Does anyone own a designer dog?

I love you Cheetah ^_^

In WI, we call those (IMO butt ugly) Boston x Beagle crosses....Bugs *Barfs*

And Cockapoos aren't fetching $1000 anymore because they're not all the rage anymore.  Sorry Inne, but you coulda just gotten a poodle *Shrug*  

ORIGINAL: inne


I am just considering what has happened on so many other threads (and here too - "It's the OWNERS, the type of uninformed, irresponsible eople that will usually buy them.")

 
I see you quoted my statement. [] Sorry, but I think responsible, informed owners would be the exception rather than the rule with people who are willing to pay $1,000 for a "Labradoodle".

"And look at your own comment - that I passed by many good dogs by not getting a dog from a shelter.    Well, so did everyone who bought a dog from a breeder."
 
The difference Inne, is that people who seek out a breeder of a known breed of dog....are doing so many times because of PREDICTABILITY...of size, of coat, of temperament, of ability, etc etc etc. Designer dogs can NEVER have that...and that is true of any mixed breed dog. THAT is IMO a legitimate reason not to adopt all your dogs from a shelter, but to buy one from a responsible breeder or adopt from a purebred rescue. People have things in their lives, children, space limitations, other pets, time constraints, activities, etc that require a certain type of dog...and that is what a purebred dog does best, fill a niche...in a predictable manner.
 
If one is looking for a 'small dog' one can go to a shelter and find one, yes....if one is looking for a "small tan or black and tan dog that can herd my sheep and do some work on my small farm and participate in Obedience and Agility on the weekend"...well then....one best look to the Herding group rather than the "Poo" craze or shelters. You are also being highly presumptious in assuming people with actual breeds of dogs DID pass up a good dog at the shelter, do we all have only purebred dogs then? You know that how?
 
Purposely bred mixed breeds steal far more homes IMO than any purebred dog would...simply because they purposely market these dogs almost frenetically. They are pushed into our faces on TV and thru other media outlets daily...in a way the purebred dog never is...and sadly...the shelter dog never is. These tv shows really should be ashamed promoting these purposely bred mixes instead of having dogs up for adoption that actually might DIE if they aren't adopted.

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

You are also being highly presumptious in assuming people with actual breeds of dogs DID pass up a good dog at the shelter, do we all have only purebred dogs then? You know that how?

That's not actually what I said. I said that everyone who goes to a breeder instead of a shelter passes up dogs in shelters, which is pretty obvious.

Anyway, I know all the arguments everyone is making and I've heard them a million times before. There are plenty of threads made for arguing about this. This thread was about asking us about our experiences, which I did to try to be helpful, not to fight with people about my dog.

Where are most of the designer dogs on the market comming from? Some from are from amateur family byb like Mud Puppy. Some are from more professional concerned breeders like Inne's. ( I have to confess we had a sweet cockapoo when I was kid) Are puppy mills into them too? I have only seen them advertised onlline and in the paper but not in pet stores. It would be interesting to some statistics on intentionally mixed breeds

I have the two labradoodles. And you are right, they can be somewhat hyper. If you get a labradoodle, you need to be able to exercise them properly. I have a big fenced in back yard where my doodles rip and tear. One is extremely laid back to the point we call him "Big lug" the other is a little hyper. But after both of them go outside and run their butts off, they both crash for hours it seems. They are very sweet, kind, lovable dogs. They get along extremely well with other dogs.
 
I wouldn't give my labradoodles, mutts, designer dogs, whatever you want to call them back for all the money in the world.
 
 I had a cockapoo before my labradoodles and I bought him for $150 seven and a half years ago from a lady who bred her cockapoo. My Thor was diagnosed with addison's disease when he was four. He almost died on me then but my vet was able to save him. For 2.5 years I took him to the vet every month to get his DOCP shot. He also needed blood work throughout the year and in April before he died he had bladder surgery to remove bladder stones.
 
I learned my lesson. After he died last summer, I did a ton of research on labradoodles and their different breeders. I found a very responsible breeder that I now work with. I am the guardian of one of her breeding dogs. If people want a specific type of dog, they should be responsible enough to do research to see if it is the right fit for their life and lifestyle.
 
Stephanie, if you would like the name and contact info of the breeder I work with let me know. Or if you have any other questions for me about my doodles please feel free to ask. Like I said my Hershey and Daisy are my babies and I wouldn't give them up for all the money in the world!

I am also an accidental owner of a designer dog.  Some people think my little Jo Jo is a schnoodle (poodle schnauzer mix).  But I think he is a cairen terrier/lhasa mix.  I rescued him and sadly have seen many cairen terrier/lhasa mixes in a local pet store[:@].  So, it is very possible that he origanally came from there.  That probably explains why he was extremely difficult to house train.

Dogs from pet stores have enormous amount of problems from both bad breeding stocks to lack of socialization.  Luckly mines healthy, just difficult.

I would say that roughly half the pups in our local pet store are "designer" dogs.  I was in there recently and found a pup that they said was half American Bulldog and half "or-pey" (lab/shar-pey)--they wanted $1299 for it!!
 
I also see them in the paper all the time, and for sale at a horse auction I go to occasionally.

We have a mill here who used to breed only poodles and yorkies, she has been in business for aprox 30 years.  When she flooded the local markets with those breeds, she started doing the yorkie-poos, and even got some silkie-poos started, now out entire area is flooded with poos, not a pourebred poodle or yorkie in sight!  I'm not exaggerating either, I live in a town of about 1500 people, and I would not doubt that there are at least 400-500 poos in my town alone, not to mention the surrounding towns that are also flooded.  This woman pumps them out like a hydrant, and it is very sad to see.  The thing is that no two look alike, most don't even closely resemble each other, and you would definately have to *ask* the owner to find out exactly what it was to be sure, and it seems that the majority of dogs that come from this kennel get the worst traits from their parents, they are not cute.   Around here the going price for one of her dogs is $600.00, which is a lot when you consider that the average family only pays $250.00 a month to rent or morgage a nice 4 bedroom house, and the actual cost for said house would only be around $35,000.00.  $600.00 around here would probably be the equivelant of $1200.00 or more in a city.  The average  yearly income for a family of four around here is only $25,000.00.

This woman has about 4 litters a month and if they don't sell to pet homes, she takes them to petstores in a city about 2 hours away, or sends them to a broker.  This is and has been her only source of income for a very long time, and they live very comfortably on it.  It makes me sick, but the folks who live around here are starting to run her out of business now, as they are breeding their dogs and creating their own "Poos-for-profit".  This is not better, but it may slow down her profit and make her realize what she is doing.

In answer to who ever asked the question about millers doing crosses, yes, they do. 

 

I have two Yorkie-Poo's, I only call them that because it is easier than saying Yorkshire Terrier cross Poodle each time.
 
I consider them to be mutt's/mixed breeds, have never called them designer dogs.  I love my dogs and think that they are the cutest things on this earth! 
 
Duke was rescued from a puppy mill and Daisy apparently was an accidental breeding, apparently the owners were really good people and took care of the dogs really well. (I don't know, never met them, but Daisy is 100% better than Duke ever was, and really healthy) 
 
I have never been made to feel bad about my dogs on this board.  Some people have their opinions, and I think thats great & totally justified.
 
We have a pet store that just opened up in our small town that has wall of cages of mixed breed dogs.  I went in there not knowing that they sold dogs, and ran out crying. They sell Yorkie-poos for $1400!  I can't believe that!  I don't understand who would pay that when you can rescue them from the shelter, save a life, and save a crap load of money.