It seems like “designer” dog breeds have become a breed, I hear “I have a Golden doodle” like it is a breed & not a cross of a Golden Retriever & a Poodle (meaning it is mix or mutt). Before Poodle crosses were popular there were other breeds that were mixed to come up with other designer breeds. Luckily some of those mixes are not breed intentionally bred any longer, or not popular. I say that because some were two breeds that had similar less desirable traits, such as two breeds that were stubborn & hard to train. Two breeds that were not known to be real smart or breeds that were high strung &/or fearful were bred together. When I was in rescue these breeds would often be surrendered to shelters because of these issues. I hate to say it but in my opinion this is all about money & getting people to believe they need the “newest” thing or the thing that everyone else does not have.
The cost to purchase these designer cross breeds is crazy high for a mixed breed dog. Not only is the cost to purchase high, but then you have the cost of grooming & the medical issues. I have someone I know who has a Golden Retriever/mini Poodle cross & she has spent approximately $4000 in the last few months due to the health issue of her young dog. The issue still isn’t resolved yet & seen several specialists. She did adopt her dog, so she did a great thing, but wasn’t even sure of the breeds till she did DNA & it is only Golden & Poodle. She wanted a small dog that was a Poodle mix because she likes the breed & wanted a dog under 20 lbs. Now think about how a Golden Retriever that is a 50-75 lb dog & a mini Poodle that is 15 lbs or less happen. Well it most likely took using the runt of litters or the biggest mini poodles (neither breed standards) & breeding the smallest time after time. This is probably why many of these dogs have health issues.
Temperament of any mix/cross breeds is debatable what it will be. I am child #6 of 10 & from the same parents & each of us is different in many ways. Some of us are more outgoing & some are more introverted, some are more intelligent than others, some more caring & giving. I had twin brothers & one was 6’4″ & his twin was 5′ 7″, one brown eyed & one blue eyed. So when crossing breeds of dogs it is hard to say which traits will be more dominant even in the same litter there can be very different traits. A study published in MDPI showed the Golden Retriever/Poodle cross had higher incidences of fear & aggression compared to the parent breeds. The research I did after I was a victim of my dog having RAGE, I found the only mix breed that showed to inherently have RAGE was a Golden Retriever/Poodle cross(Goldendoodle).
I had a friend who got a Labrador/Poodle cross puppy years ago & she thought it would shed less & that was far from the truth. He would shed to the point that she had to sweep, vacuum 2 times a day & not allow him on the furniture. He also was way larger than expected & he was 90-110 lbs (now he was a little over weight at times). He also was so hyper it made him hard to train.
Medical issues can be an issue, because these crosses tend to inherit issues from both parents. If someone is insistent on getting a “designer” dog I would highly recommend you find a breeder who does genetic testing on the parents & will give you info or at least show you that information. Some health issues can be very expensive to treat.
There is the issue if it is ethical to breed mix breeds on purpose. I am sure those who are reputable breeders of pure bred dogs that breed for the breed standard & show these dogs in the show ring are very much against intentional breeding of cross breeds. I think the part I have issues with is that there are so many dogs needing homes already & people are intentionally breeding mix breeds. Puppy Mills & backyard breeders jump on board to whatever the fad is.
The dog above is Molly a dog I fostered who was a Golden Retriever & Poodle cross. The people who bought her bought her from a pet store & were told she was bred by a reputable breeder, but I researched it & it was a disgusting puppy mill that from the photos I could find was filthy & way too many dogs kept in concrete called runs & the fans were so caked with fur they couldn’t run & it was in a state with high temperatures. Soon after I saw the photos I contacted a group who fights to end puppy Mills & the photos online disappeared. Please know I have never heard of a good breeder selling puppy’s to a pet store, only puppy mills. Molly found a home & they have had her about 7-8 years now, she still has some behavior issues, some from the way she was trained by the previous owner (very negatively) & some probably from breeding. They love her & accept her with her issues & work on the issues they can change. She has come a long way with positive training & she travels in an RV with her adopters.
The look of a “designer” cross breed isn’t guaranteed if you get it as a puppy, you don’t know if they will look more like which parent or which physical traits will be dominant. Some may shed only a little, some not at all or a ton. Some will have more curl to their coat than some others. Shade of the coat may vary. Some may need more grooming than others. Size is not a guarantee, but when a puppy is 20 weeks old you can weigh it & double that weight to get a pretty good estimate of the weight it will be as an adult (if not overweight). Meaning a puppy at 20 weeks old that is 15 lbs will be about 30 lbs as an adult.
There is a new “designer” breed that I have heard about & I don’t exactly know what it is crossed with, but when I was shown a photo my heart went out to the dog. I can’t imagine this dog is comfortable in the legs or hips when trying to even walk. I don’t understand why some humans think in the name of $ it is ok to do this. Maybe there is another reason & you can explain it to me. The breed is called a Toad Bully, & this is just one photo I found there were others, but they made me sad to look at them. I was thinking how their joints, muscles, back, & hips must hurt to support their weight being so low to the ground & bowed legs.
I know some people get a “designer” dog because they are told they are hypoallergenic, but that is not a true statement. I personally think this statement was made up by breeders to sell more dogs. My former Allergist (Doctor)was not an animal person & he took part in a research paper on the subject. I don’t recall the person’s name whom he did the research with, but she had a lot of credentials & they did a lot of research & I read the article. It stated no dog is hypoallergenic. I myself tested allergic to dogs, & yes I have two dogs & neither are “designer” breeds. Well I could call Hunter a Point/Setter if I wanted to give him a “designer” breed name, & Echo would be an Aussie/Pitt/Setter. Personally I tell people they are both mixes or mutts & I am proud of the fact that I rescued all my dogs & all but one have been mixed breeds.
There are rescues the specifically rescues Poodle (“Doodles”)mixes, which means there is a need because people have either purchased a dog that didn’t turn out to be what they expected, made an impulse purchase, didn’t realize the cost of the care of the breed, exercise needs or some other reason. Some examples of rescues are: IDOG Rescue, California Doodle Rescue, Doodles Rescue & Rehoming Community. Of course there are mixed breed rescue that take in a variety of breeds & shelters who also take in a variety of breeds. This makes me pause & want to get the word out there to people to think & research any breed & the breeder of any breed of dog before they buy one or adopt one. It is unfair to any animal for someone to get it & not think about their commitment to the dog for the next 10-15 years that this pet will be alive. You need to think of this as a long term commitment & not disposable thing.
I hope this has been educational & open some peoples eyes to the world of designer breeds, there are way more out there than the few I showed in this post. I do know that Doodles were originally breed to help the disabled due to the fur of some shedding breeds getting caught in their wheelchairs & the lady who originally breed them took great care in selecting for temperament & train-ability in the dogs she selected to breed. Sadly that is not the case for many “breeders of designer breeds” it is about profit & selling as many as they can, not education.
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Echoing Great Pet Care 