When say, 'I'd like a toy poodle,' why do people feel compelled to respond with...

[GeorgianMumto5]

'Why don't you get a labradoodle?'

I'm reduced to, 'Because I want a toy poodle,' having lost the will to list the reasons.

Am I missing something? Are labradoodles infinitely superior? They're bigger and hairier than toy poodles. Also, they are not toy poodles.

The Pavlovian response (how apt!) has been puzzling me, that's all.

[Doodledumdums]

Well...being the owner of a gorgeous chocolate brown labradoodle...I guess I am slightly bias when I say that yes, labradoodles are infinitely superior, not just to toy poodles, but to every sort of dog!

In all seriousness though, that is a very odd response, labradoodles certainly aren't toy poodles! My doodle weighs 48kg...which is vastly different to any toy poodle i'd imagine! As much as I love labradoodles, my aunt has three miniature poodles, and they are cute as buttons, and all of the toy poodles I have come across have been lovely too!

Having said that...you can now get miniature labradoodles....may I suggest that as an option??!

[midori1999]

I'm with you OP. I'd quite like a miniature/toy poodle one day and if anyone said that to me I might spontaneously combust! Why not say 'I want a pedigree dog, not an extortionately expensive crosbreed'?

I think people don't really know much about poodles though, such as they don't have to be show clipped, look very different in a puppy clip and were actually working dogs originally.

[Callisto]

Just respond: 'Because I want a pedigree small dog, not a huge mongrel'.

There are a couple of toy poodles around here and my step-granny had one. I really like them, as long as they are clipped properly and not in some weird show dog way.

[Callisto]

Also meant to say, Step-granny's dog was really lovely, had a fab temperament and didn't shed at all.

[ithaka]

Oooh, I'd love a toy poodle -or a miniature. There was a lovely wee white poodle did the mini agility at Crufts this year, it looked like a cracking little dog.

A labradoodle is a completely different beast. I don't like/want a big dog. If you say you want a toy poodle, you obviously want a small dog.

[ifancyashandy]

Oh, I love ALL size of Poodle! Fabulous temperament, friendly but not needy, very affectionate, very responsive to training and just the loveliest dogs! But yes yes to non-show clippings. Ours looked a bit like one of those 'dogs on wheels' toys. I miss her still, 2 years and another dog on.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

I compromised with ex-H and had a cockerpoo, but next time will be poodle. They are super dogs full of fun. I am lucky my cockerpoo is very poodlish. As a vet I have meet severally slightly labradoddles and lots of totally nutty ones.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Sorry slightly dubious labradoddles.

[GeorgianMumto5]

Love the responses. Dh wouldn't believe me when I said a cockerpoo was a real dog. Mind you, I had just been trying to persuade him that a shih-tsu poodle cross was called a shitpoo, so you can't blame him.

[RememberingMyPFEs]

at ShitPoo

[JollyPurpleGiant]

My folks have a Standard Poodle who is lovely. I am allergic to him, but nobody else seems to be. He's certainly not boring.

[MrsClown1]

Thank you OP for giving me the chance to tell my tale!

Just over 2 years ago we acquired a 10 year old toy poodle. My previous dog was a border collie who passed away 17 years ago so I had not had a dog for a long time, though I have always had cats. Anyway, before I carry on I must say if anyone had asked me what kind of dog I would like poodle would have never been on the list! My mind is well and truly changed. My poodle Sam is amazing. He is full of fun, personality and love. Because he had not been exercised very often I took him to a socialisation class and the guy who ran it said he would never have a poodle and when I asked why he said 'because they are more intelligent than anything'. He was so right. I have no regrets and am totally converted to poodles. I just love Sam to bits, and so does everyone else!

OP - I dont know where you are based but when you get another one please consider Poodles In Need. It is run by a lady in Mablethorpe, Lincs and she has a lovely web site.

[mrslaughan]

Honestly I don't understand the attraction of laboradoodles...... I know everyone loves there pooch, but every labradoodle and cockpoodle I have meet have been lovely in the friendly and not aggressive way - but seemed quite stupid and really badly behaved....... In a hyper way.......
I thought the attraction was because they were non-shedding , but that is very hit or miss.

[Callisto]

The attraction for many is the stupid name and the label 'designer dog' as far as I can see.

[Doodledumdums]

All dog 'breeds' have fairly stupid names in reality, regardless of whether they are pedigree or not. The name labradoodle is no more ridiculous than the name labrador, and I am fairly confident in saying that no one choses a dog because of the stupid name. Owners of labradoodles/cockerpoos etc are well aware that our dogs are cross breeds/mongrels, and the name labradoodle is just a quick way of saying that we have a labrador poodle cross.

I don't understand the term 'designer dog?' How are cross breeds any more designer than pedigrees? They are all dogs! Just because the kennel club dictate that a certain catalogue of dogs are worthy of being pedigree, doesn't mean that labradoodles are overpriced mongrels. People.would happily pay £700 for a labrador, so why would you expect to pay a fraction of the price for a labrador poodle cross, just because the kennel club haven't authorised it? The kennel club don't view any of the dogs that they give out registration papers for anyway, so a pedigree with papers imho is no guarantee of anything that makes them justifiably worth any more money than any other dog.

I used to work in a veterinary hospital, and I can honestly say that my labradoodle is healthier, more friendly and more well behaved than an awful lot of 'pedigree' dogs that I encountered.

Sorry to go off topic! I love poodles of all sizes, in fact I love all dogs, but I have been told quite a lot recently that I have overpaid for a mongrel because of the designer dog craze, but I don't really understand it! I'd pay quadruple what I paid for my dog if it meant I got a dog as lovely as him again!

[Callisto]

Labradors are called Labradors because they originated in Labrador in Canada. Jack Russells were developed by a Mr Russell. Cairns are so named as they were bred to hunt rats out of cairns in the Scottish highlands, etc, etc. However, cockerpoo, shnoodle, puggle and all the rest of the 'cutesy' names for these vastly over-priced cross breeds were specifically thought up as a marketing ploy as was the term 'designer dog'. Unfortunately there are lots of people who think 'I want a labradoodle/cockerpoo/jackapoo' and will spend £££ on a completely unsuitable dog without thinking beyond the name. Rescues are overstretched as it is without breeding loads more mongrels. And if you want a mongrel just go to a bloody rescue where you will find all sorts of daffies, greyjacks, yorkiepies and any other variation you might desire.

[Doodledumdums]

What makes them 'vastly overpriced?' What makes a labrador worth so much more money than a labradoodle?

Rescue centres are fit to burst with pedigrees just as much as crossbreeds and mongrels. The so called 'designer dog' breeders are just as responsible as pedigree breeders. I have a greyhound and a cairn terrier which I got from rescue centres, but yes, I did pay for my labradoodle, and as I said before, I would pay quadruple what I paid for him again.

Actually, if you look at the history of why the labradoodle was first bred, it was nothing to do with a marketing ploy, they were bred in Australia as hypo-allergenic service dogs, which is a pretty worthy cause i'd say.

To be honest, I think the breed of the dog is irrelevant to the price entirely. The most important thing is responsible breeders who are breeding healthy puppies from parents who are routinely health tested, and that the breeders track exactly where their puppies end up so that none end up in rescue centres.

[Floralnomad]

Whatever you say doodle you will never convince most people that a X breed is worth spending hundreds of pounds on . When you buy a pedigree you are paying for just that and also the history ,blood lines ,health checks etc. Most of the 'designer' X do not have these checks ( please note I said most) also if you pay for for a Westie you get a Westie ,if you buy a X there is really no guarantee about size/ shape/ coat type .if it suits you then that's fine ,I'm sure your dog is lovely but equally you could have gone to a rescue and had an equally lovely dog ,paid a lot less and had the same sort of guarantees about health / size / coat type .

[Doodledumdums]

The kennel club hand out pedigree papers left right and centre and do not even see the dogs they are verifying! You THINK you are paying hundreds of pounds for a healthy pedigree, but papers are absolutely no guarantee of that. Yes, SOME pedigree breeders do things properly, but so do a lot of cross breed breeders!

When you have assisted with post mortems on shar-pei puppies which have died as a result of breathing difficulties, and cavelier spaniels with syringomyaelia, all of which have pedigree papers- then it makes some cross breeds a very sensible idea.

I have two rescue pedigrees and one cross breed which I paid for, and out of the three of them, insurance is lowest for the cross breed, and he has by far been the healthiest and easiest to train out of the three.

[Floralnomad]

I agree but if you are paying loads of money surely you check that the breeder is doing things properly ? BTW I'm not being sneery about X breeds , I have a Patterdale X ,but sadly lots of people do buy for the 'designer name' because that's how fads work . Also that's why cockapoo owners and labradoodle owners say that's what they own as opposed to saying they own a Labrador X or a spaniel X . It's also why springer X Cockers are known as sprockers not Cocksprings . Sadly a lot of people also believe that these dogs are pedigree ,as can be seen from previous threads on here .

[Callisto]

Any dog is vastly overpriced compared to a rescue, and yes I do judge people who have bought the latest thing, whether it is a coloured horse they can't handle, or a stupidly named dog type they know nothing about or a meerkat/chinchilla because they are cute.

And I can't see why your lab x is of so much more intrinsic value than your grey or your cairn, and so much more financial value that you would pay four times as much to get the same. Such a bizarre attitude and I feel rather sorry for your 'lesser' dogs.