What Is It With Designer Dogs?

[Cammie]

Another new one on CL today- “Goberians”. :rolleyes: Golden Retriever x Siberian Huskies. $200, with no shots of course!

From the ad:
"Goberian puppies come from a long line of friendly and outgoing animals. Both Golden Retrievers and Siberian Huskies are known for their friendly and gentle dispositions.

Their personalities make them terrific family pets but poor guard dogs, as they are unlikely to be suspicious of strangers.

A Siberian Husky Golden Retriever mix reinforces the general gentleness of both parent breeds, so they tend to do very well with small children in the family.

Huskies have a strong hunting instinct though, so it is a good idea to keep them away from small family pets like guinea pigs to avoid needing to have a painful discussion with your child about what happened to Bugsy.

Golden Retrievers and Siberian Huskies are both curious and intelligent breeds. The Husky side of your puppy could get him into some playful mischief as he is growing up, but if you can accept it as a natural product of his curiosity he will make a wonderful companion."

[GraceLikeRain]

hurl

[Marshfield]

[QUOTE=GraceLikeRain;6567485]
Are you addressing me or Boston?[/QUOTE]

I think we posted at the same time (within seconds) and the sequence got off. It was in response to Boston. I have had the pleasure of owning lovely corgis who are great performance dogs and know countless other performance dogs of other breeds including some who are conformation champions as well. I found the idea that with the countless number of AKC breeds out there, Boston would consider a crossbred to be the only suitable choice rather odd.

[BostonBanker]

[QUOTE=Marshfield;6570992]
I found the idea that with the countless number of AKC breeds out there, Boston would consider a crossbred to be the only suitable choice rather odd.[/QUOTE]

Not the only suitable choice for sports; I’ve known plenty of spectacular sport dogs of AKC breeds. The only dog that is actively being bred for what I want. I expect there are flukes in some of the breeds that are close to what I like, that would fit perfectly - but they would be out of standard and nobody is trying to produce them. There aren’t countless AKC breeds out there They actually count them regularly. 161, I think is the current number.

Physically, I want a 20 - 35 lb dog, ideally maxing out at 16". Not under 12". I’ll flex a bit on the top range of height. Zero brachycephalic or long backed dogs. Slick coat is heavily preferred. I’d take a short coat with some undercoat in a pinch. No feathering, no professional grooming.

Temperament, I want little to no protective instinct. Very low possibility of human aggression. I don’t need dog-park friendly, but it needs to be able to function around other dogs and learn to tolerate familiar dogs. Balanced food and toy drive, and both of those should be falling out the ears. Decent to great handler focus. Not handler soft. Can settle in the house as long as very well exercised physically and mentally. I don’t care if they are bouncing off my head if I don’t meet those needs.

Breeds that are often recommended: ACD are probably the closest to what I like. More undercoat than I’d prefer, can get bigger than I like, especially the males that I prefer. Protective instinct is a serious concern for me, as is snark towards other dogs. If a line were drawn and I had to choose an AKC breed, it is probably the best of the bunch. Shelties can be okay - the show bred ones are softer than I like to handlers, tend to have more bark, and I wouldn’t be able to live with the hair. Protective and size is an issue with Mals. BC (of which I wouldn’t touch an AKC one, but know a few breeders I’ve considered) are bigger than I’d like generally, although I could probably find a smooth, small female. Softer to the handlers than I like. It’s another “close, but not quite” breed like an ACD.

I’ve looked at some non-AKC herding breeds like Kelpies and Koolies to see if I could find what I like there, and neither breed has been a good match when I’ve met them.

Border/staff? Border/stack? Right on the target as far as what they are trying to achieve. I’ve yet to meet one I didn’t adore, both in the ring and outside it. The good breeders are basically impossible to get a dog from, unfortunately for me (and fortunately for the dogs and people). I’ll always look for what I want in rescue first, and so far I’ve found it. But the thought of getting what I want, with generations of health testing and performance success behind it is tempting. Taking the puppy pulled out of an abandoned trailer at 5 weeks is working out well for me, but it was sure a gamble!

[S1969]

[QUOTE=BostonBanker;6571118]
Physically, I want a 20 - 35 lb dog, ideally maxing out at 16". Not under 12". I’ll flex a bit on the top range of height. Zero brachycephalic or long backed dogs. Slick coat is heavily preferred. I’d take a short coat with some undercoat in a pinch. No feathering, no professional grooming.

Temperament, I want little to no protective instinct. Very low possibility of human aggression. I don’t need dog-park friendly, but it needs to be able to function around other dogs and learn to tolerate familiar dogs. Balanced food and toy drive, and both of those should be falling out the ears. Decent to great handler focus. Not handler soft. Can settle in the house as long as very well exercised physically and mentally. I don’t care if they are bouncing off my head if I don’t meet those needs.

Breeds that are often recommended: ACD are probably the closest to what I like. More undercoat than I’d prefer, can get bigger than I like, especially the males that I prefer. Protective instinct is a serious concern for me, as is snark towards other dogs. If a line were drawn and I had to choose an AKC breed, it is probably the best of the bunch. Shelties can be okay - the show bred ones are softer than I like to handlers, tend to have more bark, and I wouldn’t be able to live with the hair. Protective and size is an issue with Mals. BC (of which I wouldn’t touch an AKC one, but know a few breeders I’ve considered) are bigger than I’d like generally, although I could probably find a smooth, small female. Softer to the handlers than I like. It’s another “close, but not quite” breed like an ACD.

I’ve looked at some non-AKC herding breeds like Kelpies and Koolies to see if I could find what I like there, and neither breed has been a good match when I’ve met them.

Border/staff? Border/stack? Right on the target as far as what they are trying to achieve. I’ve yet to meet one I didn’t adore, both in the ring and outside it. The good breeders are basically impossible to get a dog from, unfortunately for me (and fortunately for the dogs and people). I’ll always look for what I want in rescue first, and so far I’ve found it. But the thought of getting what I want, with generations of health testing and performance success behind it is tempting. Taking the puppy pulled out of an abandoned trailer at 5 weeks is working out well for me, but it was sure a gamble![/QUOTE]

To be honest, this reminds me of the sort of person who is looking for a black gelding with four high whites and a diamond-shaped star…oh and it has to be able to jump the best and be a 10 mover, and like scritches in its stall…and be less than $5000.

The creation of a new “breed” to meet these exact criteria seems a bit ridiculous. Maybe your requirements need to be a little less stringent?

Especially since the you can get two puppies from the same litter with different temperments, no matter what the breeding. My dog and his littermate are VERY different…conformationally similar, and both have a high drive for play and hunting, but my dog is the kind you can beat with a 2 by 4 and he’ll come back for more, and his littermate needs a very gentle touch or he shuts down. You don’t really know what you will always get…

[RaeHughes]

BostonBanker - my older BC bitch would meet most of your requirements (except the medium shedding part) - but then she is from strong-eye working lines. I wouldnt write a breed off or go out and create one just because of stereotypes.

Heck, my flatmate’s labrador would meet your requirements! And he LOVES agility, exercise, has an off switch, and doesnt shed (much except for 2x a year)!

Look for individuals that you like and then go for that breder

[JGHIRETIRE]

ROFL - Excellent!!!

A friend paid $300 or so for a Morkie. Nice dog but piddles constantly and never stops moving. I’ll take my shelter mutts.

[QUOTE=Alagirl;6555974]
From Orkie?[/QUOTE]

[Brookes]

I think a number of these so called designer dogs should be called Whoopsiedoodles. Whoopsie . . .BoBo got out and knocked up the neighbors dog!!

Anyone breeding designer dogs should be horse whipped. There I said it. As a breeder of purebred dogs for over 20 years it makes me want to scream every time someone tells me how much they paid for their whoopsiedoodle and how wonderful it is. Of course it’s wonderful it’s a dog! All dogs are wonderful.

However you are a sucker and a fool for paying anything other than a spay or neuter fee for your new mutt! Mutt is all they are, nothing more nothing less. Nothing wrong with mutts but to purposely breed them is just insanity!!

These designer breeders are nothing more than scam artists fleecing the unknowing public. You want a mutt? Get your butt down to the animal shelter and get some lovely dog from there!!! You want a purebred? Find a reputable breeder and do some research about the breed! So tired of people calling me asking me if my dogs shed? Hello, yes they shed, they shed like giant molting yaks in heat!!! Do some research on a breed before getting one! Just cause it’s pretty doesn’t mean it’s the dog for you.

When you get a designer mutt you need to research both breeds and determine why a cross would be beneficial.

These designer breeders will throw anything together these days. Where is the due diligence??? There is none. I try to educate people about breeding and what they may be getting when they go the designer route. Sometimes they listen, sometimes they don’t.

[asb2517]

I didn’t read all 9 pages of this, but had to share: I recently saw an ad in our paper for “Purebred Meagle Puppies”. I was like WTF is a Meagle? Do they mean Beagle? Then I actually happened by chance to drive past the house where these puppies must have been, because sure enough they had a sign (hand painted on plywood of course) that said “Purebred Meagle Puppies”.

Again, I was like WTF? Looked it up online…turns out that a “Purebred Meagle” is a Mini Pin and a Beagle cross. Who knew? LOL

[Beckham03]

I am late to the party as well…but we have these conversations daily at work. (I am a vet tech.) All these crazy expensive mutts that aren’t all so healthy…it is just insane. I was recently at the local dog pound (which has recently built a new building and does a great job) helping my grandma pick out a new dog after she lost her Yorkie. They had the best mutts there! Just freaking awesome dogs. $117 dollars gets you a dog that is spayed or neutered, vet checked, vaccinated, wormed, micro chipped, a dog license, and they hand the dog to you with a new collar and leash with all the tags on it and a folder with your vet records…I mean come on people, $900 for a mutt!!! She got a great little mutt.

Personally, I have a “Bumpus Hound”. You know on A Christmas Story, the neighbors with the stinky hounds that eat the turkey!!! Yup, that is what my dad calls my one mutt…that is not in our computer at work listed as a breed:-)

[pony_baloney]

If you put a designer name on anything, people will pay for it.

[Alagirl]

@asb2517;6575200

I didn’t read all 9 pages of this, but had to share: I recently saw an ad in our paper for “Purebred Meagle Puppies”. I was like WTF is a Meagle? Do they mean Beagle? Then I actually happened by chance to drive past the house where these puppies must have been, because sure enough they had a sign (hand painted on plywood of course) that said “Purebred Meagle Puppies”.

Again, I was like WTF? Looked it up online…turns out that a “Purebred Meagle” is a Mini Pin and a Beagle cross. Who knew? LOL

a purebred cross, right! :lol::lol::lol::lol:
Meagle? Does not even sound cool…

[asb2517]

[QUOTE=Alagirl;6575832]
a purebred cross, right! :lol::lol::lol::lol:
Meagle? Does not even sound cool…[/QUOTE]

I know, right? I was laughing out loud. Purebred! I was sure it was a typo in the paper until I actually saw that sign!

[Romany]

[QUOTE=S1969;6571133]
To be honest, this reminds me of the sort of person who is looking for a black gelding with four high whites and a diamond-shaped star…oh and it has to be able to jump the best and be a 10 mover, and like scritches in its stall…and be less than $5000.

The creation of a new “breed” to meet these exact criteria seems a bit ridiculous. Maybe your requirements need to be a little less stringent?

Especially since the you can get two puppies from the same litter with different temperments, no matter what the breeding. My dog and his littermate are VERY different…conformationally similar, and both have a high drive for play and hunting, but my dog is the kind you can beat with a 2 by 4 and he’ll come back for more, and his littermate needs a very gentle touch or he shuts down. You don’t really know what you will always get…[/QUOTE]

Not picking on anyone in particular, but the description - “job spec” - of a desirable dog I think isn’t asking for the moon, but is actually a perfectly reasonable expectation, and what led to breeding for type in the first place, surely?

Any dog, whether it’s been pure/line-bred for eons, or merely for a month or two; they’re nearly all the results of people striving to breed what they consider to be a desirable dog that’s “fit for purpose,” whether it’s to hunt, to look pretty, or to make money (and/or all of the above).

So long as dogs can reproduce (either with encouragement or despite us), we will continue to see breeds and types evolving and developing.

[Falconfree]

A lot of the sport crosses (especially with BCs) make me almost as sad as seeing Doodles. Assuming you ignore AKC Border Collies (and you should ;)), BCs come in a beautiful amount of shapes, sizes, and colors (though, seriously, the breeding for kandy kolors is as bad as some horse circles).

I get wanting to maximize sport performance, but let’s be honest here. How many of the “Borderjacks” out there are bred by and for successful agility competitors? Unfortunately, BCs and their “offshoots” are suffering from their popularity in agility, 101 Dalmations style.

[QUOTE=HenryisBlaisin’;6558457]
Second, I find it snobbish and ridiculous that people will buy a designed dog at a high price but would never, ever, have a “mutt” or a “mixed breed” or even a “cross.” Get off your high horse and call a spade a spade. You have a mutt. It isn’t a “doodle” or a “cocka” or a “peeka” or anything else. It’s a mixed breed dog. Stop being such a snob and admit it. Mixed breeds can be great dogs, but some people will take one who got the worst of every part of the cross, has a lousy temperament, and health problems over a decent mixed breed because it has a “name.” The whole designer dog market just comes across as so snobby…get over yourselves already![/QUOTE]

This, a thousand times THIS! If you want to spend thousands on your Peke mix, have at it. But don’t you try to lord your amazing “purebred” toy over my working bred boy whose lines go back hundreds of years. I don’t generally give a flying flip about pedigrees, but sometimes I want to whip his out and ask for a comparison.

[Nootka]

Singer Usher…

buys a designer :rolleyes:

for 12k no less… you have to click find out which “breeds” were the lucky one

http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/hip-hop-media-training/usher-buys-12k-puppy-charity-gala-donates-private-205831638.html#more-3424

At least it does go to charity

“Usher’s hefty charitable donation will help Pencils Of Promise’s efforts to build 100 schools”

[shayaalliard]

I used to breed. I had ONE litter of “chug” puppies (chihuahua x pug) from my heart dog. Bred her to my AKC Pug male. I raised 5 litters of very nice pure AKC Pugs. The chugs sold for 600.00 and were all spoken for LONG before they were weaned. The last couple of pug puppies sold for 300.00 at 12 weeks old. I STILL get calls asking if I will ever have another litter of chugs- and it has been close to 7 years ago that I had them. Breeders breed what people will buy.

I used to run a pet store. We sold locally sourced puppies- customers brought them in and sold them to us. I had puppies listed at 299.99 as a beagle mix- didn’t sell. Bumped the price UP to 599.99 and called them Bagels (beagle x basset)- sold within days. Happened over and over again.

Worst designer dog breeders? The amish. They always had nasty, filthy, unsocialized, sickly puppies. Often had 10-12 different breeds they wanted to sell us, and mixes of all of them. The consider them a cash crop. I got to where I refused to buy anything from anyone who called them “pups” for sale.

Oh,
And I am still in touch with the chug babies, now all grown up. The two fawn boys were identical to each other at birth through weaning. One grew up to look like a pug, and was his mother’s size. One was 6 inches taller than either parent and looks like a puggle. They were 3/4 pug and 1/4 chihuahua- shows you how unpredictable the mixes are.
This is mommy Butter with her kids when they were about 3 weeks. (My first litter, and only c-section) http://s240.photobucket.com/albums/ff216/wingsinmoonlight/Chug%20Puppies/?action=view&current=Mommy.jpg

[Canaqua]

Hmmm…I guess I should stop referring to my two pound dogs as mutts. They are cool dogs (both in appearance and behavior) and people regularly ask me what they are and, sometimes, where they might get one. Right now, I say they are mutts and unique.

If I called them a Australian Cattle Terrier (ACD/JRT mix) and a Borxersky (Border Colle/Boxer/Husky) and claimed I paid big bucks for them people might be impressed!

Then people would be out there Googling where to get these exotic dogs and someone would start breeding them and…hey, wait, that’s probably how this silly designer mutt business got started in the first place…never mind.

That’s why I call my mutts “mutts”, don’t want anyone getting any ideas of reproducing something like them on purpose. Besides only the masochistic would produce an ACD/JRT mix intentionally ;).

[Bluey]

I have a rat terrier, AKC and UKC registered one, parents were showing in conformation and agility.
She was to be my next agility dog, but had something wrong with a hock, that we did months of therapy for, so never trained past the basics.

She looks just like a rat terrier, if a bit small at 11", she was the runt of the litter.

The other day someone was working on the furnace, asked what she was, I said rat terrier, he said no, that is a chihuahua.
I said not really, it is a real rat terrier and he insisted no, that is a chihuahua.

What can you say when confronted with such certainty about what your dog is.:lol:
I didn’t say anything more.

Dog breeds and mixes, well, they are what they are, dogs being so genetically malleable that we can get so many characteristics bred into them.
Different strokes … :yes:

[Bumper]

[QUOTE=Brookes;6572744]
I think a number of these so called designer dogs should be called Whoopsiedoodles. Whoopsie . . .BoBo got out and knocked up the neighbors dog!!

Anyone breeding designer dogs should be horse whipped. There I said it. As a breeder of purebred dogs for over 20 years it makes me want to scream every time someone tells me how much they paid for their whoopsiedoodle and how wonderful it is. Of course it’s wonderful it’s a dog! All dogs are wonderful.

However you are a sucker and a fool for paying anything other than a spay or neuter fee for your new mutt! Mutt is all they are, nothing more nothing less. Nothing wrong with mutts but to purposely breed them is just insanity!!

These designer breeders are nothing more than scam artists fleecing the unknowing public. You want a mutt? Get your butt down to the animal shelter and get some lovely dog from there!!! You want a purebred? Find a reputable breeder and do some research about the breed! So tired of people calling me asking me if my dogs shed? Hello, yes they shed, they shed like giant molting yaks in heat!!! Do some research on a breed before getting one! Just cause it’s pretty doesn’t mean it’s the dog for you.

When you get a designer mutt you need to research both breeds and determine why a cross would be beneficial.

These designer breeders will throw anything together these days. Where is the due diligence??? There is none. I try to educate people about breeding and what they may be getting when they go the designer route. Sometimes they listen, sometimes they don’t.[/QUOTE]

AMEN!

I don’t care that there’s a market for designer dogs. I find the practice reprehensible and irresponsible.