If you have ever asked a question about designer dogs or mentioned the name of a designer dog on Yahoo! Answers, you will quickly have very many people jump down your throat.
Why do designer dogs get such a reaction? Is there something wrong with designer dogs?
It is interesting to note that designer dogs were originally conceived by very reputable breeders who were trying to combine desirable genetic traits of different purebred dogs, as well to get rid of hereditary weaknesses.
The Labradoodle, for example, was bred to create a hypoallergenic guide dog.
Therefore, designer dogs are not automatically bad and there is nothing wrong with them as long as they are properly bred.
The same goes for purebred dogs, mutts, and indeed any dog. Dogs that are not properly bred may inherit genetic health issues or temperament issues that will lower their quality of life, make them harder to live with, and may ultimately cause them to get surrendered or euthanized.
There is now a backlash against designer dogs or hybrid dogs because they have become very popular and are now a big money making business.
This has attracted many unscrupulous breeders, including puppy mills and backyard breeders who are only in it to make money from us.
These puppy factories often keep their dogs in harsh and cruel conditions, and only use them as puppy producers.
They do not care to health test or temperament test their dogs. As a result, the puppies produced inherit the health and temperament issues of their parents. These puppies then turn up in pet stores or online stores.
Many people have spoken up against puppy mills including Oprah Winfrey, Cesar Millan, the ASPCA, and the American Humane Society.
Sadly, many soulless puppy salesmen are willing to write glowing online articles and reviews of these designer dogs, not once mentioning where they may come from, in the hopes that we will click on their buy-a-puppy advertisements.
Show them that their dirty tactics will not work on you.
- Do not get a new dog from a pet store or an online store.
- Leave a comment on their dirty tactic articles telling them exactly what you think of their soullessness.
- Boycott all their articles because if they are willing to sell you a sick puppy with mistreated parents, then they are willing to sell you anything.
Selling mutts for hundreds of dollars is unethical. They are not designer breeds. They are mongrels. A designer breed in my opinion would be a pure breed dog. Every pure breed was designed for a purpose. They have a history and a legacy. These so call mongrels are only bred for profit. There is nothing hybrid about two breeds being bred together. If that’s the case, then all domestic dogs are hybrid.
Shiba:
Your article says do not buy from pet stores or online stores. What do you mean by an online store and if not from these two sources, where should someone by a dog from?
I am putting together information about the Pomsky designer breed but am concerned about leading readers to unscrupulous breeders.
If I were interested in buying a designer or mixed breed dog, I would look up Club registered breeders for each of the breeds, and talk to them to see if they have any friends who are experimenting with cross breeding. The Husky breeders I have met know a lot about their breed, know a lot about dog breeding, and enjoy talking about their passion. They also keep in touch with other responsible breeders, and keep track of good stud dogs. š
Btw. if you are looking for a smaller Husky, the Alaskan Klee Kai may be a possible candidate.
I think petfinder is another great resource. I spent many hours on the site, going through pictures and descriptions, when I was looking for a second dog.
Shiba:
Thank you for taking a moment to respond. I only learned about that breed once I began doing research on the Pomsky. My understanding of the breed is that they can be a little skittish/have socialization issues and also that you can’t let them off a leash. I do plan on informing my readers about the Alaskan Klee and other alternatives. Because, frankly…there are not a lot of reputable Pomsky breeders that I am seeing on the net.
Yeah, that will be the case for the less mature breeds, because fewer breeders are involved. The temperament and ‘look’ will also evolve a lot more in the early stages.
Another possibility is to adopt an adult dog that is of our target breeds. In this way, the temperament of the dog will already be established.
I think it all depends on the breeders. Some are obviously in it for the money, whereas others do care about the designer breed. If possible try to visit the breeder’s facilities and talk to other customers. Do your due diligence and you will have a better chance of getting a good price, and a healthy dog.
Many purebreds have horrible genetic issues that “reputable” breeders keep within the breed to meet standards. Look at the Rhodesian Ridgeback for instance or how many germane Shepard can barely walk their legs are so malformed and yet they go on to win best in breed. Mutts tend to live longer and healthier lives because of their mixed genetics. Most of the purebred populations don’t have enough genetic variability within each breed to insure a stable and healthy line in the future.
Hmmm – very interesting point. It is certainly true that some dogs are specifically bred to have conforming characteristics that may be desirable to us in terms of appearance, but that may lead to health issues.
Should we breed dogs to achieve a certain look, if it also means that it may cause some health issues down the road?
Also, larger dogs tend to have shorter life-spans and are susceptible to issues such as bloat, hip issues, etc. – so does this mean we should only try to breed smaller dogs?
Very interesting questions.
1. The original labradoodle breeding program was scrapped when the breeder could NOT produce consistent coat and working ability in his pups to warrant the continuance of the program. The man have even ADMITTED he wishes he never started all of this just for one person. If you’re going to make a point in your article like that at least present the entire story and not just the parts that suits you.
2. They aren’t hybrids. Hybrids are the result of crossing species. All dogs are the same species. Cross breeding does nothing as far as genetic issues go when you cross breeds that share those problems or carry problems that only require one parent to be afflicted.
3. Yes there are bad breeders on BOTH sides. Which is why education of the dog buying population is key.
4. The number of BAD breeder has always outnumbered any possible ‘GOOD’ breeders breeding mixes. 80-90% of them do no health clearances at all let alone provide decent health guarantees.
5. The less than nice feelings towards “designer dogs” has ALWAYS been do to the fact there has never been a shortage of mutts, ever, available at one’s local shelter/rescue. Fact is anyone who spends more than what any shelter or rescue would charge for that same mutt needs their head examined.
6. 99% of mutt breeders are breeding just to capitalize on the current fad. They certainly aren’t doing it to produce new and better breeds or healthier animals. There are 400+ breed worldwide. Many of which are perfectly suitable for people with allergies and unlike mutts have a more consistent tract record.
Dear Kris,
Here is a passage from the Labradoodle page on Wikipedia together with reference articles –
I am no expert on Labradoodles and have not read any articles pertaining to what you describe. If you would provide some reputable links to such articles, I would love to read them and include them in the article.
Nevertheless, whether Labradoodles in particular were successful or unsuccessful does not negate the value of cross-breeding to combine genetic strengths or counter genetic weaknesses. After all, we have had much success with this in our current purebred dogs.
Now, if you are arguing that all types of breeding and indeed dog domestication in itself is undesirable, then that is a different, albeit still interesting discussion.
The term hybrid can be used to describe both inter and intra species breeding.
In any case, it does not matter to me which terms are used. That has little relevance to the discussion.
Purebred dogs were hybrids in the past. The problem is not with the cross-breeding of dogs but rather with bad breeding practices and lack of controls/laws around those practices. This has little to do with whether a dog is purebred, hybrid, mutt, or whatever term we choose to use.
As you say, education and positive communication are key. Shouting, personal attacks, and righteous condemnation are generally poor ways to convince others of a certain point of view.
I think there has been some sensationalized stories about puppy mills and the undesirable dogs they produce, but I think they are more the exception than the rule. When we purchased our little Teddy Bear pup (he is half Shih Tzu and half Bichon Frise) we visited quite a few breeders/brokers before we found Cooper. All the places we visited were clean and had a great environment for the dogs. The seller had a houseful of little kids so the puppies were very socialized. To this day Cooper stops dead in his tracks when he sees a little kid and all he wants to do is play.
You know what I find worse? The snobbery of dog owners who adopt from shelters or pure breed owners (like all dogs aren’t some kind of a hybrid going way back). There are a few bad apples out there, it’s too bad puppy breeders/brokers are painted with such a wide brush.
I guess if you don’t know how to properly train a puppy you can do the “noble” think and adopt a dog from a shelter that should probably be euthanized. Another crutch you can use is if you purchase a puppy and have no clue how to raise it, just do the popular thing that folks in our country do and claim victim status and say you we the victim of a puppy mill. That should get you some attention.
Hello Tony,
I think you did a really good job while looking for a puppy – which is to visit the individual breeders and to only buy from the ones that have a good environment.
I do not think that anybody here suggests that all hybrid dogs are badly bred. As I described above, there are badly bred purebred dogs as well. The key is to be careful in choosing a good breeder, and it seems that that is exactly what you have done.
Sadly, there are also many bad breeders (of hybrid, purebred, and whatever else dogs). If you buy a dog from the pet store or from an online store, then you really do not know what conditions these puppies grew up in. The Animal Cop shows on t.v. frequently show puppy mills that they visit – and it is a really sad situation. It is not just one or two, but many of them over multiple episodes.
I have also seen many online advertisements that talk about having several litters per week, and they are run by just two people. It is just not possible to keep dogs in good conditions and still achieve those types of numbers.
The way I think about it is as follows – If you truly cared about something you would want to make sure they had a good life. Therefore breeders who truly care about their dogs would want to see who they sold their puppies to (like the ones you bought Teddy Bear from), and as a result would not sell through pet stores or online stores.
It is not about purebred vs. hybrid, or adopted vs. hybrid. Rather, it is about visiting breeders and getting a ‘well-bred’ puppy from a responsible breeder – which is what you have done.
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Betty
Thanks for dropping by and leaving such a nice comment Betty. š Thanks for the link to the adoption information blog. There is a lot of good information there.
Obviously, as a country and probably most likely as states, our priority is not in doing what you guys are talking about. Money talks and if we as a nation or even as individual states decided to care and do something then we would be fully funding programs and procedures to keep dogs from needlessly being slaughtered and to keep disgusting disreputable puppy mills and breeders from operating. The Humane Society in my state of Arizona does an excellent job and has a show called Pets on Parade to get the word out about adorable and lovable animals waiting to adopted. They show the dogs, cats, and sometimes rabbits and rodents. They have handlers who know the animals well tell the audience about the personalities of the animals. The county pound is disgusting smells horrible and looks grim. I’m surprised that there are even the few people I’ve see in their looking for pets.
Margot –
I’ve watched the Phoenix Animal Cops show on Animal Planet and they have shown on several episodes a real sad lack of understanding of dog behavior, goading stressed animals into failing incompetently performed ‘behavior tests’ and then killing them. I’ve been stunned to see how utterly unqualified people can be called ‘experts’ on animal behavior, watching them set up an animal to fail and then doing everything possible to ensure that the animal indeed does fail. Some of the field agents are every bit as unable to interpret dog behaviors as the people in the headquarters. I end up yelling at my TV in astonishment sometimes when I watch this show. That you say the place looks grim does not surprise me, but it does disappoint me greatly. Money is not the problem, however. Better shelter management, including hugely better staff training, would actually cost less when all is said and done, not more, as explained in the article whose link I included in my last comment above. Simple enforcement of existing animal abuse laws by judges and prosecutors, easily applied to puppy mills, should be able to cover its own cost just from the maximum-allowed fines handed down as part of sentencing of those convicted, and once fully prosecuted would effectively discourage other puppy mills from opening up.
Hello Margot & Calmassertiv,
Yeah the Humane Society and SPCA are a lot better here as well. The SPCA that I used to visit was pretty well-funded and they also have a no-kill policy. However, as a result, they cannot accept all the dogs that come their way.
Yeah I would really support this. I think existing animal abuse laws are insufficient though. For example in that Cesar puppy mill episode, they went to visit a puppy mill that was certainly not humane, but yet, they were following all of the laws. I think this is often the case with these puppy mills. The neglect laws just require that they feed, water, shelter the dogs and not much else. It is sad that the animal rescue groups practically have to beg those puppy mill folks to give up some of their dogs.
Puppy mills should be illegal but as Margot mentioned, there is currently not enough power behind that movement, and too much money involved. I think the more we write about puppy mills and spread the word online, the more people will know about pet stores and puppy mills, and stop buying from them. This will definitely help reduce their numbers.
I am definitely planning to write and write and write about this. Am also doing research on other things that we can do now to fight puppy mills.
I see lots of episodes of the different Animal-Cops type shows that have their staff take posession of animals and prosecute the animals’ owners both on the basis of the owners’ failure to provide medical care for a needy animal. Puppy mills, including the one shown on the Dog Whisperer show, are replete with sick, diseased, malformed and malnourished occupants, easy examples of violations of even the most lax laws covering animal abuse. These places don’t survive because they are barely Meeting the minimum legal requirements, they survive because in spite of clearly Violating the minimul legal requirements they are not prosecuted. Agriculture-department inspection regulations and existing local animal-cruelty ordinances simply need to be enforced. A focus on changes to the law allows those already not enforcing existing law to continue to not enforce it, and does nothing to address either their current lack of enforcement or the probably future lack of enforcement of any future changes. Just like cops ignoring domestic violence complaints as ‘a family matter’, and like cops treating complaints against owners of incessantly-barking dogs as ‘a neighbor problem’, and like all the bogus weight-loss-pill commercials you see on TV that go unprosecuted for obvious fraud, and so on, and so on, the problem isn’t that the act is illegal, the problem is that those charged with enforcing the law don’t feel the need or any political pressure to do their jobs. If you want to get rid of puppy mills, don’t waste your energy dealing with lawmakers. Try motivating the SPCA’s and Humane Societies throughout the country to be less cozy and more adversarial in their approach to this issue with the cops and prosecutors, since in all probability they already know of a large number of these places but aren’t making the public stink regarding them that they could if they wanted. Putting your energy into changes to the existing law likely doesn’t worry breeding operations anywhere near as much as would an effort to alter the tolerant mindset of the already-existing enforcement agencies. I do agree with you that any publicity is bad publicity for these places, and would love to see the shelters take a more vocal position on the subject. Sadly, the shelters themselves kill so many dogs that their hands aren’t entirely clean on the subject themselves. Perhaps this is why they don’t take a more publicly aggressive stand, since a trip to their loud, smelly neurosis-filled places can often be just slightly less depressing than a trip to the mills.
One reason people might go to a puppy store (puppymill store) or private breeder (puppymill backyard) is the poor marketing skills of
the shelter industry. Many are closed on holidays, closed evenings, closed even on some weekends, all times people looking for a new
furry friend may decide to go check things out. Then if you do show up
when the place is open they put you thru a qualification wringer to make sure you are ‘qualified’, and if you fail you don’t get a pet. Imagine if human hospitals put parents thru the same screening, how many babies would the hospital not send home with their unqualified parents, sending them instead to baby kennels (orphanages) which, when they ran out of room, would begin to euthanize the ‘unadoptable’ babies. In this age of the internet these shelters have no up-to-date websites showing off all their currently-available
animals. If you want to register for an e-mail notification when a shelter gets an animal whose breed, age, etc match what you want, there is no such thing — you have to visit and revisit and revisit the
place, instead of just watching online or waiting for an e-mail for the doggy of your dreams.
All dogs are hybrids. All dogs are designer dogs. There were no dogs until someone decided to start creating them by selective breeding. Every mutt is a hybrid. To me the idea of a ‘reputable’ breeder is an oxymoron — with millions of dogs being killed in the US each year, every ‘breeder’ dog adopted means another shelter dog killed. No breeder, be it backyard or puppymill, who puts some poor bitch thru the perils and pains of human-induced pregnancy has concern for their animal as their top priority. Nice old ladies who make dogs produce purebred puppies in their lavish homes are only slightly better human beings than the mean old ladies who produce puppies in their trailer-trash backyard kennels. In effect both of these groups are increasing the population of animals destined for eventual slaughter.
That’s a little harsh, saying that the idea of a reputable breeder is an oxymoron. To me, you need these reputable breeders to keep the breed standard alive. Imagine if you no longer had any German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Chihuahuas, Shiba Inus, and everything was just a mutt. It certainly wouldn’t be the end of the world, but what took our ancestors years of refining would be lost.
Hello Calmassertive,
Those are some good suggestions you made with respect to shelters. The SPCA I used to visit was closed a fair number of days. They told me that it was due mainly to lack of funds.
As for the qualification process, I see what you mean. The solution I think is to make *everyone* go through this process whether they are buying or adopting a dog. This will ensure that most dogs go to appropriate homes so that there will be fewer strays and surrenders. I truly believe there should be better controls at the breeding and sale of dogs level.
I definitely agree with you that people who adopt dogs and save dog lives are truly special indeed. However, dogs are a lot of work and a big commitment. I think the most important thing is for someone to get a dog that is truly what they want and fits their lifestyle. If they truly want a purebred, then they should be able to get one. If they want a hybrid dog they should be able to get one as well – they just have to be careful to get one from a reputable breeder.
There is also a BIG difference between reputable breeders and puppy mill/backyard breeders. Reputable breeders treat their dogs well and do not keep them caged and breeding all of the time. At most they may breed a female once every few years and they usually only breed a small number of litters from any single female. Reputable breeders are careful to breed puppies that are balanced temperament wise and are very healthy genetically. Truly reputable breeders have a return policy where they will always take back their dogs if you no longer want them. Reputable breeders are also extremely careful about who they sell their puppies to. Their ‘qualification wringer’ is much more extensive then the one in shelters. š
As a result, I think that most of the dogs that make it to the shelters or become strays are not from reputable breeders but are rather from puppy mills and backyard breeders.
Hello calmassertive,
I read through all three links and now have better context of what you’re talking about here.
The statistics of the Santa Clara ACC were particularly disturbing given that they euthanize half of their dogs, and it is probably similar in other shelters as well. I think the issue is one of funding and having to take in too many dogs and cats.
The article on adoptions being denied is also unfortunate but there must be some rules with regards to adopting dogs, or else, the dogs will just end up being surrendered again. However, people should evaluate things on a case by case basis and use the rules more as guidelines rather than following the rules blindly.
I truly believe that the solution to the overpopulation issue is better controls at the breeding and selling level. If they would only make puppy mills illegal, I think, that would go a long way towards cutting down the number of shelter dogs.
I also think it is sad that some people will do anything to make a quick buck or even just some quick cents. Writing reviews about dogs, and then not mentioning puppy mills is being irresponsible to the n-th degree.
You really should write an article on this. There are many interesting things to say …
Shibashake,
Maybe one day I’ll write an article, but for now I’m still in research mode. Mix one part lazy, one part backseat driver, one part armchair quarterback and one part tired of banging my head against the wall and
you get it’s just easier for me to run a few select sentences up your shiba flagpole than to build a whole new one of my own. Maybe one of these days… š
In the interim, I did find what I think is a Brilliant article on the subject of how shelters can improve their results, authored by someone who was part of an outstanding example of a shelter turnaround. I really couldn’t have written a better article myself…
http://topdogblog1.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-find-homes-for-hard-to-place.html
My issue with “designer dogs” is the fact that people are just taking well-established breeds and combining them to see what they get out of it. I have no issue with new breeds being developed if there is no current breed of dog that can satisfy the requirement of the task. Labradoodles/Goldendoodles originally started out with great intentions- to create a hypoallergenic family dog that could also serve as a therapy dog due to the normally well-balanced nature of Labradors/Golden Retrievers, the Poodle’s high intelligent and hypoallergenic coat, and the adaptability, trainability, and versatility of all the breeds. And if the breeding of these dogs to create a new “breed”was carefully monitored, unfavorable dogs desexed in order to more finely hone in on the desired traits (as was done originally with dog breeding), testing for various genetic conditions occurred ROUTINELY, other breeds of dog were considered to be mixed into the pool to further progress this “breed”, and you could prove to me that there really was no alternative to creating a new breed of dog, I would fully support this. It is what has been happening for generations to create all of the recognized dog breeds we had today.
However, while this may be the case for some breeders, it certainly isn’t the case for all and has opened the floodgates for backyard breeders, puppy mills, and the creation of other new “breeds”, which is unregulated and is resulting in an overabundance of dogs who’s purpose could be fulfilled by an already established breed or perhaps by an “unwanted” shelter dog. Instead, people have ready access to a variety of crossbred dogs, often sold for outrageous prices, all while hearing horrible rumors about how they shouldn’t adopt from shelters because the dogs are “unstable” and “they won’t find what they’re looking for” and other such lies.
I am all for innovation and progression, we wouldn’t have anything we have today without it (and this goes beyond just dog breeds!), but designer dogs are not innovative or progressive. They are literally just a combination of dogs people think will mix well, or produce cute puppies, or just intact dogs people have access to that they breed together. And it’s a shame it is this way because I’m certain there are breeders out there who are working hard to create new breeds of dogs that serve a purpose, and people that raise sled dogs, hunting dogs, working dogs, etc., that know the traits they want, are responsible with breeding, and are creating wonderful stock that suits the exact purpose they were intended for, but they are overshadowed by puppy mills and backyard breeders. But unless you are one of those people, don’t breed your dogs. And if you’re looking to get a dog, go to a shelter, go to a responsible breeder if you want a purebred puppy (or a breed-specific shelter, you’d be surprised by what you can find!). And if you want a dog for a specific purpose and just can’t find a breed that meets that, don’t immediately turn to a designer dog. Search the shelters, petfinder.com is a wonderful resource, chances are you will find exactly what you’re looking for if you go in with the right attitude. And if you don’t want to go the shelter route, at least talk to reputable breeders to see if there is someone out there who is innovative, progressive, and responsible and is breeding high-quality crossbred dogs that may suit your needs.
Do your research. Realize that the “perfect dog” isn’t going to descend from the heavens and land on your lap. Be open-minded. Don’t turn away from shelters. Don’t be “ashamed” to buy a purebred dog from a responsible breeder if you can’t find the right shelter dog (and this is coming from a “don’t shop, adopt” activist! I realize that sometimes people want a purebred dog that has been health-checked, socialize, and who’s lineage can be traced back generations, and that’s okay!).
On another note, pity the pet store puppies. A lot of them have it worse than shelter dogs. It’s a horrible line to walk- not wanting to support backyard breeders and not wanting these innocent puppies to suffer. I can’t give any advice on this topic because I honestly don’t know what the right answer is here. It’s easy to advocate “don’t buy from pet stores, you’re supporting irresponsible breeding” and while I 100% believe that, I can’t go around preaching it because what happens to those puppies that are already there? They need rescuing just as much as any shelter dog, but yet buying them supports putting more puppies into their condition. Pet stores should just not be able to sell puppies that aren’t from reputable breeders, plain and simple, but until that happens, I just don’t know what to do with the puppies already in their care and it breaks my heart to see their sad little faces with their huge pricetags that serve only to support putting more puppies in their place once they’re sold.