Aibu that dogs are now a class identifier??

[MammabearX1]

Just that.... Since my dc have returned to school (London prep) the school gates are crowded with little fluffy pups.... All expensive cockapoo or cavachon types... Thorough breds seems to be gone out of fashion & there's not a mongrel in sight... I'm thinking these are a class identifier as those fluffy dogs are so expensive... My husband thinks it's down to the dogs size making them perfect for London living with smaller garden space etc... Is it just our school? When I was young the posh kids had cocker spaniels or some type of working dogs but then I grew up in the country...

Is there such a thing as a ‘mongrel’ anymore? Some of the priciest pooches are cockerpoos, jackchi, pomchi etc and now called ‘crossbreeds’...

Reminds me of the ‘shacket’ which is essentially a warm padded shirt-jacket-thingy beloved of anyone who works out of doors, available from market stalls uk-wide for a tenner. It has now been hoodwinked by fashion, highly sought after, anyone who’s anyone wear one and costs a bomb from Chloe.

‘They’re just mongrels’ is this thread’s ‘cancel the cheque’ isn’t it?!

There’s a difference between ‘mongrels’ and ‘cross-breeds’.

A ‘mongrel’ means the breeds are not identifiable.

With cross-breeds, you know which breeds they are, and the breeds have been specifically selected.

I have no skin in the game - we have a pure-bred Labrador.

What class would we be then, with a collie and a patterdale?

This made me smile. You say that people don't have mongrels. I thought cross breeds were mongrels!

I'm very proud of our Heinz 57 mongrel, a beautiful rescue that we adopted 6 yrs ago.

I think you're right. I got a email a day or so ago offering me a Regents Crescent Beaumont Speciale.
Apparently it's the only one in this country and I can have have it for only £13,750. He or she (they're not sure which at the moment) is called Lucky, but we can change this if we want. It is mainly white but apparently it could be brown by the time we get it - with shorter legs. They said this is one of the unusual traits of this rare breed that makes it so desirable. That and the constant barking interspersed with sad whining, which they tell me is a way that it keeps itself warm - no I didn't understand that either.
Anyway, fingers crossed, we'll certainly be noticed outside school.

opposite here as anyone with a recent designer cross breed is more likely to be thick as shit which is how/why they've ended up choosing one

A dog that randomly changes both colour and size would be a talking point for sure 😄

@Sea12

opposite here as anyone with a recent designer cross breed is more likely to be thick as shit which is how/why they've ended up choosing one

Whoa!

@Saucery

More and more people seem to want dogs that look like stuffed toys, so that might explain it. Apart from the mongrels (and I include Poo crosses in that) there are Labs (mix of older people and families), Staffies (mainly older retired people and their dogs have impeccable manners) and JRT/Patterdale terriers around here.

Yes, cross breeds are essentially ridiculously expensive mongrels that, rather than be ‘healthier’ as those who buy them often argue, frequently, have the health vulnerable of each of the two breeds.

I have Poodles (the real thing). Hubby and I were stopped walking them one day by a young woman who said they were lovely. Then asked “what are they crossed with”. Nothing, I replied. They are pure bred Poodles. In response, her face adopted a disappointed expression and she said “oh, they are just Poodles.

@middersweekly

I think that is a great mix.

I mean a Bichon Frieze is still among the same class of small, fluffy little things IMO.

Frise*

A lurcher is a cross anyway, isn't it?

As well as the flat nose thing, does anyone feel the same way about breeding for dwarfism e.g dachshunds, bassets?

I wouldn't say Staffs are chav dogs @MishaHarrow I know plenty of MC business owners in their 50s with rescue staffs.

@MammabearX1

What I'm saying is the cockapoos /cavachons, poochons etc are all the trendy breeds at dc's prep but it's actually rare to meet another pedigree bichon or a pedigree poodle.. The dogs are adorable & the majority have lovely natures but there's nowt wrong with a bichon, there's no need to cross!

I can’t believe a poster told you that there isn’t much difference between a pure bred Bichon and a cross because they are both fluffy!! I guess they don’t know about breed characteristics!

I don't understand obsession with dog breeds - not a dog lover, their ok but wouldn't want one for more than a pat on the head in the street. Far more into cats
BUT I was introduced to a 6 month old maltipoo the other day and I almost felt I could be converted, but only almost

@minipie

Yup. You can’t get near our London prep without tripping over a cavapoo. A couple of years ago it was labradoodles.

I presume it’s the size, and the non shedding, but surely there must be other dogs that tick those boxes but are just less fashionable...?

We’re a cat household

Poodle crosses, including Cockerpoos and Labradoodles are not always non-shedding dogs. That is a myth. Their coats type is unpredictable. A Poodle (of which there are 3 sizes) is non-shedding!

@23PissOffAvenueWF

‘They’re just mongrels’ is this thread’s ‘cancel the cheque’ isn’t it?!

There’s a difference between ‘mongrels’ and ‘cross-breeds’.

A ‘mongrel’ means the breeds are not identifiable.

With cross-breeds, you know which breeds they are, and the breeds have been specifically selected.

I have no skin in the game - we have a pure-bred Labrador.

Yes, I'm not sure why people don't understand this.

Many purebred dogs that we know today started out as deliberate crosses, where the breeder was trying to combine attributes from two different type of dog. Or more than two dogs may have been included in the breeding program. The point is, it's deliberate, and you know the ingredients, more or less.

A mongrel tends to imply non-deliberate breedings, or a dog where the background seems to be mixd but unknown. Often there could be all kinds of breeds.

I have two dogs. One is Chesapeake bay Retriever - a purebred - their origins are two dogs of somewhat unclear origin and local dogs of various types, bred together with the goal of producing a good cold water retriever for commercial use.

My other dog is a mutt - an accidental breeding. The mother was a purebred Australian Cattle dog, a breed developed by crossing various dogs used for cattle work and also dingos. The father at least part Bernese Mountain Dog, a dog descended from the Roman mastiff.

"Purebred dogs" as we understand the idea have only existed for about 150 years. All breeds are mixes of all kinds of types of dogs, where there was deliberate choice it was typically about useful qualities and type of work they were good for. It's almost impossible to define a deliberate crossbreed against a purebred dog unless you want to somehow imbue the KC with the power to make every decision about every dog everywhere.

Plenty of mongrels still around. Only they're called cockerpoos/labradoodles etc and cost as much, if not more than their pedigree relatives

Having read about different breeds and choosing one based on my lifestyle and choice I have a Poochon. I understand people asking about KC registered dogs but pedigree dogs tend to have lots of health problems and that is why some dogs are crossed with different breeds. A Poochon gets the best traits from a Bichon Frise and a toy poodle for example and has less health problems than both breeds potentially. This is only true for first generation hybrids though as they is less certainty of the dogs traits, personally or potential health problems the further you get from the pure breed parents.

Idiot? For having an English Bulldog? She is not a class or status symbol - she is simply our dog. We re-homed her.
I just wanted a dog to help with my mental health and be a companion for our children.
We got lucky, she is fabulous. People say awful things about her, on occasions.
She is so emotionally intelligent and, full of love.
She's a full pedigree, kc registered, gold health checked and, full HUU clear. The vet is astounded by, how incredibly in shape she is.
She is NOT a huffing, puffing, wheezing mess.

Wow I may be thick in your opinion but like my designer cross breed I know the importance of good manners. Hope you don’t fall of your judging perch.

“A Poochon gets the best traits from a Bichon Frise and a toy poodle for example and has less health problems than both breeds potentially. This is only true for first generation hybrids”

Yeah... it’s not true for first generation crosses either.

It’s a nice marketing line that breeders manage to get out though.

@Pinkypie86

Idiot? For having an English Bulldog? She is not a class or status symbol - she is simply our dog. We re-homed her. I just wanted a dog to help with my mental health and be a companion for our children. We got lucky, she is fabulous. People say awful things about her, on occasions. She is so emotionally intelligent and, full of love. She's a full pedigree, kc registered, gold health checked and, full HUU clear. The vet is astounded by, how incredibly in shape she is. She is NOT a huffing, puffing, wheezing mess.

She's beautiful.

'A Poochon gets the best traits from a Bichon Frise and a toy poodle for example" ... no it doesn't it could as easily get the worst from both.