[Moobli]

I personally don't mind if people want to cross breed dogs and call them whatever name they fancy, so long as the breeding is done ethically and responsibly.  There is clearly a demand for these crosses and the only issue I have is when puppy farmers jump on the bandwagon and churn out litter after litter of these type of designer dogs without any care for health or temperament issues and the poor bitches are simply used as breeding machines with no life at all outside the whelping box 

this

Oh, and I really don't think it safe to assume that all pedigree dogs are bred in a better, higher welfare manner than crossbreeds and mongrels.  I suspect there are just as many purebred pedigree bitches producing purebred pedigree pups in terrible conditions as there are bitches producing 'designer crossbreeds'.

Absolutely!

[doganjo]

How did most of the breeds you think of as pure breeds come about? I am no dog history expert but I believe they've all been made from a mix of other breeds at some point in their history.

Yes you are right, all breeds originally came from Canis Lupus - but the individual breeds we have now have been carefully and thoughtfully bred for a particular purpose - there is no breeding thought going on for these mongrels - they are first crosses being bred for cash.  If they start breeding cockapoos to cockapoos to try to create a new breed there are specific breeding rules to observe in order to maintain a reasonable gene pool and avoid diseases being built in as well as any merits.  It is NOT a job for back street breeders.  It is a job for a genetics or breed expert.

Even just changing one aspect of a breed is complicated.  Dr Bruce Cattanach and his wife, both dog breeders, and both geneticists, wanted to introduce the natural bobtail gene to Boxers some years ago, from Corgis, with the approval of the Kennel Club.  Normally cross breeds/newly created breeds have to breed true to type for  7 generations before the KC will put them on the active register, but Dr Cattanach did such a  good job that these were assessed buy three Boxer experts and DNA tested and allowed to join the full Boxer register in three generations.  You can read about it here http://www.steynmere.co.uk/index.html
 

[lachlanandmarcus]

My main concern with the crosses is firstly the sheer number of puppies being bred as people are using their family pets of different breeds and untested health status and just putting them together, no bother with registration as they can explain that these 'new breeds' cant be registered. While registration doesn't guarantee a healthy puppy (my border terrier is testament to that :-(, there is at least a chance to make progress on education and health issues.


I think a few crosses, labradoodles and cockerpoos  mainly probably have a good future as an established breed, but for the most part the rest of these crosses are done purely as a money making exercise with little thought to the characteristics or compatability of the dogs concerned.

[LouiseG]

My worry is that with all these new cross breeds being bred there are becoming fewer and fewer pure bred pedigree puppies being born, that soon if we are not careful we shall loose the pure pedigree breeds for good.
It frustrates me now that you can buy KC registered puppies cheaper than these designer dogs which I take delight in  referring to as 'cross breeds'. They refer to them around here as F1 hybrids and if you cross a F1 with another of either breed or another F1 then they are F2 hybrids, what's that all about 

[jimmy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1_hybrid

I think more than anything, these "designer dogs" are not actually "designer". They were bred to solve real world problems - mainly the rise of allergies. Also not having hair everywhere is a bonus.

Yes, they are expensive. In my experience, due to the massive amount of thought, effort and care put in by the breeders. I don't know about backstreet breeders, or puppy farms - wouldn't go near them.

If you don't like them.... don't buy them!!!

[HelenVF]

Interesting read....


http://www.globalanimal.org/2010/12/02/man-who-created-labradoodles-regrets-the-cross-breed/25768/


Helen

[Greenerlife]

I was down the pub last night, and someone was telling me that her mother is buying a Jack s**t.  i laughed and almost spilt my beer (it wasn't THAT funny) but really?  A Jack s**t?  I think she must know just that - she's paying £500 for a puppy.

[doganjo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1_hybrid

I think more than anything, these "designer dogs" are not actually "designer". They were bred to solve real world problems - mainly the rise of allergies. Also not having hair everywhere is a bonus.

Yes, they are expensive. In my experience, due to the massive amount of thought, effort and care put in by the breeders. I don't know about backstreet breeders, or puppy farms - wouldn't go near them.

If you don't like them.... don't buy them!!!

The losing hair thing is a total fallacy.  It's not hair that causes allergies - it's dander, and a labradoodle  or cockapoo has has much chance of taking it's coat from its mother or its father.  And they don't breed true tp type so a doodle to another doodle is a mongrel  Nor are they any healthier.  HD in a Poodle is as rife as in a Lab - take two untested dogs of any of those breeds and you run the risk of bad hips in any of the progeny!

[sabrina]

Most of these  puppies are being bred for money only, nothing else. No thought of good health or what sort of adult dogs they will make. People have just jumped on the bad wagon and saw nothing but the £££ sign.

[happygolucky]

It strikes me that a cross bread has no requirement for health check etc, so a pedigree dog that's been checked and pups registered and chipped is going to be less profitable than a cross.......I spy a problem

[jimmy]

It strikes me that a cross bread has no requirement for health check etc, so a pedigree dog that's been checked and pups registered and chipped is going to be less profitable than a cross.......I spy a problem

If you go to a reputable breeder, they will do health checks, chip, etc. Whether it's a "cross breed" or a pedigree.
There are good breeders, and bad breeders whatever dog breed you go for.

Anyone interested in cockapoos should check out http://www.cockapooclubgb.co.uk/

[plumseverywhere]

We have a samier or a terroyd - not sure what. As you can see he is very intelligent. But can't catch.

[robate55]

I have no problem with health tested pedigrees, crossbreds or mongrels, my mongrel took me from beginners in obedience to C & would have done better with a decent handler. But there is a place in Norfolk which pumps out crossbreds, one of which is the Norfolk Mountain Dog!!!! There is no mountain dog in the cross. Do people not thin they are taing the p***** ? Mountains & Norfolk?
 
Rose
 

[ellied]

What would the beagle x pug mentioned earlier be called?  A bug?  A peagle?  A bugle perhaps?  I think the names are a joke if someone wanted to create a breed that could be taken seriously as a dog breed, personally. 

[happygolucky]

What I mean Jimmy is they are not registered as a litter so a good way around not having health tests, and buy the way, we do!!