when you can get an extremely well and carefully-bred pup from a reputable breeder for HALF the price?[/QUOTE]

Funny how a breed gets popular in particular communities. My sis just told me about a $2500 Portie puppy purchased by a guy (in a beach community) because his gf, against the idea of a dog, insisted on one that doesn’t shed. Pup has already racked up frequent flyer miles at the vet’s for allergies.

I see a wide range in confo, size, coat, and temperament in PWDs. They kinda are the purebred doodle. :lol: (duck and cover from any real PWD owners)

You could support a show or performance breeder and get a typey Portie with health tested and titled parents for less than half of what the clueless guy paid.

[RiderWriter]

[QUOTE=Bicoastal;6564350]
Funny how a breed gets popular in particular communities. My sis just told me about a $2500 Portie puppy purchased by a guy (in a beach community) because his gf, against the idea of a dog, insisted on one that doesn’t shed. Pup has already racked up frequent flyer miles at the vet’s for allergies.

I see a wide range in confo, size, coat, and temperament in PWDs. They kinda are the purebred doodle. :lol: (duck and cover from any real PWD owners)

You could support a show or performance breeder and get a typey Portie with health tested and titled parents for less than half of what the clueless guy paid.[/QUOTE]

It got so this summer that I gave up trying to figure out what was a PWD and what was a Doodle. I would just say, “Oh, what a cute dog!” As you say, there’s definitely a big range in appearance of Porties AND the same is true for Doodles, which doesn’t help!

I bet the PWD thing is partly due to the “Presidential effect”… I saw that in my breed when Millie Bush lived in the White House. Never good for a breed to become popular.