Dog breeds are now a Middle Class indicator?

[Brightonbabe5]

Or at least in my dcs school (private). We thought it was bad in September with all the new puppies on the school run... Mostly the same breeds poodle crosses (cockapoos, labradoodles) bichon friese crosses (cavachons, cavapoos etc)... Insta tells me Christmas has brought a whole new pack of fluffy things.
I said this during the lockdown that these particular breeds are now a status symbol & the new MC accessory. Although DH claims a land-rover is also needed to transport the fluffy dog. Friends agree they are also as these breeds tend to be non shed & hypoallergenic...
DC also want one in the worst way😢 We're refusing based on the fact that we don't want a dog type that's considered a status symbol in our area & they cost a bloody fortune.... They are irrestible though with gorgeous temperaments but out of our range unfortunately

www.bidtosaveastray.com/

www.barkingmaddogrescue.co.uk/

spanishstraydogs.org.uk/

to list just a few.

I think one possible real advantage of the poo breeds is greater genetic diversity, hybrid vigour and potentially less health problems and longer lifespan.

That of course still depends on the breeders being very careful with the lineage and the history of both parents they choose to breed from and looking at the coefficient of inbreeding.

I've got a cocker spaniel because I love the breed but I deliberately chose one where one parent was from show lines and the other was from working lines for hybrid vigour reasons.

They're incredibly popular round here too, which is a 'naice' area. Like a PP, towards the end of primary school is when they tend to be acquired.

In the owners' defence, I would say that the poo-cross owners I know tend to be very, very happy with their dogs.

I'm still a cat person.

Or it might be a poodle with a lamb cut.

People don’t buy them as a status symbol, they buy them because they are great family dogs that fit in with the modern way of life. Small, low shedding, easy to train, medium exercise, not strong, suitable around children etc.

They're not, though? I know more cockerpoos than I can shake a stick at - they're all utterly hyper because spaniel, and few get enough exercise/stimulation. Two that barkandbarkandbarkandBARK and whose owners seem to have no idea that you should, y'know, train them out of doing that... poor neighbours.

It is true in a way - our park in a middle class area of a city is awash with them now however if it was a dog I truly wanted i wouldn't let it stop me. I don't actually know any actual posh/country people that have one though. Most of those still have labs or terriers.

Such snobbery on this thread!!!

I was under the impression French bulldogs are now the “in” breed, they seem to be all I see I haven’t seen a “poo” cross on my walks for a long time.

As long as the dogs are happy and healthy and responsibly sourced then why do people have such an interest in what breed suits a family?

It’s so yawnsville when people say “get a rescue”.

Rescue are mostly closed at the moment. And all they have is elderly, unwell, or pit bull-type dogs. I know - I have tried flippin’ everywhere!!

If someone loves their dog and treats it properly - then crack on, no matter what the breed. So what if it’s “trendy”. An “approved” dog, eg black lab, is becoming very trendy. What do you do? Dump it because lower middle class people have cottoned on?

I only judge disgusting people who get the latest breed and then trade it in for the next one. You see this all the time in Italy. One year it’s huskies, and then a year or two later their kids want a French bulldog so the husky is abandoned.

@bluebluezoo

Friends agree they are also as these breeds tend to be non shed & hypoallergenic..

Not true. The parent breeds, poodles, yorkies and the like, are non shedding and less likely to trigger allergies.

Cross it with a normal coated dog though and it reduces the chances if the dog having that type of coat massively- it’s usually some sort of mix-part shedding, part not, which can cause huge grooming issues.

If you want non-shedding and hypoallergenic, get a poodle. Imo the only reason people get poo’s is because a lack if understanding of genetics, and because of some preconception about poodles being french wanky dogs with pom poms.

Get a poodle. Cheaper, more stability of breed traits, less likely to be from a puppy farm, and nobody can tell the difference between a poodle and a cockerpoo/labradoodle etc when they have the same haircut.

100% agree. I'm a dog groomer and just last week had a labradoodle in that shed a ridiculous amount, the salon was covered in hair! Also had cockapoos that are just exactly like cocker spaniels. You never know what you're buying with these cross breeds, much better going for a poodle if that's the type of coat you're wanting

Yes but those who are saying it's true because they live in a middle class area and see them a lot in the parks....

How often do you walk around the parks in working class or poverty stricken areas?

If you do, I can guarantee you'll see exactly the same sort of dogs.

They're in 'fashion' everywhere at the moment.

IMO cockapoo/cavachon/maltipoo etc are all dogs for people who think they want a dog but actually don’t. If you want a dog, then hair and mess are always going to be part of it.
It’s also increasingly difficult to find any of these puppies from a reputable breeder. Check out the Facebook group “Raffles have your say” which is about a breeder which most thought was very reputable and has now been exposed as a huge puppy farm.

Rescue dogs are the real status symbol but some of them are pedigrees for various reasons - such as owners died etc.

aint no snob like a dog snob.

id say most poodle xowners are very happy with their dogs and provide their dogs with very happy homes.

but they are still rotten working and lower middle class people urgh.

@YoniAndGuy

People don’t buy them as a status symbol, they buy them because they are great family dogs that fit in with the modern way of life. Small, low shedding, easy to train, medium exercise, not strong, suitable around children etc.

They're not, though? I know more cockerpoos than I can shake a stick at - they're all utterly hyper because spaniel, and few get enough exercise/stimulation. Two that barkandbarkandbarkandBARK and whose owners seem to have no idea that you should, y'know, train them out of doing that... poor neighbours.

This. A relative of ours has a cockerpoo and it's so annoying to be around. It lunges at you while mouthing, barks all the time and is generally just a nuisance. They never play with it so it is driving itself mad for attention so it does things like biting, barking and acting up to get it. I feel sorry for it, but I also don't like them as a crossbreed. I don't think they look cute, they have a multitude of health problems because they're being churned out quickly to make the breeders thousands of £'s and I don't like their temperament. They can vary in height, they do shed and some are suitable around children, but I've known more than a handful that have gone for children unprovoked. A crossbreed that shouldn't exist imo.

I’ve got a retired greyhound and a lurcher so am about as close to peasant as it’s possible to get, according to that parameter!

I very much recommend sighthounds by the way. They are very sleepy and dozy in the house and don’t shed much or smell too bad due to their thin, short coats.

Greyhounds don’t generally bark much and they are super cuddly and loving. Get one under the age of 2 or so and they can often happily live with cats. Loads in rescues (they are overbred for the race industry), just be open minded and let the rescue suggest dogs who’ll fit your individual family rather than pick a dog on looks and hope it fits!

I don’t have a dog but every second one you see out and about being walked seems to be a cocker/cava poo around here. Loads of people I know have them as well.

@YoniAndGuy

I think more complete herd mentality than anything else.

Honestly seeing someone with the ubiquitous cockerpoo just says to me 'This person knows nothing about dogs and isn't interested in finding out' = they've simply looked at the fluffy dog next door have got and tohught 'Oh amazing, we want one of those'. the end.

just Fluffy Dog.

Yup. Dogs are the latest thing to have, and they have to be cute and photogenic for FB and be easy-going-enough to be dressed up in jumpers and outfits for photos.

I dog-sat the cutest-looking cockerpoo for a fortnight the other year. Didn't stop barking, hyper all the time and very dominant — attacked other dogs. Couldn't let her off the lead in public. I met other cockerpoo owners who commiserated and said theirs had been the same, but settled down once they were four. Have never been so relieved to give a dog back to its owners.

I think it's horrible and wanky to pay for your kid to get a better education than kids from less wealthy backgrounds, but if you just want to focus on the dogs then sure, knock yerself out.

I would also say that the middle classes would go for more traditional dogs ie labs, spaniels etc. It seems to be the working classes that go for the cross breeds/insanely expensive dogs.

'Or at least in my dcs school (private).'

How often do you walk around the parks in working class or poverty stricken areas?

All the time. I live in a city where extreme wealth and extreme deprivation coexist just a street away from each other in many parts. We go to all the parks. I also work in a school in one of the very most deprived areas in the country and can assure you there are very different dogs at those gates compared to at my dc's naice school. (The ones at my work school gates are almost without exception better behaved and actually on leads fwiw) You can try and pretend this sort of thing doesn't exist all you like but doesn't make it untrue.

@heydoggee

I think it's horrible and wanky to pay for your kid to get a better education than kids from less wealthy backgrounds, but if you just want to focus on the dogs then sure, knock yerself out.

We can tell who has an expensive wanky dog right here 😂

IMO cockapoo/cavachon/maltipoo etc are all dogs for people who think they want a dog but actually don’t. If you want a dog, then hair and mess are always going to be part of it

And don’t know enough about dogs, breeds or genetics to know these crosses can and do shed, or they’d have gone with the non-shedding parent breed.

I saw on woman in a dog group demanding a “yorkiepoo” as she wanted a yorkie, but it needed to be a poo cross because she didn’t want shedding/allergies.

Couldn’t get it through to her that yorkies in their own right are non shedding and low allergy, she genuinely thought crossing with a poodle magically bestowed those qualities. Which seems to be the train of thought with most people tbh...

Oh and also those horrible looking things with the sticky up ears? French bulldogs?

Pugs don’t seem to be as common these days round here.