To think that a labracockapoodle is a mongrel

[voluptuagoodshag]

So why can't folk just say so. Or would that be to justify the extortionate amount they paid for it so they don't come across as mugs.

I think the reason that mongrels are rare is it fairly uncommon to see dogs out and about by themselves, was very common in the 70s especially in rural areas. There was a handsome black collie cross who seemed to have younger versions of himself all round the village. Not saying this was a good thing but the oversupply of dogs now is generally to do with irresponsible deliberate breeding for financial gain, rather than accidents.

The absence of mongrels is in some ways a good thing. Rescue dogs are almost always neutered now so there's no chance of "random accidents". The downside is that it does mean that people wanting a dog are often left with a kind of Hobson's choice of backyard breeders or overbred pedigree dogs....neither of which I want. Not quite sure where we'll find our next dog

"Well I must be a shit owner then. Funny, the top rated animal behaviourist qualified professor who charged me £160 per appt didn't think I was a shit owner."

The simple fact that you decided to seek advice for your problematic dog means you are not a shit owner. (but a bit of a sensitive one )

By the way, most labradoodles are not good for people for allergies, just very few puppies of each litter are good for people with allergies. I suppose the same applies for any other doodle cross with high shedding breeds.

This article makes interesting reading Man who created labradoodles regrets the croosbred

We've got a springer/lab cross. The other day someone insisted that she was a Springador. They didn't look too impressed when I suggested that Labradinger sounded much more bonkers, just like her.
Funnily enough it's the cuter breeds that get these silly sounding names. No one has ever suggested that my staffie/lab cross is anything other than a mongrel.

JohnCusacksWife given that all the rescues are overflowing I can't imagine that you'll have much of a problem finding a rescue dog . Some of the dogs they are overflowing with are rejected pedigrees or the products of backyard breeders, some were just dumped so there is no way of telling and some are pups from pregnant rescue dogs.

Just looking at Many Tears to pick one of many, they have 268 dogs looking for a home right now of all shapes, sizes and ages. Or you could think about a lurcher (which are all cross breeds). Hounds First is one of many small rescues and is over capacity with sixteen dogs looking for new homes.

To me this is the issue, there are thousands of dogs looking for homes and yet more and more dogs are being produced all the time.

The whole point of a poodle is they don't shed so you clip them and can have them looking like anything you WANT

A poodle can look like the dog in Simon's photo above. Or it can have pom-poms and a shaved nose.

Or it could have a Mohican. Or let it grow long and curly. But you're guaranteed it won't shed, unlike a cross-breed.

Statistically a litter of 4 puppies of cross-breed only 2 or 3 will not shed, so I assume the others end up unwanted

OP YANBU. I always reply 'expensive mongrel' whenever anyone asks every time we go out.

Why all the outrage? For all those banging on about Rescue dogs, very many centres refuse to home dogs where there are children, other pets and many other requirements so it's not as if many people on here would possibly even qualify. If some of us want to spend our cash on the dog of our choice, so what. One thing for certain is that all of my very noble ( and I am not being sarcastic) friends with rescue dogs have had significant behavioural problems.

Statistically a litter of 4 puppies of cross-breed only 2 or 3 will not shed, so I assume the others end up unwanted

On the contrary! My labradoodle sheds EVERYWHERE, but he is very much wanted! We knew he'd be a shedder, the breeder knew he'd be a shedder, and we didn't care in the slightest. We did have to invest in an equally expensive pet hoover though!

I got a rescue dog with kids and a 20 year old cat. It's not difficult at all. They recommended we had a puppy - we actually went in for an adult dog. And it turned out, rescues get pups all the time.

Why the outrage? I think people are feeling something (not sure it's "outrage") because the point is that dogs were already being overbred before this demand came along for 'designer dogs' (crossbreeds, mongrels, call em what you will). Rescues are full to bursting. Creating a demand that didn't previously exists just mean more dogs get bred - meanwhile other dogs don't get rehomed.

I would also suggest that any dog 'breeder' who is mating their pedigree Breed A with someone else's pedigree Breed B is not an ethical "breeder", or cares much about dogs. Who'd do that? And then take so much money for it too, although that is by the by. Maybe not though as if these idiots know they can make a few hundred quid for a crossbreed, that is surely their motive. Breeders of pedigrees breed to a breed standard - they are trying to improve the breed. Well, the good ones are. If I had a lab and wanted to breed it with a poodle - what on earth else could be my motive apart from £s?

Time to crack down and licence breeders - and outlaw people only doing it for the money which is every single person breeding these crossbreeds, for sure.

I knew I wanted a cockapoo, years back, and I checked every rescue within 100 mile radius. Not a single one.

Dozens of Staffies, but I didn't want one of those, I'm afraid. Shoot me if you like.

And in my local rescue currently: out of 81 dogs, 27 of them are Staffies, with 12 lurchers.

Breeders of pedigrees breed to a breed standard - they are trying to improve the breed.

Really? To me it looks like the complete opposite. Overbreeding is ruining previously healthy pedigrees. It's hardly some sort of noble cause, pedigree breeders are also only in it for the money! What on earth needs to be improved in a labrador? Look at what breeding has done to German Shepherds and Basset Hounds, it's absolutely criminal. Breed standards are set by the Kennel Club, and who are they to decide what is right and wrong?

Pedigrees are the real designer dogs here, not cross breeds.

We waited six months for our local rescue to have a puppy, and arrived within hours of ddog's litter being advertised - all picked that afternoon. It didn't seem that big a sacrifice given that we will (hopefully!) have our dog for ten to fifteen years. A reputable breeder is likely to have a similarly long waiting list, only breeding when all potential puppies have a home lined up.

I agree that it's odd that in general people seem to complain more about cross bred dogs than pedigrees. I think that's because until fairly recently the cross bred dogs were mostly accidents, often given away to good homes. Now that people will pay a fair bit of money it's far more likely that the breeding is intentional. Plus all of the non-shedding oodles that turned out to shed and thus were dumped (it's true that lots of labs were similarly dumped because they weren't quite as adorable as the Andrex puppy).

Of course the other thing is that the KC has some limitations on how many registered litters are allowed - four in total between the age of one and eight and no more than two c-sections, plus restrictions on whether some dogs/bitches are allowed to breed at all. There are no rules about non pedigree dogs, so some people add extra whelpings in between the pedigree ones to make a bit more money, or only have cross bred litters so that a bitch might be forced to have a couple of litters every year (as with puppy farms).

I wonder if the parents of the (insert cutesy crossbreed name here) have all the same tests a good breeder would do, before breeding a litter? Don't know much about labs but aren't they prone to hip dysplasia? If someone is ignorant enough not to figure out it may or may not be a shedding dog, with a lab parent and a poodle parent - I'm guessing they're less likely to be clued up enough to insist all the health checks have been run?

Plenty of cockapoo breeders, labradoodle breeders, etc health test.

Plenty of pedigree breeders don't. A friend of mine mated her springers with no health tests. Two of the puppies were affected by PRA. Now she's breeding her non health tested pug.

Meant to say, so it's not whether it's a crossbreed or a pedigree which matters as far as health testing is concerned. More the individual breeder.

Looking at pets4homes Id say there's more breeders who don't health test than do.

Joffrey - All of the breeders that we contacted had all of the necessary health checks, and the one we went with even gave us a copy prior to committing to having a puppy, so that we could go through the results with our vet (I assume in case we didn't trust what she was telling us).

Interesting though that breeders of unhealthy pedigrees who can't breathe properly/see properly/walk properly, know without a shadow of a doubt that their puppies will be born this way as it is the 'breed standard,' yet because the KC say it is okay, no one seems to question it!

Many tears will only let their dogs go to people who already have dogs. I felt so sad as I wanted to rescue one, but couldn't as this was to be our first dog.

Yes, our breeder had all the paperwork for the extensive and expensive health tests she had had performed on her bitch. She equally had checked the stud poodle.

Our expensive mongrel has a very slight underbite. This detail was pointed out to me by the breeder and she asked me to commit to having him neutered in order this would not be bred down the line.

So there are many awful breeders of all types of dog but the cross breeders can be just as professional as the rest. The owners aren't stupid, a few hours of Internet research educates the key issues to be watching for.

Regarding rescue centres, I, too donate to a well known one but it doesn't change the fact that the majority of available dogs are advertised as needing child free homes or no other pets etc. those who do not may well be screening the dogs they even advertise. Or maybe it's a London thing but please understand it isn't even possible for the vast majority of London families ( maybe elsewhere, too) to adopt a rescue; it simply isn't allowed for many dogs.