Designer Dogs

[LowriseMinis]

It pains me to see people purposely breeding mutts, and I don't care what cute name people use, 'designer dogs' are MUTTS. Especially with so many mutts in shelters, and especially with the economy the way it is right now. Most people are talking about breeding fewer horses, or not breeding at all, but people are still happy to churn out designer Cockadoodlepooshihugs.

So I ask again: why?

I've never known a 'designer' breeder who did the applicable genetic testing. There's really no way to breed for 'betterment of the breed' when you're breeding mutts. The only purpose I see is to create cute puppies with cute names and sell them for high dollar to people who don't know any better, which IMO is a pretty poor reason to breed anything.

Discuss.

 

[RockRiverTiff]

Well mixed breeds/hybrids/mutts (whatever you want to call them) do in my opinion have a purpose. There are some very popular, proven crosses that combine the best of both worlds for people looking for something they can't find in a single breed. I've owned and worked with some really cool mutts. That said, I too am scratching my head at why the pet stores are suddenly offering so many non-papered puppies. As if the puppy mills weren't bad enough, now we're intentionally creating dogs with no sustainable value? It's crazy!

 

[bingo]

Why? People buy them and money is being made. Same with horses there are some who would think the 30-75 dollar auction prices to KB is money being made. Sad but true.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

Might as well throw a gas barrel in a fire, this one's going to get hot quick I think

!

I know this has been discussed on here before.

My 2 cents: I'm HUGE into rescue, and adopting pets in need of homes from a reputable shelter/rescue, but that doesn't mean I'm against all breeding. I'm very ok with responsible breeding. I think there SHOULD be knowledgeable folks out there trying to create the best dog they can. Now - are MOST of the folks breeding these designer dogs responsible breeders? I would guess most of them are NOT.

But, I can see some appeal in some of these mixes, and there is a market for them after all. Is it really more wrong to breed a doxie-poodle cross (of which there would be demand for in my area) or a purebred lab (of which there are just too many of in my area, thus very little demand, thus many of them end up in shelters, thus many of them DIE).

I think ANYone breeding an animal should have appropriate testing done for that particular breed, and the animal should have good conformation, temperament, etc.

So I guess my thoughts are - if you are going to breed that doxie-poo (or whatever), you best be doing all the testing for each breeding animal that you would be doing if you were going to be breeding a doxie to a doxie or a poodle to a poodle. Make sure you are breeding the best, and doing it responsibly.

 

[Jill]

We have six dogs, 5 purebreds and 1 mixed breed, who came from the shelter.

There are many designer dogs / mixed breeds I would easily see us having when the time comes... when we bought our collie, we had seriously considered a labrodoodle or golden doodle instead -- which would have cost as much as our collie -- but opted for a collie because I felt she was a surer bet for being good around "livestock".

With so many purebred dogs in the shelter or not in good homes, what difference is it if someone breeds desirable crosses? I care so much about AKC papers that I've never sent any in and that's for a few thousand dollars "worth" of AKC-able dogs over the years. I just want a dog that will be a family member and that can be a purebred or a nice cross.

My dream dog when it comes time to have another big dog would be a collie x german shepherd. I'd be happy to pay the same $$$$ I did for a purebred collie. I see nothing wrong with it. When it comes to our little dogs, though, I think they will always be shih tzu's.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Well heck, every breed out there is a "Designer Dog!"

They all started out by breeding one dog to another to produce a line with certain traits and I don't see this as being much different. I've always thought of a mutt as a Heinz 57 sort of thing where you have all sorts of unknowns mixed in (and I'd take most the mutts I've met over a purebred any time!

) An animal purposely bred from two papered parents is a "cross-breed" to me and not irresponsible at all. I could care less what the animal's papers are; I don't show dogs. I care if the dog itself is sound, healthy, cute, and has a good temperment.

Well mixed breeds/hybrids/mutts (whatever you want to call them) do in my opinion have a purpose. There are some very popular, proven crosses that combine the best of both worlds for people looking for something they can't find in a single breed.

Seems logical to me, coming from the world of half-Arabs. There's a very real market for cross-breds like that because a lot of people want the bone and temperment of a draft horse and the athleticism of a TB, the endurance and refinement of an Arab with the crest and courage of a Morgan or the action of a Saddlebred, etc. As long as it's done RESPONSIBLY, just like any good breeder, I think cross-breds are great.

The idea of puppy mills and pet store buyers makes me sick and most of them sell purebreds that are worse quality than any mutt. How is that better?

Leia

 

[LowriseMinis]

I also care if the dog I have is healthy and sound, and if I'm paying someone for a dog, it better be. I have never known anyone breeding these 'designer mutts' that takes all the steps to ensure they're producing the best, though.

I personally have very high expectations of a dog breeder. They need to be breeding for a purpose, and the sole purpose of making more puppies just doesn't cut it in my book.

And again...there are plenty of crossbred dogs already sitting around in shelters, as well as poorly-bred purebred dogs. There's no reason to be breeding anything but the best.

 

[mininik]

I'll chime in as someone who has experience breeding and owning crosses, and who has since done much research into exactly what it means to be a responsible breeder. When cross breeding, there is absolutely no way to guarantee that you will be getting "the best" of the breeds you are crossing. You cannot pick and choose the traits you want, such as low shedding, color, build, temperment, drive, etc. Without proper health testing, you won't know if you are pairing up two genetic disasters just waiting to happen. Without knowledge of conformation, you won't know if you are sentencing a litter of pups to suffer from the effects of poor conformation for years to come. No papers means that if the resulting crosses are bred again, unless they are crossed out to yet other breeds, the owner won't know if they are breeding back to a closely related dog. When it comes down to it, MOST people who breed puppies aren't doing so any where near responsibly, and while they are filling a demand for puppies of all kinds, that demand is fueled by the all too common view in our country of pets being something to buy on a whim and throw away when problems crop up. Why breed for more problems who will most likely end up in shelters just like the ones waiting there now?

 

[topnotchminis]

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[Reijel's Mom]

My dream dog when it comes time to have another big dog would be a collie x german shepherd. I'd be happy to pay the same $$$$ I did for a purebred collie. I see nothing wrong with it. When it comes to our little dogs, though, I think they will always be shih tzu's.

I've seen what I would guess would be collie/shepherd crosses plenty of times in local shelters, so you should have lots of fur-kids to choose from!

 

[picasso]

I have a "designer dog" and love every part of her. She is exactly what I was wanting when I bought her. She is in my avatar. That being said we also have 3 other dogs that were rescues. So I guess there are places for both kinds. We love them all equally.

 

[lilmiraclesfarm]

Oh I agree with you completely. I honestly don't like seeing dogs being bred for just the fun of it. I especially hate seeing mix bred dogs being bred for the fun of it or to make money. I pretty much just keep my mouth shut as its not going to make a difference and not worth insulting anyone. So when I come across a post, I look and keep going. But yup it deffinently urks me and to be honest horse people I believe are by far the worst. I have met more people who breed mutts in the horse industry than anywhere. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, and I love mutts. I just don't support adding more when there are so many still in need of a home.

 

[topnotchminis]

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[lilmiraclesfarm]

I forgot to add in my post in WI the humane society just a few months had a puppy mill that had about 1,200 designer dogs that were in very poor shape.
The Link to the article

Ugh that makes me sick. It seriously disturbes me how people just sell dogs off and don't worry about where they are going. I was at the mall and I have pictures on my phone of a tractor trailer truck full of puppies in crates. Had to be 100 crates in there. They pulled out by hand two malteese pups and handed them to workers who held them by the scruf of their necks while someone else "inspected" them and their teeth. Only 4 puppies came out of that truck. Who knows which pet store was the next stop.

This isn't relevant to this post I was only responding to the above post. I'm not suggesting anyone of doing the same.

 

[Riverdance]

How can anyone take care of 1,100 dogs at one facility plus breed and sell 3,000 puppies per year? The stench must be amazing. The dogs probably never have had human hands on them, must be over bred and in very poor condition. A bag of decent dog food costs about $30 to $50 per 40 lb bag, how could the kennel afford to feed the dogs properly, give proper vet care or anything else. And to be honest, I think it is VERY wrong for the humane society to buy out his breeding program, they should have just come in and closed him down!!! They are just perpetuating the reason why puppy mills survive. For the money.

If people would not buy from pet stores, plus not buy from breedres on line who do not have web sites, or if they do, show that they breed more than perhaps two breeds, then perhaps the world would get a grip on this puppy mill horror.

I breed only one breed and have done so for over 30 years. I have anywhere from 8 to 10 breeding dogs at a time, and they are only 20 to 30 lb dogs, but still they cost me over $150 to $200 per month to feed. There there are the shots, proper socializing of the puppies, the exercise that the puppies need, the love etc. I only have about 3 litters a year and I consider it a lot of work. My females are not bred till they are 2 and only every other season, if that, and only till they are about 7 or 8 years old. I also take back any dog that an owner can no longer keep.(it is in my contract with the buyer) I do not get many back, but I have had them returned as old as 8 years old. And yes, I have found new homes for them.

As for designer dogs, it is just another way for puppy mills, either large or small, to make money on the backs of animals. There is no way that you can know what you are getting in a designer dog. Those that are bred to poodles, one hopes that the dog they get will be a non shedding, non allergetic dog. But too often that is not the case and the poor puppy ends up in the humane society.

It takes many, many gerations of breeding to produce a dog that will consistantly be the same with the same characteristics of all the others of that breed. My breed, the Tibetan Terrier is over 2000 years old. It takes years and years for AKC to accept a new breed, for instance, the Jack Russel. For years that breed was very inconsistant in the way it looked. Some had very short legs, some had long legs. Until they were able to get a consistant look and temperment to them, they could not be registered with AKC.

It was over 35 years ago that breeders first started the concept of designer dogs with the cockerpoo. I heard way back then that it would take no time at all to make it a breed that AKC would accept. Well, to this day, they do not accept the breed. Why? Because it is still too inconsistant. Some have coats and personlaities like poodles, some like cockers. How is one to know what they are getting when they purchase one?

We have enough breeds today that have a hard time finding homes without trying to create new ones.

 

[My-Lil-Pony]

I was quite surprised to learn how many horse breeders choose to breed dogs for the fast money they can make to support their horse habit.

 

[gimp]

I don't even understand the term "designer" dog

. My daughter and I chuckled when we made up a name for her mutt puppy: pomerchishire terrier. Not so funny now that people are actually taking us seriously

. Anyone who thinks they can make money on a litter of pups scares me. Period. My first pem corgi was a rescue that came to me at 5 weeks. The people bred two puppy mill bitches every 6 months and had two letters at a time. The bitches whelped within days and took care of both litters, kindof. Walmart food, no shots or worming, "purebred"...sadly this person did it for the money. She actually made money on each pup because she didn't do anything with the bitches or the pups and she also had the dog who was more than happy to do his job. The pups lived in chicken wire pens and none of the dogs ever saw the inside of the house. Even if the pups are conviscated by Animal Control, they make more, and don't lose any sleep over it. I think there are probably a lot of mutt breeders who take better care of their pups. Without education, however, and with that added income, the marginal breeders will continue to flourish; be they making purebreds or mixed breeds. It is all pretty sad, and there will be no end to it.

Just my opinion; I will stick with the purebred dogs from reputable breeders. It hurts too much when they meet an early demise that could have been avoided.

 

[topnotchminis]

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[dreammountainminis]

I have purebred dogs , and a couple (mutts ) I dont see a problem with breeding responsibly but that is what alot of ppl dont do ..I have chihuahuas mine are just like my kids .. I have two puppies for sale right now .my dogs are with my children and i about everywhere we go they go they are inside dogs , i have two females and two males 1 set longhaired one set smooth coat and i am starting into doxies i bought an akc red male and i am looking for a blk/tan smooth female although the dapples and piebalds have caught my eye ..I believe I am being responsible i dont breed evrytime one of my females is in season , all mine get regular vet checks wormings ect just like my horses ..

I also have a ex coon dog that i dont think he is purebred but was very abused when we got him we have had him for 7 yrs and he is the best dog ever...I also have a beagle that was abused and she is a very good dog ...those two our my outside watch dogs not for them to attack anyone ,they a by my horse fields and let me know is there is anything lurking around that shouldnt be....

 

[Reble]

I am not going to get into this one, just buyer beware does not matter if it is a mutt or akc or ckc breeders.

I have been a dog breeder for 17 years.

Have heard and seen it all....