Lorraine
oh right and what qualifications do you have or how much do you understand genetics and what health screening have you had on the westie and the poodle to know that you will get improved health. Oh and that means studying each dog's parents and grandparents also as health issues can skip a generation or two.. but then you'd know that if you can make the basic claim that you can improve the genetic health.
Now why do I think you are just another byb designer dog breeder trying to cover it up under the guise of someone that actually knows what they are doing.
The extremely knowledgeable person who first tried it with the labrador / poodle and called it a stupid labradoodle never succeeded and bitterly regrets the pandora's box he has opened.
?
Of course you are ...... and I bet you won't be giving the results away FOR NOTHING !!!
Fact is putting two breeds together, breeds that have been developed over years and many generations for a specific purpose, be it herding, hunting, guarding or just as a pet, is just plain irresponsible.
'For improved genetic health'. How do you support that idea when fact is you most probably won't even be testing either parent for the problems there are in their breeds that need checking BEFORE mating?
This is putting my BP up enough so suffice to say read the answers you already have, especially 'leaving genetics to those breeders who know exactly what they are doing' (Jojo). This says it all.
ps Always remember too that every time a b itch is put in whelp, her life is at risk.
GreyhoundAdopter
When you cross two breeds you can add MORE and NEW genetic problems from the second breed into the first one.
If the dogs are not genetically tested for the problems within their own breeds, then you will surely introduce added problems into the resulting puppies.
I can tell from your question that you do not have any grasp on the genetic problems within the two breeds, nor how to reduce them in resulting puppies... you can not do away with genetic conditions by adding more possible problems into the mix.
You need to identify the problems within the dog(s) and then breed them out by not using dogs that have these conditions to produce puppies. You eliminate genetic problems by NOT BREEDING dogs - not by mixing up the bloodlines with others and introducing more possible defects in the resulting puppies.
Marianne
Most of the people that answered you here are excellent breeders and do not breed "designer" dogs. Anyone that breeds mixed breeds is no better than a puppy miller as there is no way to trace backgrounds to find out the health status of the lines in the mixed breed the own and want to breed. Your mutt may not even be the mix you think it is.
TheRavenAZ
That's a load of crap. You're thinking of carelessly breeding a litter of mix breed pups and hoping to sell them for a fortune as a designer breed. Be a better person than a backyard breeder because that's what you'll be..