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.

"so what happens when they want to breed a second generation of these dogs?"

Some just forever breed from the two breeds individually, some back cross to poodles...so then they're mostly poodle, I've seen adverts from people who've crossed two different crosses to create a 'rare' 4 way cross

I think there are also people breeding them to each other to try so far unsuccessfully to get them to breed to a certain type.

I did wonder. Our little (rescue) crossbreed is thought to be a jack russell/staffy cross and I am fairly sure that's accurate, as she looks like a smallish staffy but has those Jack Russell pigment spots. One of her brothers looked precisely like a staffy the day his family took him home but a month later, was as spotty as a dalmatian. Still others in the litter look like jack russells with staffy colouring (one half of the litter look like staffies with jack russell colouring....) Having owned 2 staffies before, her personality is very, very staffy-like. Several people have suggested she looks so staffy like that maybe it was only one grandparent that was the JRT. But I think you can have a crossbreed who looks entirely like one parent or t'other.

Apparently, there are folk who deliberately breed this particular cross as they're amazing for flyball (intelligence of staffy; speed of JRT) and also for the more dodgy peeps - ratting. The rescue think she was deliberately bred and then when the people who bred the litter couldn't flog em down the pub for £50 each - re-homed, as they observed the bitch had had a previous litter.

I think all the poodle crosses are adorable to look at but I would never pay hundreds of pounds for one. My darling black doggie with his sunny, gentle, calm temperament beats all the over excited, over bred dogs I know.

"Unless you are breeding or showing your dog yourself, there is zero difference in practical terms of having paid for a labradoodle or a pure bred anything."

That depends on how the doodle breeder is going about things. If they are using the health testing relevant to poodles and Labradors then fine. However, if they were breeding without any sort of consideration to the health problems of both breeds then you could potentially be buying a dog with joint & eye problems etc. Not being able to go back through the dog's linage would also be a concern.

Pedigree breeders have been slated in this thread but there are people breeding 'designer dogs' with equally deplorable practices e.g labradoodle breeders who insist on having the puppies neutered before they go to their homes.
With male dogs there is dispute over whether or not there is any health benefit to neutering. Neutering too early does have an effect on the development of the dog. Having the dog neutered at 6-8 weeks before going to it's new home serves no purpose other than controlling their market - these people were happy to leave the dog intact providing it went back to them when it was old enough to breed.

Another thought re. labradabrdoodles whatever they is called... so what happens when they want to breed a second generation of these dogs? Back to the labs n poodles? Or will people start breeding a labradabrathingy to another labradabrathingy?

Labradoodles are bred with each other but there were epileptic dogs brought in from Australia who were used a lot here initially. One of the lines in particular was known for lying about the pedigrees and forging them.
You can check the lineage scores of any dog in the kennel club but as far as I know there's no place to do that with cross breeds so the results could belong to anyone / be forged and that would be my concern.

loscot your dog is adorable.

Tough our dog was neutered days before we picked him up at eight weeks. Our local shelter only rehome neutered dogs so the pups get done very early. It meant it was one less thing for us to be concerned about and guarantees that there will be no offspring from any rehomed dogs/cats.

It woudl be better if they could stipulate that dogs have to be done by six months or whenever is optimal, but I doubt that would have the same guarantees.

The dog you posted was indeed very adorable. I hope he finds a good home very soon.

Puppies are sold on at about eight weeks aren't they? How can they be neutered weeks before that? hmm

Generally they're rehomed at around 8 weeks.
I'd be wary of any vet who condoned / carried out neutering at such a young age but that was the practice a UK labradoodle breeder was using.
They were also letting people choose their puppy by webcam before they went to see them - another red flag as you should be choosing your puppy in person once you've spent some time with the litter.
The whole thing just gave a horrible impression of being a purely 'for money' operation rather than someone who loves labradoodles and was doing it for a love of the breed.

Obviously I'm not saying they're all like that but there's some horrific practices going on around cross breeds / designer dogs and it's less apparent.

tough you're good at finding these dogs. If you see any in the souh of England, suitable for a family, not small etc ...

Owl -Molly, the 7th one down, 9 months old, collie x lab x rottie, good with kids, dogs and cats.

Black retriever people replied many are picked up as strays and they don't have much history on them. Not ideal tbh. To be brutally honest I've not found the rescues a bit unhelpful. I know they are busy but seem unwilling to talk and keen to refer you to website (which I'd already been on, hence the call).

EllyHigginbottom Thank you, looking slightly muddier tonight!

Sorry missed all the updates on this thread. If you don't have history on a pup or parents then I would look for a confident one who isn't too forward but tbh it's impossible to properly say without meeting the litter.

As for early neutering - pretty much all the new studies show that early de-sex has an adverse affect on health (particularly joint health) and there are some indications that early neutering in bitches displaying problematic behaviour can exacerbate it and lead to an increase in aggressive behaviour (not a perfect study by any means but worth paying attention to). I hate hearing that rescues are neutering at 8 weeks or earlier - that's a horrendous policy. Most of the larger rescues stipulate 6 months and will chase you to have not done.

I am extremely pro rescue, I work for one, volunteer with several others and have 2 rescue dogs of my own. But I have also had extremely poor experiences with several of the smaller ones and have seen some quite frankly dangerous rehomings in my professional capacity (animal behaviourist).

Responsible breeders who health test, check out homes and accept pups back are not the people contributing to the rescue crisis and in a lot of cases are working to mitigate it (running breed rescues). Buying a pup from Gumtree, preloved, a pet shop or similar is. Those are the backyard breeders and puppy farmers.

I should say that Pro Dogs Direct are awesome and I can't recommend them enough.