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

@Micah

it surely makes sense to have dogs that smell and shed less. So why not establish these crosses as proper breeds

Because the crosses are actually doing the opposite of this. You’ve got a dog designed to shed and smell less, and are crossing it to produce offspring that shed and smell more than the parent breed.

This.

And Poodles can be incredibly smelly.
As can Spaniels.

Diet makes a big difference in how dogs smell.

Raw food. Good exercise and good grooming helps with smell, too.

Friend has two raw fed older dogs, and neither smell.

I don't think it is a class thing. More a fashion thing. Looking back, various breeds have been popular in different times and in different regions. Back in the 90s in London it was staffies. More recently pugs and pug crosses, but now French bulldogs in my area (not London). Cane corsos are becoming popular in my area now.

@QuestionableMouse

Sounds about right, scratchy, bitey little buggers. Never saw the point of such silly little dogs. They’d get stood on in our house.

I think only people who know nothing about dogs would buy cockerpoos etc. (And then call them a breed) What particularly annoys me are people who knowingly buy puppies from dubious sources and think it's a funny anecdote. I know three people who have bought cockerpoos from people they describe as 'pikies' (their word not mine) and think the story of the state of the place they picked the puppy up from is hilarious.

@movingonup20

Out here in the sticks the posh dog of choice is a working lab or cocker, but plenty of collies too. Dogs with purpose not pets

What jobs are these working dogs doing?

[quote MintyMabel]@QuestionableMouse

Sounds about right, scratchy, bitey little buggers. Never saw the point of such silly little dogs. They’d get stood on in our house.[/quote]
Give it a rest, will you? 🙄🙄🙄

You don't think they're proper dogs. We get it. Gold star for you. 🌟

Not everyone wants a silly little dog

Do you know anything about dogs?

Standard poodles are bigger than your average labrador, and nearly indistinguishable from labradoodles.

My yorkie is not a “silly little dog”. He’s a better ratter and mouser than most cats. He’s no different to any other dog, just smaller.

@AgeLikeWine

I live in a rural area and know lots of horsey people. Most of us own dogs, and the popular breeds are Labs, working spaniels or any type of gundog, JRTs, other working terrier breeds and, of course, plenty of lurchers - the scruffier the better.

Definitely no fluffy lap dogs or trendy ‘designer’ cross-breeds.

Friend's Rescue Staffie. {Ex Smack dealer}

The epitome of not being middle class, but he is a wonderful dog.

@Kumquatsquash

Cross breed dogs are now so expensive that only middle class people can afford them.

Class has nothing to do with being loaded.

I have a standard poodle, he’s so lush. He often gets mistaken for a labradoodle and we get snobby about that he cost us a quarter of what a Poodle mix would cost. I don’t think I could have a dog for show though as we are walkers and I’d be bathing him (and our other dog) every day as they get filthy!

@Kumquatsquash indeed, you can’t buy class.

@MintyMabel

Poodles, yorkies to start, and I’m fairly sure there are more.

Not everyone wants a silly little dog.

Ever seen a standard poodle? Definitely a larger breed!

The main issue with "designer" crosses is that they can be bred by anyone and there's no regulatory body you can go to to check the breeder is registered and therefore regulated. So if you want a dog of a particular breed, you check the breeder is KC registered and you can be sure that they aren't over-breeding from a bitch.

Also with a bit of research you can easily find out what problems a particular breed is prone to, and what tests are done to ensure these are minimised e.g. hip/elbow scores in large dogs, or the PRA eye test in poodles. You can then ask the breeder for the scores/test results for both parents, as a good breeder will have had this checked.

With a cross breed you have no idea what issues they may or may not have inherited from either parent.

@Sssloou I wondered this too. By that way of thinking unless you're a farmer you shouldn't get a dog.

It's dreadfully nouveau to have a designer mongrel.

@nuitdesetoiles

All poodle cross breed type creatures round here. The whole puppy thing has gone bonkers since march. I know several people who have them, they are almost uniformly highly annoying, bark all the time, jump up, no recall... They need far more exercise than they're getting. The dog breeding industry is horrible. If you want a dog, get a rescue.

Shout this from the rooftops.

Rescue dogs are the ideal.

I predict next year many of the ''Covid'' bought dogs will be dumped as impulse buyers can't cope with the ''Teenage'' phase of pups.

So right about the yapping.
Older couple nearby bought a Poo Cross and it yaps constantly . A small garden is NOT a substitute for exercise.

A pensioner has a small rescued Poodle cross {Before they became fashionable} who is out in all weathers and is a super little dog...Because the owner makes sure the dog's needs are met.

A lot of dogs this lockdown will likely be 'Impulse buys'.

Dogs have always been an indicator of class surely?

@MintyMabel

Poodles, yorkies to start, and I’m fairly sure there are more.

Not everyone wants a silly little dog.

Standard poodles are particularly tiny.

The only things that matter are that the dog is healthy, responsibly bred and that its owners are meeting its needs.

Class nonsense is irrelevant.

Loads of lockdown puppies appearing on the school run now at our school gates. I just love the chance to give them all ear scratches and fusses to be honest.

Oh and I have family who used to farm. The father bred and trained working GSDs, and the daughter also had GSDs. The mother had a collection of small dogs that were "rejects" from a local breeder (e.g. injured, not sold as a puppy) - yorkies, chihuahuas and a pomeranian. Walking these dogs when I stayed was an eye opener - the smaller dogs would be flushing out rodents and usually catching them long before the big dogs got a look in. Tough little b*ggers all of them. Pure breed all of them.

None of the smaller dogs shed much, though the GSDs made up for it! All the dogs were affectionate & friendly, and well trained. Only difference was I couldn't fit the GSDs on my lap!

Good poodle cross breeders with also have tests done on each of the pure bred parents and you can ask for those certificates. There is an element of not knowing what you’re getting but it could be the case if both parents were the same breed. There is an issue with puppy farms and poodle crosses - owners need to do a lot of research before buying and not get set on one particular breed. There are good poodle cross home breeders.

There can be worse health issues with some pure bred dogs whether breeders are KC registered or not, even with all the health tests in the world. King Charles Spaniels suffer as their heads are too small for brain size (crossing with a poodle can alleviate the issue). Bulldogs and pugs suffer with breathing.

My sister paid £2500 for her cockapoo, and it was clear he had not been looked after properly whe she brought him home. He had fleas, mites, and worms and it cost another £100 just to treat that. And now he has terrible resource guarding issues which will need a behaviourist to sort out to ( also very expensive.) To be honest I think she's bitten off more than she can chew, cocker spaniels and poodles are both fairly high energy working dogs that need lots of physical and mental exercise. And I don't think the average Joe can provide that. I know my sister only got hers because she thought he looked cute, she didn't actually do any research into the breeds.

I do understand there are other hyperallergenic dogs, but I guess my point is that if the crosses were well-bred, they would suit their purpose quite well, as the parent dogs aren’t totally unsuited - this fashion isn’t as bad as the one for huskies, for example, or brachycephalic dogs. The issue is with the breeding rather than the inherent qualities of the breeds used. I would prefer a cocker, cav or poodle to a yorkie, I have to say (I’m afraid I associate them with being a bit yappy and snappy although I don’t know many... Bichons on the other hand, from personal experience, are lovely - but my DH doesn’t want a toy dog😬, also v slow to house train). If someone who knew what they were doing bred cavaliers to poodles, for example, and then bred from the resulting puppies with the desired qualities, you could end up with lovely dogs who might be less high energy or barky than the poodle, and less inbred and unhealthy than the cav.

@SantasBritchesSpelleas

The only things that matter are that the dog is healthy, responsibly bred and that its owners are meeting its needs.

Class nonsense is irrelevant.

Absolutely spot on.

A well trained dog with his or her needs met is a credit to his or her owner.

Jilly Cooper did a jokey book decided ago called ''Class'' where she berated certain breeds as being 'Working Class'

But Whippets..They were a proper Working Man's dog, but Cooper was saying how 'Posh' they were.

All nonsense!

A whippet should be as at home in the Field as he is in front of the fire.

I agree, I think designer crosses are the epitome of chaviness. I judge people who have them as slightly lacking in class.

^ did you have to be so snobby / rude?
I’m from a working class ‘chav’ background yet I’m not a fan of designer dogs... whereas as this thread shows plenty of mc families are 🤷‍♀️

I really dislike how comments like this are so accepted on MN, fair enough you don’t like something but why the need to (wrongly) bring class into it.

Despite not being a fan of said dogs, I’m much more likely to judge someone who makes rude snobby comments like that over the owners