Exploring the Cons of Designer Dogs?

[pennysavior2002]

The major con of designer dogs is the price. Most designer dogs cost upwards of $700, whereas many purebred dogs begin at $250. (Of course, mixed breed dogs are widely available for adoption, typically at prices set by rescue groups or animal shelters.)Although each designer dog was bred for specific appearance and traits, there's a good chance that some or all of them will not develop in the offspring. Mixing breeds is chancy, because the outcome is not absolute. Although purebred dog offspring will always mature to appear like the parent dogs, the hybrid offspring may appear more like one parent than the other, or have a personality more like one parent than the other. So, although you might be searching for a small Yorkipoo, the pup might grow up to be the size of a large Yorkshire Terrier instead of a Teacup Poodle.As much as the breeders of designer dogs claim that mixing two breeds improves the offspring's overall health, that presumption is debatable. Although many of the puppies don't show symptoms of the recessive genetic dysfunctions commonly seen in purebred dogs, many other puppies do. In fact, a hybrid puppy can have the poor luck to inherit the worst physical and temperament traits of both parents.Why do people buy into the DESIGNER DOG crap? It's so much better to go down to your local animal shelter and adopt a dog from there. The majority of the dogs are mixed breeds anyhow just like designer dogs.

[nodesignerdogs4me]

shelters have purebreds and mixed breeds. 1/4 of the dog dog euthanized every year are purebred healthy dogs. you have a good point. I would like to say that buiying a purebred for 250$ would be most likely buying from a byb.

[Nettik]

I've never understood it. Yes, some designer dogs are cute, but most are not to me.I'd also like to mention that most "designer dogs" are created by crossing less-than-perfect examples of the purebreds, often full of genetic health problems which the offspring often inherit.Then, there are just irresponsible and dangerous crosses, such as tiny dog to giant dog...If you buy a designer dog, you are not getting a dog that you'll be able to have an idea of the personality with. You probably won't have a certified health dog. You'll probably be buying a dog for HUGE money when you can get the same dog for a much lower price at your shelter, and save a life!

[sunbutterfly8]

yeah its crazy but people will pay alot for designer dogs when they can go to the shelter and get one for less money and be saving a life at the same time. However I do not know where you are finding purebreds for $250.00 that's usually just the deposit fee so the puppy is held for you.

[possumdes]

Fashion, status and the desire to be different. Over the years different breeds of dog have come and gone as fashion statements. Of course when a particular breed is trendy its a kind of status symbol to have, a kind of perverse means of fitting in and being one of the "In crowd". Many such people arnt short of money either so a big price tag to them is just another status symbol, another means of trying to get one up on other people for many its a case of the bigger the price Tag the better and who cares what the dog looks like. In the past such people frowned on mutts saying that they are too unpredictable in looks etc- the truth generally is that they are too cheap... "too common" as one person once told me. So having worked their way through probably every breed known to exist, some inventative person used some real "spin" to pass off their cross breeds as made to order, designed to meet specific needs or have specific traits not found in any one breed. They did a really good job of passing off their mutts as some sort of deliberate proven wonder dog incorporating the "best of both breeds" (Hmmm what about the possibility of incorporating the worst of both breeds?) "Designer dogs" are just another fad, a money making machine for some, and a con for the gullible. I prefer mutts, my current is cross bred from the shelter but I have always had purpose bred cross breeds (designed to be better hunters) but they were still "mutts". Hmmm maybe I should get into breeding elite "Spounds, Bounds, Haniels, Grewlfs and Jox's" to name but a few. Maybe I could even get Jox Box in the one go!Might sound silly but thats exactly what I think of the Designer Dog world.. a lot of silly nonsense!

[Jacqueline C]

The hot fashion news in the dog world this year is designer genes: So-called "designer dogs" are mixes of purebred parents with cutesy names: labradoodles (Labrador retriever-poodle mix), puggles (pug-beagle), schnoodles (schnauzer-poodle).These mixes don't come cheap. Some fetch as much as $2,000 for a puppy -- often twice as much as their purebred parents. The reality isn't that simple. The truth is a mix of science, hype, mythology, genetics -- and the luck of the draw.The truth and hype about hybrid vigor: The argument in favor of mixed breeds is that they have "hybrid vigor" and are healthier than purebreds. That's true. Sometimes. Maybe. Until the second generation.There are some diseases created by a recessive gene. In some cases, these recessive genes are limited to certain dog breeds. It takes parents with both genes for that genetic problem to express itself. Cross two different breeds and their offspring can't have those breed-specific problems. So, the puppies from a Labrador-poodle cross won't have the poodle genetic problems or the Labrador problems.Sounds perfect, right? Not so fast, say the experts. "Crossing two different breeds masks recessive traits during the first generation, but in the second generation of designer dogs the negative genes reappear with a vengeance," said Patti Strand of Portland. Strand is on the board of directors of the American Kennel Club, and bred the Dalmatian that won the Non-Sporting group at this year's Westminster Kennel Club dog show.In the example of labradoodles, the dogs can carry disease genes for both poodles and Labradors, meaning both sets of diseases could show up in the next generation. "The one thing about a mix, you may be able to cover up recessive genes," said veterinarian Ray Calkins. Increasingly, he said, there are genetic tests for finding problems in purebred dogs. But "the test that works for the Labrador may not work in the labradoodle." Problems such as hip dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy (which causes blindness) and a tendency toward allergies are common in most of the breeds that are being crossed for designer dogs. When breeders screen their breeding stock to produce healthier puppies, problems are less likely to crop up. But problems like hip dysplasia and progressive retinal atrophy rarely show symptoms until the dog is into adulthood, so those raising designer dogs in puppy mills may not be checking the long-term health of the offspring, which means the recessive genes aren't necessarily getting weeded out. "If you start with bad genes, you will end up with bad genes," said Calkins, whose Wilsonville Veterinary Clinic works with many dog breeders in Oregon and Washington on reproductive issues. Calkins says that there are some labradoodle breeders, for example, who are working conscientiously to breed healthy dogs. They are doing all the appropriate tests, such as checking for hip dysplasia, eye disease and heart disease. That kind of responsible breeding -- whether it's a designer mix or a purebred -- leads to healthy puppies. Designing for performance: Let's face it: all purebred dog breeds started out as mixes. Doberman pinschers were a designer dog created from several breeds (including Rottweilers and some terriers) in Germany at the turn of the last century. Around the same time, Americans were developing the Boston terrier, starting with the mix of bulldogs and terriers. Even ancient breeds were selectively created at some time by humans who were crossing the best hunting dogs or the best herding dogs. That same kind of creative breeding is going on today. But are they breeds? Designer mixes are often called breeds but that's not accurate -- at least yet.A breed is a group of dogs that have been selectively bred to predictably possess and produce certain characteristics, such as speed, size, temperament, performance ability or appearance. It takes generations of selective breeding to produce healthy dogs that breed true to type. While the hype is that these mixes are the "best of both worlds," the truth is that the combinations are still unpredictable. Some labradoodles have soft, wooly coats, others have wiry ones. And their temperaments are just as mixed. Some have the sweetness of a Labrador combined with the cleverness of a poodle. Others have the high need for mental activity of a poodle inside a big Labrador body with that powerful tail that can wipe everything off a table."Sometimes you get the worst of both worlds," said Calkins. Helfer, who is a veterinarian, says that she thinks of the breeders of designer mixes are in two camps: the "good guys" who are breeding for specific purposes, and "bad guys" who are selling a commodity (the all-too familiar puppy mills). Too often, the hype around designer dogs is about making money. In fact, labradoodles and goldendoodles in particular are often sold as money-making ventures."People see that these dogs sell for huge amounts of money and think they're going to make a lot of money selling puppies," says Calkins. It's too early to know which of these designer dogs will be passing fads -- and which, like Doberman pinschers and Boston terriers, will be respected and popular breeds 100 years from now. Advice to potential future dog owners: Explore your options. Do your research not only about the type of breed you are interested in, but the facility where you are thinking about buying from -- be certain that they are not a puppymill middle man. Puppymills are deplorable with no respect at all to life.

[a gal and her dog]

I agree with you fully. People are being told what every dog owner already knows: this particular animal is something special. My dogs are pound puppies - mutts from the shelter - and I can tell you they're definitely something special. I don't need compliments at the dog park to tell me that they're good dogs. People are indeed under the misconception that hybrid dogs are without their problems. My mutts seem to be pretty healthy, but so are many well-bred purebreds.