Dog Community

How long will the hybrid craze last?

Posted : 3/28/2007 3:11:33 PM

My boyfriend (who is not a dog person and doesn't know the first thing about dog breeds) just called me and told me about a sign on the road he saw that said "beaglemation puppies for sale." He said "is that what people are doing now instead of saying "the dog got out. free puppies"? I told him about hybrids and explained that some people are actually doing this on purpose. He was amazed at some of the prices that people would pay for "mutts" (his word, not mine), when they could go to an animal shelter and get one.

The question I pose here is: is this hybrid craze going to last or will people tire of it? Also, is it really a new thing or has the demand for hybrids. It seems like there are more and more mixes popping up, but I don't know if that is reality indicates that there are more hybrids being produced or that there is more visibility because of the web. For instance, I know that Labradoodles have been bred for a while, but I just saw a site for Weimerdoodles ($1200 a puppy) the other day (this breeder actually does OFA testing on the dogs which surprised me). Have there been other obvious hybrid breeds that have been around for a long tie or are most relatively new?

Harleygirl

Posted : 3/28/2007 3:26:09 PM

"is that what people are doing now instead of saying "the dog got out. free puppies"?

That made me laugh.

I look periodically at a dogbreedinfo.com and read up on all the foreign and domestic dogs. They recently added a whole section just for hybrid dogs. There are probably 150 different dogs just on that page.
I know two people that have labradoodles. One was from a breeder and the other was the result of a dog that got out. Guess which one has had the worst health problems, and has been nicknamed Crazy LuLu.
It's crazy to me that people are willing to pay the price for these dogs, when they can just go to the pound or humane society and get a wonderful dog that needs a loving home. That way it gives the person the creative oportunity to come up with the crazy names that these dogs have.

beaglemation[sm=rolleyes.gif]

Xebby

Posted : 3/28/2007 3:40:44 PM

beaglemation

That is a new one, I even googled it and came up with 0 results. The beagle/dalmatian mixes I did eventually find pics of didn't look like anything other than a really mixed breed pound pup. It's so sad and I don't understand why they would be in so high demand.

I really hope it is just a phase but even at that what happens when it's all over? What happens to all these "designer" dogs when the owner realizes that now all they have is a mutt?

polarexpress

Posted : 3/28/2007 4:58:10 PM

I dunno---but it has some unusual side effects.

I just got my dog license reminder (small town---they issue licenses from April 1 to May 1 and hold a rabies clinic/license opportunity on the first Sat. of April) and apparently a "German Shorthaired Pointer" is a new designer mix [

] because according to the town that's what I own---a mix. Apparently a german shepherd/pointer mix.

When I got him last year I correctly indicated his breed on the license form and spelled it correctly---the town clerk decided he was a "new mix" and when I tried to correct her she obviously didn't pay attention.

Sometimes I have fun with folks and tell them about my old dog---a labrashepherdmanpinscher. [sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif] All the mellow people-loving qualities of a lab combined with all the protective instincts of a GSD or Doberman.

rolenta

Posted : 3/28/2007 6:49:23 PM

This is totally insane! To me, the point of paying lots of money for a dog is getting the guarantees, the health tests, and the predictability about their temperment, coat care, and so on.

If I didn't care about those things, I'd definitely adopt a dog that needed a home. Besides, adopting an animal is so satisfying because you know you're making another living creature's life better and gaining a best friend at the same time.

I seriouly don't get it. It's the best possible way to get ripped off, plus it contributes to dog over-population. It doesn't seem like there's an upside.

erl

Posted : 3/28/2007 7:44:01 PM

For some reason, I thought that it was getting a bit better. I guess it could be that I don't look in the papers and other byb filled ads anymore.
Also, why does the media have to include designer dogs? I'm pretty sure that Home Depot and Swiffer Sweeper ads mentioned "labradoodles" recently. Just frustrates me. Plus, the names IMO, just sound stupid and childish.
Beaglemations- now that name sounds funny! I sure hope the mom was the dalmation though.

workingpaws

Posted : 3/30/2007 2:23:08 AM

erl, there was a similar Lowes ad mentioning labradoodles also...

As long as there is a demand the craze will not end. There is a golden retriever breeder up the freeway from me who is selling goldendoodles for (I kid you not) $2500.00+!!!! That makes me physically sick. Purebred mutts at top dollar.

mollymoo

Posted : 3/30/2007 2:57:01 AM

I hate to even go here but here I am. Please no bashing me or when I die I will come back and haunt you. I - We - hubby and I bought a Hybrid - desinger dog. Now before the bashing starts we bought Molly 1 month before I got on this forum. I then found out what we bought a designer dog. A designer dog yes and a dog from a BYB yes. We in our minds bought a puppy (ad in the paper) that would be a small dog when full grown. We paid 300.00 for Molly. Not the prices that people say that designer dogs are bringing over the internet. Yes we have the papers to register her with the American Canine Hybrid Club. Have we sent the papers in NO. Why? Molly is a mixed breed and we love her for who she is a mixed breed. Remember no bashing as I am old and may die soon.

mrv

Posted : 3/30/2007 6:52:18 AM

Point of clarification. These are mix breeds or cross breeds. Hybrids refer to a mix of species (ie wolf dog, coy dog, dingo dog). The designer mixes rarely can be considered breeds from a genetic standpoint because there are inadequate generations of animals for type to breed true in following generations. You get dogs that resemble one parent breed or the other as well as the mix of traits in the same litter.

griffinej5

Posted : 3/30/2007 6:57:06 AM

Georgie just finshed her class, and in it, there were two labradoodles, whose owners I am glad to say said they would never get another one. Those two were nutcases. It may have helped that Georgie, who is normally an obnoxious nut home just like their dogs, was always very calm in class because she was a bit freaked out.
I was shocked to hear someone say that a friend of theirs spent $3000 for a mutt that they called an australian labradoodle. I'm sure they also appreciated when I explained to them what makes a breed a breed, and how a labradoodle is not actually a breed.

spiritdogs

Posted : 3/30/2007 7:05:32 AM

How long will the hybrid craze last?

About as long as there are stupid people willing to pay $1500+ for a somethingdoodle or a whatsitpoo. [:'(]

snownose

Posted : 3/30/2007 7:43:03 AM

I owned designer dogs way before this craze kicked in.......they are called rescues[8|]....and I didn't have to pay 1500 bucks....how smart, eh?

sl2crmeg

Posted : 3/30/2007 8:32:12 AM

BF and I got our one-of-a-kind Great Smyrna Mohawk Dog for a steal---$55 [

] And no one can ever have another. Ha.

Edited because I can't even spell my hometown this early in the morning [&:]

rwbeagles

Posted : 3/30/2007 8:34:44 AM

LOL Mollymoo...no bashing from here...lol!
We all learn as we go and that is one cute pup [

]

seashell

Posted : 3/30/2007 8:34:49 AM

I had a customer tell me yesterday about her MINI goldendoodle. My jaw dropped and I just said what. Wanted to say "what the *#*? but I was at work
So she explained to me, because obviously to her I know nothing, that this

up is the best thing ever because it was going to be tiny and not shed a lot because of the minituare poodle and it will be friendly like a golden. I am so glad that she is physhic. I know she probably paid lots of money to the pet store, but I asked if she rescued it. She replied "No, to make a dog you this it needs to be done on purpose".
Then she continued to tell me about all the research she had done to determine that this fancy dog was right for her. I have never finished up with a customer so quickly before. I wish I could've met her outside of work where I could have said something.
Of course my biggest fear is that the dog won't be exactly what she expects and will go to a shlter Or maybe that it will be what she expects and she will tell other people about it and help continue that trend.