Problem with designer dogs?

The main problem with these 'designer dogs' is that you have no idea what you are going to get. Each breed has specific problems that are known to exist. And mutts (non-purebreds) can have genetic problems that are not obvious. When a person places these two mutts together to get a new 'designer' dog it is a true unknown what genetic traits will come out. The puppy may have all of the good traits desired or have all of the poor traits known. Most of them have a combination. Then there are the unknown (maybe hidden thru many generations) that pop up and cause a lifetime of headaches for the owner.

The purebred dogs are not the ones used for these designer dogs as a purebred breeder does not allow a pet quality dog to be bred but spayed or neutered (as part of their contract). Mutts are used and that is where the problem starts.

I worked with a girl who purchased one of these dogs - the puppy had inherited the dental problems from each - eventually had to have all the teeth pulled before a year old. Nice dog but major problems that were the unknown. There is no reason since there are way too many dogs in the shelter because of overbreeding by people not spaying and neutering their dogs. Why do we need to have more dogs bred on purpose when we cannot even handle the ones we have? Euthanasia is on the rise - we don't need to add to it.

there are no more "thought out crosses"..

no one is trying to create an established breed with a purpose anymore. All of the "designer" dogs are just BYBs trying to cash in on the latest fad.

Crossing widens the gene pool, but does NOT "make genetic defects less common".. it widens the variety of genetic defects that may have been introduced into the gene pool! Proper genetic health testing and carefully researching pedigrees is a far more effective way of eliminating defects. Defects do not magically appear just because a dog is line bred- nor do they dissapear just because a dog is a mix!

The hate is not directed towards the dogs, it's hatred for the suffering that is coming about because of this whole 'designer' craze. If you go down to the shelter you will see what people are getting so upset about.

If there was no such thing as an unwanted or homeless dog, then I don't think anyone would mind so much. The problem is that with so many mixed breed dogs dying in shelters already it makes no sense to bring more mixed breed pups into a world where they are very likely to wind up in a shelter.

There are already over 200 breeds of dog for people to choose from and endless numbers of mixed breeds that need homes. There is just not a need for 'new' breeds. If you want a dog for hunting, herding, tracking, sledding, lap warming or any other thing there are already a ton of dogs specifically bred for every concieveable purpose - and it's been developed to a high degree through generations in those breeds, the result of hard work and careful selection for over 100 years! There literally is something for everyone already in the existing breeds and every possible combination of mixes already waiting for a home in the shelters.

If a person wants to add to the already overflowing dog population then there needs to be a better reason than to make money or satisify curiosity. If all breeding came to a halt then the breeds would go extinct so a certain amount is necessary to keep them viable but this should be done only with the very best, healthiest dogs. There is no justification for doing this for money or on a whim and so that's why the hate. Many of these mixes are poorly thought out and end up combining the worst of both breeds. Every neighborhood has a family who jumped on the badnwagon and got one only to find that it was an unmanageable mess once it grew up - many of these dogs are discarded before they are even 2 years old! The unpredicable result of crossbreeding, along with the total disregard to quality makes it very difficult for a family to predict what they are getting into. The amount of grooming alone dooms many to failure as the dog has neither the managebale texture of the poodle or the working coat of the retriever. It is a cute, soft, matted mess for most. Even the person who 'invented' the Labradoodle regrets it!!! See links here for a full explanation of the harm that this whole designer fad has done:

http://www.examiner.com/article/labradoodle-creato...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHQlbl5gvk8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auPXgyR59yE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpBMwT5L6PI

http://doodlerescue.org/group/isadoodleforyou/foru...

Its not the dogs that we hate, it's the suffering this idotic fad has caused! Every time somebody buys one of these pups, it just encourages the puppymillers to make more of them.

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Out crossing when done with the same breed helps strengthen a line or set a trait. "Out crossing" with another breed is only creating a mixed breed and not setting any kind of trait, or adding to the line, but destroying it.

What's the purpose of creating these mixes and destroying years of selective breeding to get a dog that breeds true only to end up with mutts? As far as "widening the gene pool", that's merely a ploy used by mutt breeders to support lousy breeding practices since most pure bred dogs aren't "suffering" like the less then ethical breeders would like you to think.

Example: The puggle

Just how does mixing a high energy dog with a dog that has possible breathing problems create something good?

And yes, there are poorly bred pure bred dogs out there that drag down the breeds, they are the ones usually used in these mixes! I fail to see any good from mixing breeds to create a fad dog that will only end up in the shelter since people don't know what they are getting. If you check the stats, the shelters were over loaded with puggles 3 years after the fad dog come on the scene.

I will say that mixing breeds to get a good working dog isn't bad since they are breeding for a purpose, not money or a cutsie puppy.

The issue isn't with well thought out crosses. There are a lot of breeders who cross breed to produce exceptional working dogs. These crosses are dogs in the same group, that have the same drive. For example, crossing a Bloodhound with a Blue Tick Hound can produce an amazing tracking or hunting dog.

The issue is "breeders" who cross breeds strictly to get animals that will sell. Things like a Corski. Corgis are herding dogs, Huskies pull sleds. Crossing those two dogs accomplishes nothing. Designer dogs are a fashion product, period. Pure breeds exist for a reason. If you get a Dachshund, for example, you can be sure that it will be long bodied with short legs and have a very in your face personality. If you don't like that, don't get that breed. You have some idea of potential health issues, personality, activity level, etc. with a pure bred dog. With mixes, nothing is certain.

These people are also producing dogs that aren't health checked from parents who haven't been screened. The dogs they produce and sell for thousands of dollars can be found in pounds and shelters for 20 bucks.

It's irresponsible, unethical and uneducated.

Briefly because there is NO NEED to be doing this kind of breeding. And further because the people who are doing it are only doing this FOR MONEY. If you think messing around with the various breeds makes genetic defects less common think again! Have you considered the fact that the people doing all this have no Breed Standard to breed to, are using pets who were originally sold as rejects from a reputable breeders' breeding programme because they have a fault which while not ruling out them being a great pet, isn't something that breeder needs in his breeding programme. No testing is being done, for all the problems in the various breeds. Logic should tell you that breeding like this is bound to combine all the faults in the breeds involved, in one puppy. Yes, it would be great if these parents were fault free, tested for things like Hip and Elbow dysplasia and eye conditions, but fact is they are not. So those things will all be wrapped up in one mix-bred puppy. And there's no 'making genetic defects less common' about that!!

Add to that mixing up breeds can no only be total madness, but what comes out is a lottery. Size, temperament, coat, yes, health, and longevity are unknown. When the breeds were originally developed, this happened at the hands of people who were looking for a dog for a specific purpose - and not for money!!

Would that cross breeding meant the people doing this were thinking before doing it. Fact is they are only thinking about one thing - persuading the gullible public that what they are breeding is 'rare', 'special', and so on ...... KERCHING.

ps I suggest the 'hate' isn't about the dog, but about the breeder who is churning out all these poor quality animals. Same goes for any BYB producing badly bred/reared purebred puppies these days.

There are already enough PUREBRED dogs that are *designed* for specific purposes. Why would you think that any mixed breed dog would be any better? Don't even get me started with the whole *widens the gene pool* subject, or that it makes them healthier with less genetic defects. When was the last time that you've heard of a mutt breeder doing GENETIC HEALTH TESTING? Come on.......tell me of ONE mutt breeder that does this, and I'll eat my shoe.

BACK YARD BRED DOG + BACK YARD BRED DOG = BACK YARD BRED MUTT with no genetic health tests done, so therefore NOBODY knows their genetic health history. At least there are data bases that keep track of genetic health testing, such as the OFA.

You just don't get it, like many others don't either.

(1) Widening or narrowing the gene pool has never and can never by itself cause the kinds or rates of genetic diseases to change significantly in a population. ALL of the major canine diseases are present at some level in virtually all breeds - hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, PRA, epilepsy, cancers, allergies, etc, can ALL occur in ALL breeds and ALL mixes. Studies have shown that (1) you can breed full siblings together for more than 100 generations without increasing genetic disease levels and (2) first-cousin pairings seem to produce the most and the healthiest offspring.

(2) Crossing allows over-ridden undesirable genetics no one has seen for generations to appear in the offspring - if you cross a "red" Golden Retriever with a "red" Chesapeake Bay Retriever you will only and can only get BLACK puppies since the genes that "dilute" that color are different between the breeds. The same goes for undesirable health conditions, structural faults, and temperamental instabilities.

The hate is from (2) - from the FACT that at least 50% even of "well thought out crosses" will end up in shelters and at least half of those will die there. The "pet overpopulation problem" is not one of overproduction so much as a lack of retention - when your mongrel grows up to be an unexpected size, shape, type, coat, energy level, temperament, or working ability, either he will make your family miserable, he will be miserable in an unsuitable home, or he will end up dumped in a shelter (where he will likely die). Even if he is a "perfectly good dog" in SOME households, it cannot be predicted with any accuracy WHICH home is suitable when he is 8-12 weeks old and being initially placed.

Breeding mongrels IS done to produce working animals on occasion, but it is will the understanding that MOST of the litter is likely to be unsuitable and end up dumped or dead within the next few years. Sometimes people are willing to take that risk and cull (as in KILL) half or more of a litter to get their one or two exceptional animals, but there is no reason on earth to do that for a "pet" since there are already 500+ breeds out there and at least one of them is at least as suitable as any mongrel for your situation.

Congrats on your mongrel dog. Hope you didn't pay too much for him. Hope you don't end up seeing his littermates on death row in your local shelter or reading in the paper about how they maimed a child or walking in to the vet's office the day they are there to be put down with a major health concern...

I don't hate the poor dogs themselves, but I do despise those who don't understand anything about how genetics actually work and end up harming a lot of dogs and a decent number of people through their delusions.

I think the biggest gripe is that there are already so many mixed breeds in overpopulated shelters (not to mention the hundreds of healthy dogs unnecessarily euthanized every day because there's no room to house them).

There are uncountable BYBs and puppy mills out there that are just looking to make a buck from the designer breed trend. You're right in that genetics do benefit from crossbreeding, but that's not the reason behind why these dogs are being created. It's greed, greed, greed...

Most often these pups are bred by BYBs that do not vet them as they should be, try to sell them as something special (Chiweenie, Cavashon, Doodles, Chipoos, etc.) so unaware people think they are getting a full bred dog. Often they are not socialized and eat poorly, no de-wormers, heath issues....the list goes on and on.

I work with someone that just bought a mixed pup from a breeder with high standards and morals. So, the decent breeders are out there for these mixes. But for a breeder to try to pass them off as something special at a high price is morally wrong and they should not be breeding anything.

So, to answer simply, most breeders of mixed breeds seem to be out to take innocent people's money with out regard to the health of the pups or parents.