To hate the term 'designer' dog?

[FidoAndHisBone]

I am getting my dog in three weeks and am already being judged by other dog owners and this really gets my goat. We are getting a labradoodle btw. All pedigree dogs were 'designed', some not very long ago at all... I am also getting annoyed at the dog fascists who think cross breeds should not be allowed. AIBU?

Why are you bothered what other people think of your choices?

My friend has a doodle - it's mahooosive!

You mean you're getting a mongral.

I have a Doodle too. I hope you are prepared for the possibility of anything.
You don't know what traits they are going to get from either side of the family.

Mines sheds enough to stuff a cushion daily and eats anything in sight!

I've never met a doodle I didn't love on sight

Do you have any pics of the little chap(ess) that we can coo over?

Ps. you're absolutely right btw - all pedigree dogs have been 'designed' to have certain characteristics which, in the early days of the breed weren't 100% reliable.

Funny how people forget that, isn't it?

YANBU. So long as your dog is from a good rescue or a responsible breeder who does all the appropriate health checks, other people should butt out.

Just ignore judgeypanters and enjoy your dog.

Oh I agree with you OP. Why use "designer dog" when "backyard bred crossbreed" is far more accurate?

I think labradoodles are lovely. But let's be realistic here, they are crossbreeds. The "Labra" and "Oodle" being the giveaway. I think the reason that people get a tad irritated over the whole CockaPoodlePoo debate is the denial of the fact that whatever combination you put together has been designed. Whereas your standard mutty dog is usually the result of a rather more random coupling. Also, people really do pay some very silly prices for crossbreeds and presumably, if you've coughed up several hundred pounds, you want some sort of validation.

Oh FGS, not all doodle breeders are back yard any more than all Staffy or Rottie or anything else breeders are.

Op, enjoy your dog, and get used to calling it a 'lab cross' if you detect judgy pants or suspicious over interest!

valiumredhead - I know logically it shouldn't bother me but it still does a bit...

We decided on a doodle as I wanted a golden retriever and DH wanted a labrador, it was stalemate then I found out about doodles. The low shedding would be a plus but obviously it's not guaranteed and it's not going to be a problem if he sheds...

GrahamTribe - Do you genuinely believe that all 'pedigree' dogs are bred my responsible breeders and all cross breeds come from bad backyard breeder people?!?

Peeling of course they are. By the very fact that the dog produced is a crossbreed they can't be anything else.

Where are all these 'judgy' people anyway?

The only place I've ever come across this is on MN - poodle crosses are very popular in my area and I've never heard a word said against any of them (or their owners)

There is a shih tzu/poodle cross around here who is rather unfortunately known as a shih t'poo - that does make me smile a bit, I have to confess. Sweet little thing though.

Fido, I know that 95% of dogs are bred by irresponsible breeders and that all crossbreeds are backyard bred. Trust me.

Fido Doodles are never going to be guaranteed non-shedding, but at the very least, they are likely to shed less than a lab/golden retriever.

Lab cross or bit of a mix are the phrases we use. People are too busy fussing our mad dog to be negative.

GrahamTribe - where did you get your statistics from? If only 5% of pedigree dogs are bred responsibly, and no mongrels are, that's not a massive difference is it?

i think all dogs are lovely.

i would never call a doodle (or any other dog) a 'designer' dog simply because dogs are not predictable.

if you get the most health tested pure bred dog from the most scrupulous breeder out there that is not 100% guarantee of the dog being true to the typical breed characteristics or healthy (though usually such a dog also comes with a money back guarantee, and breeder assistance with training issues).

Most pedigree dogs will generally be like their parents, and generally conform loosely to expectations. My dog, though, is nothing like the typical dog of her breed in character. but i love her anyway. she is at least the expected size, shape and coat-type.

if you get a x-breed you have even less guarantee, as they don't throw true. no guarantee even that you are getting what the breeder says...(hopefully you will at least be getting a puppy that belongs to the mother you see with it). it is even less 'designer'.

in general OP most dog vendors aren't people i'd want to buy from, and most puppies come from bad circumstances - the very nature of the scrupulous breeder is they wouldn't breed very much at all!

so, raining on your parade is a consequence of some people who care about animal welfare and don't want you to buy from a puppyfarming scumbag, knowing there are very few doodles that come from breeders fulfilling basic welfare requirements, never mind health testing, after care and all that.

and in some cases they're just being snotty.

I think the issue may be, for me certainly as a work thing, is the lack of forethought about prevalent conditions. There seems to be a misinformed belief that if you take a lab with terrible hips and elbows and a poodle with bad elbows, VWD, addisons etc and mate them then magic will happen.
Then the people that buy these dogs get cross at all the breeders working hard with genetic testing/hip scoring etc to rid the breeds of the problem. The fact is that established good breeders of the 'base' breeds will rarely let their stud go to make cross breed pups. Sadly this limits the selection rather unless the labradoodle (or other) breeder has managed to get a 'show' quality dog without breeding restrictions of both breeds. They may also be breeding againt the original breeders wishes as the pups can't be KC registered. It is a bit of a liberty tbh. If they're not of good stock the na cross won't make them better.

It gets a bit tiresome after a while.

But at the end of the day - if you have done the usual things ('pedigree check', seen the health certs, mum +/- dad etc, etc) and are happy they are a breeder intent on breeding for health then it matters not a single jot what she is.

There are several cross breeds that keep coming up for KC registration and inclusion. Labradoodle may not be too far off.

Enjoy your puppy op!

cake the dogs are usually lovely. tis the people that sell them that are the issue.

and i think that i would say close to zero doodles are bred by good people. there are some out there.

hard enough to track down that 5% of pedigree dogs i would call ethically bred. (ballpark)

There are several cross breeds that keep coming up for KC registration and inclusion. Labradoodle may not be too far off.

the KC has no plans for this. none at all.

The breeder we are getting our dog from is really lovely. It is the first time she has bred her poodle with her sisters lab. They have both been fully health tested, hip & eye scored and have very good temperaments. The puppies were really well cared for, she has friend who is a breeder who has been helping her and giving advice. She was actually verging on reluctant to give the pups away, she really drilled us and said that if we worked full time she wasn't going to let us have one. She's printed of pages of advice for us and has offered to have the pups/dogs back if we ever go away, she clearly loves her dogs.

Does the kennel club go on appearance, health and temperament?

i would say it was less than 5%

for the KC it would have to be a breed with recognisable and generationally true characteristics.

that is to say you would be able to look at a dog and say that's a doodle.

atm, they vary between scruffy looking labs and dogs that so close to 100% poodle that there is no point in a different breed standard being created.