Getting a new dog??

I have 2 mixed breeds (and lost two mixed breeds last year) and a "purebred" pom.  I have to put Benny's purebred status in quotes.  He was originally from a petstore and his owner gave him up so I adopted him.  He has had quite a few problems in his short 4 years including teeth needing pulled (because of his underbite this will occur continuously throughout his life) and some strange toenail that grew on the pad of his foot.  Both expensive surgeries.  You can get those with mixes from the shelter, but I sure am glad I didn't spend the original $1000 + buying him!  I feel that mixes in shelters, or even purebreeds in rescues are in much more need of homes.  People who intentionally breed dogs without proper health and temperament testing are just doing an injustice to those dogs in shelters.

I hope you keep looking and you find your pup soon.  No one is attacking you either, just trying to educate    I am a teacher...we take every chance we get to educate.  Many people here are very passionate about dogs and many work in shelters where they see dogs given up daily for ridiculous reasons.  We all just want the best for the dogs, as I'm sure you do!

If you want a mixed breed/designer dog why not go to petfinder.com and see if you can rescue one.  I don't know where you live but in my area look how cute....

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15628385

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15626906

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15693620

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15704759

There are several and this is just a taste! 

You don't need to go to a designer "breeder" it truely is supporting them to do so.  I hope you find yourself a healhty and happy little puppy - good luck!

 What attracts you to these specific mixes? Certainly a lot of people have and want these sorts of mixed breeds - if they didn't people wouldn't be breeding them. I see lots of them at work every day and some are very healthy, some aren't, some are really nice and some aren't. There is a very wide range of personalities within any given breed of dog and an even wider range with mixed breeds.

 It certainly can be very difficult to find small breed puppies, purebred or mixes in most shelters or rescues. In my area it is pretty uncommon except with the "rescue" who buys/sells desirable purebreds from auctions. If you have your heart set on a toy puppy, you may not be able to find one at a shelter or rescue.

 One big health concern with small dogs, which equally affects purebred and mixed breeds is luxating patellas. This is a genetic condition where the knee pops out of the socket, which can sometimes become very painful for the dog. Some dogs with this problem can live pretty normal lives, especially if their owners are good about geting joint supplements, keeping the dog at a proper weight and doing rear muscle building exercises. Some dogs with it though will need to have knee surgery at some point, regardless of how well the owner manages them. The surgery generally ranges from $1000 - 2000 per knee (many dogs who have this have it on both sides).

 You can weigh the odds of not having this problem by going to a breeder who has their vet check for luxating patellas on their breeding dogs and their puppies. Be sure you ask for proof that these checks have been done and don't just take the breeder's word. This is an inexpensive, easy thing that any vet can test for so there is no reason for toy breed dogs not to be screened prior to being bred (and no reason the puppies can't be examined before being sold). This is also something you would want to ask about if you opt for a rescue. A couple articles about it:

http://www.cavalierhealth.org/patellas.htm (info is valid for all breed prone to LP, not just Cavs)

http://petspress.net/articles/2007/april2007/patella.html

joyfullmom2

 Thank you Janet........at least with your reply I didn't feel attacked for a choice we were looking at. I know these dogs are mixed breed..........I have had a mixed breed before and she was a great dog. For one we are looking at these dogs..........not totally convinced of them but wanted to ask opinions not to feel attacked.

I am positive that no one meant to attack you - this is a very hot topic, and one that lots of members feel strongly about.  Sometimes posts do come across the wrong way.  Please don't be offended - we only want to make sure that you're armed with as much knowledge as possible so that you aren't duped and end up with a sickly dog, or one with behavioural problems... or inadvertantly give your good money to someone who is little better than a puppy mill and has no love for dogs.

If you want a small mix breed, look in shelters.  If you know roughly what kind of mix you want, that's GREAT, you can do some research and be prepared for things like, for example, coat care or health issues that come with the breeds you have picked.  (Remember that a crossbreed does not have "hybrid vigour"; he just has the risk of all the genetic health problems from BOTH breeds )

If you would rather get a pup from a breeder, that is completely OK too - but pick a "breed", not a cross breed and vet the breeders very carefully.  A lot of disgusting puppy mills house countless suffering dogs and puppies, but they do have very attractive websites   Keep in mind that you only want to give your hard earned cash to someone who LOVES dogs, is passionate about their chosen breed and cares deeply about each and every pup they produce and you won't go far wrong! 

Suppose I should go back and retake Manners 101......

My dogs are purebreds, yes, but three of them are rescues.  Raised from newborns in my home when I fostered their mommas.  Until now, and only because my nest is pretty darned full, I've always had at least one mixed breed.  The only difference between a mix and a "pure" in my head, is....well, not so much of anything.  They all need love, and a great forever home.

I see red though, at irresponsible people deliberately breeding "designer pups" because they are worth a lot of money.  A real breeder is going to do a ton of genetic testing, and research background on both parents, and on and on and on.....and they won't sell their pups out of the back of a pickup truck at Walmart.  They will carefully screen new potential owners.

I'm pretty hot on this topic, but a lot of that comes from working with rescue and seeing the "throw away" animals.

So, my apologies for being so blunt.

I would also strongly caution you against a deliberately bred mixed breed dog. 

Look into purebred rescues.  I found my chinese crested puppy in a rescue not too far from my home.  Many of them will work with you to transport the right dog to your home.

OP I'm sorry if you feel attacked.  That's not my intent.  If my own mother or sister or husband came in here and asked about a whatsa-poo, I'd say the same thing - reputable breeders do not intentionally breed mixes.

never mind

JackieG

Most every purebred today was developed using dogs of different breeds to create a particular set of desired breed traits. 

But not to create a cute sounding name   Seriously, the ONLY reason I can think of for deliberately breeding Chihuahuas to Yorkshire Terriers to Poodles is so that you can have a "Chalky Poo".  Yup, that's really, really FUNNY...

To me, the cutesy name (thinga-poo) is a red flag.  Maybe it's just me, but it lacks credibility. 

When the breeder can say "I wanted to combine THESE traits, and this is what I have done to achieve that with this line and this line, and then I have bred the RESULTS of those mixes together and done X, Y and Z to set those traits I wanted, and now the breed is breeding "true" after so many generations....."  then I am more likely to take them seriously.  But these breeders are a drop in a literal OCEAN of unethical ones

There are some breeders like this - I think Labradoodles have been used in breeding programmes for the Guide Dog for The Blind Association.  The "Labradoodles" being produced are bred ultra carefully, and the pups are born to Labradoodle parents who have proven to be, amongst other things, non-shedding.  The reason for the mix was they wanted a non shedding guide dog, and generally the best guide dogs were labs, or lab retrievers, but they shed heavily.  Is it just me, or does that reason sound far more credible than "because it will look cute" or "because it can have a funny sounding name"?  Let's face it, with the new breeds being "created", what are they bringing to the table that doesn't already exist in another breed?  Other than a bunch of "amusing" names?

I have no problem creating a new breed to improve health and utility (Alaskan Husky, Shiloh Shepherd, Saarloos, etc), but I can't think of any examples of how the ---poo craze is doing this, nor have I ever found/seen a breeder where that was their genuine intent.

 I wanted to say thank you to everyone for their responses............I appreciate the passion that you all have for dogs and what happens to them. I have a daughter who is going into the animal field and working against breeders so I hear all the stories and I am totally against puppy mills and bad breeders. I don't want to get taken.

 What we are looking for is a small dog that doesn't shed much and is good for people with allergies. I have been checking rescues in our area and what you find are bigger dogs. So that's why we were checking out breeders. What drew me to the maltapoo is a mixture of both those breeds (the maltese for being small, the poodle for easy to train and non shedding). I have also been checking pure breeds too and like the Bishon Freise...........anyone know anything about them? I check out breeders very well.........I'm not going into this lightly.

 So thanks again for your advice and the passion.

 It depends on the type of allergies.  Most allergies are to dander, not hair/fur, in which case "non shedding"  is not likely to be much of a useful trait.  The curly coat of a poodle of bichon frise is likly to pick up and hold more "stuff", so some people find they react to them more.

 Bichons are delightful, intelligent, beautiful dogs. They are high maintenance, as far as grooming, and prone to allergies.

If I wanted to deal with the grooming, I'd probably get a black Miniature Poodle. Or a chocolate. Darker colors don't stain as much, are less sensitive skinned in general. 

I'm a huge fan of Chinese Cresteds, and they'd fit the bill, perfectly. The Powderpuff is the variety completely covered in hair. It grows to a definite length (like a Sheltie, rather than growing forever, like a Maltese), so if you keep it combed, they do not have to be trimmed. They do not drop coat, at all. Shedding is minimal, as in the Poodle (all dogs shed, some of them drop coat, and some of them have to have it manually removed, like a Poodle or a Bichon), and they are a low dander breed.

For small, non-shedding dogs I like Shih Tzus (so far haven't met one I didn't like, and I'm a big dog/German Shepherd person!).  My cousin got a Coton de Tulear which is a small white dog.  I haven't met Havanese but that was the other breed I recommended for her (she wanted a small, white, lively little pet dog).

I'm not really a little dog person (I know I have a pom. He will probably be my only ever little dog!!), but I have met some really nice Havanese.  Very cute little dogs!