"Designer Dogs"

27 years ago my aunt and uncle were giving a cockapoo....FREE.
Now they would pay how much for that same mixed breed dog?
I don't agree with the trend. But as long as people are willing to pay hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of dollars for their designer dogs - someone will continue to sell them.
My local shelter gets these mixes all the time. Can adopt one for about $100.

Some I can understand, Like for example the Laberdoodle was breed to be used as a see-an-eye dog, they have the skills of a lab while they don't shed as much like a poodle. It makes it easer on blind people owing a dog like this. However smaller desigern breeds are more for fasion than serve a purpose. I don't understand, they cost almost the same as a purbreed but are simply mixed breeds similar to ones in the shelter.

a designer dog is a mixed breed dog. just like most of the dogs waiting for new homes in any animal shelter nationwide. the fact that someone is breeding mixed breed dogs for profit, when wonderful dogs are dying in shelters everyday, is deplorable.

the humane society of the us has a pretty good article on deigner dogs...
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/designer_dogs.html

both our dogs are mixed breed dogs. one came from a local rescue, and the other came from the local humane society. both are great dogs. i would urge anyone looking for a puggle, labradoodle, etc. to check out petfinder.com or your local humane society/rescue organization/etc. there are thousands of dogs there for way less than any byb or pet store will sell them for.

I personally do not like the idea of designer dogs. To me they are a mutt. People are going out and spending outrageous amounts of money on mixed breed "designer" dogs while thousands of "mutts" are dying in the shelters. That angers me! Dogs are supposed to be man's best friend, our constant companions, NOT a fashion acessory and that is the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the term "Designer Dog"!
I don't own one, but maybe my Rottweiler/Shepherd mix could start a new trend. I'll call him a "Shottweiler"! KIDDING!

I also think it's pretty ridiculous to have people paying big money for "designer" crossbreeds that are, as others have mentioned, essentially just mutts. My dog is a mutt, too, but she was a shelter rescue and cost $60 to adopt, not hundreds of dollars. []

If we didn't have the massive dog overpopulation problem we have here in the US I suppose I might feel different. But with so many unloved, yet perfectly sweet and well behaved dogs living and dying in shelters every year it's hard for me to justify people going out of their way to purchase non-purebred dogs. [sm=2cents.gif]

There is a HUGE difference between mutts and designer dogs.  Mutts end up in shelters begging for homes, while the "breeders" of designer dogs get to line their pockets on the fertility of their untested and unproven dogs.
 
Anything else I have to say about said "breeders" would get me a nasty slap on the hand from the moderators....[:@]

This is a reply I gave to someone who was interested in a Schnoodle on another (nondog) forum:

The designer dog fad is a hotly debated topic on the dog forums I belong to. There is nothing wrong with a mixed breed dog of ANY sort, but paying designer prices for a mutt is ridiculous( I love mutts too--used ot have one myself--so I am NOT bashing them!). Labradoodles (Lab/Poodle crosses) cost about $2500.00 in my neck of the woods. However, you can go to the county shelter and pick up a Lab/Poodle mix (same thing, different term--Ahhh, the joys of marketing!) for about $100.00.

If you understand genetics, you will laugh yourself silly over the back yard breeders' (a term used for people who breed their bitches just to make money with no regard for her health or for the puppies' welfare) claims that they are hypoallergenic and nonshedding. When you get a mixed breed puppy, this is a true crap shoot. You MIGHT get a dog that is more Poodle-like in that it doesn't shed and must be clipped every couple of months. OTOH, you may get one that sheds like crazy (like a Lab) and will make every allergist clap his/her hands with glee ("Oh, I AM getting a new Mercedes this year!").

Another thing to remember is that no reputable registry will EVER register these dogs. This isn't a problem if you only want a pet, but many unscrupulous breeders claim that "the AKC will recognize this HYBRID (note the different term here) in a few years". This is NOT so becasue these dogs do not breed "true", meaning that the puppies will not grow up into a uniform, recognizable dog. For example, we ALL know what a Boxer, a Pug or a German Shepherd look like since they breed true. There are variations within a breed of color, general build, etc., but everyone knows a Poodle when s/he sees one. A Cockapoo, OTOH, MIGHT look like a heavy coated Poodle or a curly-coated Cocker Spaniel or a Cocker with a wavier than usual coat or a Poodle with a banner-style tail. There is no uniformity in what one expects when seeing a Cokapoo. This is why Cockapoos have been bred (purposely) for over fifty years and they are STILL not recognized by the AKC, UKC or Canadian KC.

Also, other posters are correct in stating that pet stores are not the best place to buy puppies (or kittnes, for that matter). Rescue your puppy from a shelter, get one free when the neighbor's bitch gets out and ends up with cute mixed breed pups eight weeks later or, if you want a particualr bloodline, buy from a RESPONSIBLE breeder of purebred puppies. Many, many pet store puppies come from puppy mills, horrible places where kennels are stacked several high and urine and feces drip down into the lower kennels. The animals are NEVER socialized, bitches are bred EVERY season and NO health screening is done! Also, puppies from reputable breeders (NEVER found in newspapers) will actually cost LESS than the puppy mill puppies from a pet store.

ORIGINAL: Xebby

Some I can understand, Like for example the Laberdoodle was breed to be used as a see-an-eye dog, they have the skills of a lab while they don't shed as much like a poodle. It makes it easer on blind people owing a dog like this.

 
so very very untrue... if the breeder is lucky you get a dog that does not shed.  they are not a pure breed so you are only guessing as to what you are going to have.  if a person wants a non shedding breed a standard poodle could fit the bill just as well.  jmo...

a mutt is a mutt no matter what tag you hang on it.  it is very sad the pet public took to this bandwagon and are buying these mixed breeds at these outragous prices.  a good breeder breeds one breed, shows that breed and breeds to improve the breed.  they probably do not make much if any money out of one of their litters.
 
 

IMO, the designer dog trend is BS. It's just a pretty label stuck onto a mixed breed to enhance the appeal and create demand. 

You should read the thread called "Silver Labs."

Personally, I think they are all mutts. Including the Labradoodle--who a friend of mine has as a service animal and he says she sheds just as much as his other dog!!! So, no advantage there.

My dog is purebred and AKC registered with Champion bloodlines. I wouldn't want it any other way!

I generally agree with the other posters.
I volunteer at a shelter and get to see all those homeless animals who sleep on the cement floor, who get to see people 3 times per day, and make horrible crying sounds when you leave.
Purposely breeding more mutts is, in my opinion, highly unethical and shameful to the human race. Animals of the same breeds are dying every day, because they do not have a home. And to top it all off, these people are purposefully breeding more dogs to make MONEY! What a shame. []

ORIGINAL: heidandseek

ORIGINAL: Xebby

Some I can understand, Like for example the Laberdoodle was breed to be used as a see-an-eye dog, they have the skills of a lab while they don't shed as much like a poodle. It makes it easer on blind people owing a dog like this.

so very very untrue... if the breeder is lucky you get a dog that does not shed.  they are not a pure breed so you are only guessing as to what you are going to have.  if a person wants a non shedding breed a standard poodle could fit the bill just as well.  jmo...

I had a feeling someone migt say that. I think Standard poodles are wonderful dogs and very easy to train without crossing them with anything else. So yes training a stan. poodle as a see-an-eye dog would be no differnt than crossing it. I just wanted to point out that it was a good attempt but with some unhappy outcomes along the way.

I just belive that when you breed a dog you must do it with a purpose. Even some of our "pur" breeds were once a cross of two others and then evoloved to be a breed of their own. The reason for this was for purpos in mind by taking the trates of two differnt breed and making a better breed. So why are we complaining now when we are doing the same thing people a long time ago did? I strongly dissagree with breeding for the fun of breeding or for the latest style but why can't we breed to improve on something that can help us in the long run. Maybe after some time the laberdoodle will be it's own breed and there will no longer be a need to mix breeds to obtain it. Breeding out the trates that we don't want.

I think it is an unfortunate trend.  People pay thousands of dollars for deliberate "mistakes", while some very nice mixed breed dogs die in shelters every day.  If you have $2500 to spend on a Labradoodle, you could get a very nice shelter dog for a $200 adoption fee, then donate the other $2300 to save a dog's life that needs surgery, whose owner can't afford it or that is in the shelter.  You could pay for a semester of college for a young person at a state college, or feed some hungry children, instead of making some idiot backyard breeder rich who is telling you that your mutt is "registered" and that it will soon be a "real breed". [:@]