to wonder who would pay £495 for a mongrel dog

[LilyDaisyPoppyRose]

www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/show/114130606/shugalier-pups-shitzuxpugxcavalier.html

Oh sorry it's not a mongrel, its a shugalier silly me.

Yes the portmanteau names are a bit ridiculous. Selling them through a site like that not ideal and it's not clear that you are paying for well cared for pups.

However if we take that particular seller out of it and assume that the dogs are well cared for and of suitable temperament, wrt to the idea of whether cross breed dogs of a particular mix are worth money, why not? They are still dogs. They will wag their tails and go on walks etc? If someone likes dogs with those particular features, why shouldn't a cross breed dog be worth money to someone?

Pedigree Breeds started from somewhere. They aren't superior to cross breeds. In fact we now know that there are huge health problems within pedigree breeds, especially those with low genetic diversity, which have become ever more exaggerated in their features. We know that the Kennel Club is only beginning to catch up to the idea that it has a responsibility to look after breed health, and still Note that failure to carry out DNA tests or Health screening does not prevent a breeder from registering puppies with the Kennel Club.

Dog Breed Health

Don't assume that because a puppy has a pedigree that it is healthy or cared for.

They've even created an Assured Breeder scheme (which basically seems to be an extra payment for promotion on their website...) , to confer some sort of quality standard that people might assume that regular pedigree guarantees, and even that falls completely flat.

It’s important to note that even when health testing is ‘required’ a bad result does not prevent a dog from being bred. So even if a dog has a poor hip score or is found to be affected by a disease from DNA testing, it can still be bred.

Dog Breed Health - Assured Breeder Scheme

So pedigrees don't mean what people seem to assume they mean anyway. You really, really need to do a lot of research to know whether your pedigree is worth the extra money you pay for it. A cross breed from a knowledgeable, loving home where the bitch and pups are kept in good health and socialised is just as safe a bet as a pedigree dog from a similar background. It is good [informed] people who make good homes . Not a piece of paper.

Of course there are many rescue dogs waiting for good homes so if you can consider that option it is better to.

People should only pay huge amounts of money for a pedigree which is registered.

Completely disagree with this. People should pay what they are willing to pay for the type of dog they want. I paid the going rate for my retriever/poodle cross (DDog) because I wanted a non shedding puppy that I could train around my children and other animals and because I wanted it from one particular breeder. Both parents were health checked, all puppies were hip / eye / health checked and I had to sign various agreements including that I would not breed from him (I waited until he was mature before getting him neutered though). The breeder in question was a qualified vet nurse and animal geneticist and produced a few carefully selected litters each year to refine the features of a good kiwi family dog. Some puppies were kept as part of this but the remainder sold. I disagree totally that this person is a backyard breeder.

VDog (who came along a year later) I paid less than half as much for. Her mum is a gorgeous labradoodle whose owners wanted a litter of puppies. They kept one, sold the rest to local friends for the cost of the vet fees in pregnancy plus additional food divided by the number in the litter, then had her spayed. Not really a backyard breeder but admittedly no health checks - however we've had VDog checked over thoroughly and she's healthy as.

I don't get the thought that if it's not kc registered it's not worth anything. My dogs are worth ten times what I paid for them regardless of lineage. I do call them poodle crosses though (as opposed to retradoodle and labraspoodle...) Or doodledogs :)

We have all sorts of allergies in our family. The poodle cross non shedding lines are perfect for the type of dog we wanted. None in local rescues and although I was on the waiting list to rehome an older dog with the breeder, they very rarely have to go back. Hence paying the amount we did - to get the right dog from the right place at the right age.