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...

Hah we have a toy poodle. Nothing to do with class: they're water dogs and we live near water and are both sporty (she comes along on our canoeing trips), they don't shed and DH is allergic to shedders, and she is the right size for us as we didn't want a big dog. People think she's a cockapoo puppy all the time, but we don't care because we love her!

One of my married family members has 4 rescue dogs, 1 lurcher and 3 greyhounds. Never had a problem. Live in rural Cambs (UK) both work f/t no kids.

I always feel really posh when I wander round behind my pedigree (rescue) dog picking her poo up with a plastic bag!

SunshineLifeIsBest - whippets!! The bestest breed 😂

@rachtimm

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.

Poodles are one of the healthiest breeds. They have no extremes in muzzle, back or legs and the breed related eye problems have been bred out over the generations. So I don’t get why you think your crossbreed would be healthier!

London thing, plenty of black labs here in the countryside, lots of collies too of course and working cockers

All you see these days are cockapoos round here. I can't think I've seen an actual poodle for years though so I don't know who can be parenting them all.

I think proper posh have Heinz 57 mongrels don't they?

[quote SunshineLifeIsBest]@MisfitNotMissFit what breed is your dog?[/quote]
Sorry just worked out the quote function, despite being here since 2005!

In answer to your question - whippets

It's because they don't shed surely? As they owner of a pair of Jack Russells and thus constantly covered in white hair I can See the attraction

"Designer dogs" seem to be all the rage here in the USA, and their owners tend to get a bit irate with me when I point out that "designer dog" is a term to make people pay big money for mongrels. Personally, "rescue" is my favorite breed. I'm firmly in the "Adopt, don't Shop" club! LOL, one of my neighbors paid well over $500 for a dog who is half poodle and half shih tzu and is a bit disgusted that I refer to the yappy little pest as a "shih tz'poo."

Every weekend here the huge queue for the patisserie is solely women wearing those camouflage dryrobe things (why?you haven't been swimming!) with a cockapoo in tow

When my 3 asthmatic children pleaded to have a dog we decided after a lot of research to have a Miniature Poodle . I must admit that even then I thought that might be an embarrassment (all the poodles I’d ever known were really daft looking mins, standards or yappy toys.)
6 months later we all fell head over heels in love with our little black ball of fun .
He was very clever , didn’t cause any problems health wise ,they don’t shed ; and he totally looked after the children . He was shorn like a woolly whippet in the summer and in the winter he was a mop.
I do not understand why people have to have a crossbreed when they could have a breed that is known . You won’t know how big a lab-poo cross will be until it’s grown,
some have to be re-homed due to being too big or too boisterous.
Fashion in dogs is crazy.

Nothing wrong with a bichon OP but a cavachon is simply cuter! Us humans are attracted to aesthetics, so will go for the prettier dog out of shallowness.

In answer to your original question no I don't think it's a class signifier, at least not where I live - rural area with a good mix of social strata. Big hunting type dogs seem to be de rigueur around here.

I have a cavachon. I've never seen anything as cute in my life and he has a temperament to match. They're not hugely expensive, at least they weren't 5 years ago. I also have two rescue dogs I adopted two years ago. I actually tried to adopt a rescue before I got the cavachon but they wouldn't give us one due to our working hours - which weren't excessive by any means! I thought the criteria was nuts at the time.

I have looked at rescue dogs but none are suitable due to having a young child. I’m not sure what my class is but I’d like a golden retriever thanks to their gorgeous nature (and hair).

We’re early 20 something, degree educated, low wage parents living in a semi in a semi-rural area (Covid related deaths resulted in help for deposit).

I have no clue what my class would be but cocker spaniels, labradors, golden retrievers, and generally dogs with nice square noses are my thing

And what makes you an expert! Lots of pointless opinions on this post from people that have clearly never read anything on the subject

@dejacqueray

Not a mongrel in sight???? What do you think cockapoo or cavachon types are????????????????

They are planned crossed breeds whose conception pre arranged... A mongrel is a dog whose ancestry cannot be traced!!! There is a difference, always makes me snigger when so called "dog experts" cannot differentiate between cross breeds & mongrels🤣🤣

Where I am, in Melbourne the off-leash area teems with "oodles" of one kind or another, most of whom look like Boris Johnson, Hungarian vizlas, border collies, Staffies, labs and German Shepherds.

It was all golden retrievers when I first came here.

Whippets are gaining in popularity and rescue greyhounds are often about.

The ones that make feel sad are the German Shepherds. Not one of them but has hip and back leg problems and right from the start. Not how GSDs looked when I was a kid.

Not a class thing at all but it does sadden me. It's a fashionable thing to have pedigree dog or one of those cockapoo things. During a recent walk beside a large council estate I remarked to my OH how many pugs we saw. Loads of people had them. A few years ago it was the wrinkly ones (don't know what they are called) and huskies. I could never buy a pedigree when there are so many dogs looking for a home.

I have a cockatoo. She is 5 years old and we got her specifically for temperament and non shedding. No try Garda here. Functional characteristics after thorough research. Don’t generalise.

Cockapoo, cavachon etc - just fancy words for a mutt. Secretly inside I cringe when people tell me about them. Maybe lovely dog, but still a mutt

Surely it’s more to do with experience, age and lifestyle than class? I tend to see brand new owners have opted more smaller dogs because they believe they will be easier to manage. Same with the elderly. Outside of those categories I see loads of spaniels and labs here in our rural affluent town.

Personally I have two black labs and have had a mate take the piss, ‘how can you be a leftie with a house in the country and two black labs’ so maybe there is a class element - the cliche that two black labs make you posh. I have them because I see them as easy dogs, they fit in anywhere and are tremendously loving, and are about as good with the kids as it’s possible to me. Their size is quite comforting and perfect for a sloppy cuddle.

Lots of people saying but doodle dogs are just mutts/mongrels etc...I don't care! We're hoping to get one and not once have I stopped to think would I prefer a thorough bred pup. I couldn't care less that they are a mix of two breeds, in fact, if anything that's more of the attraction. Good with kids, non shedding, good size, fun and friendly - ticks all the boxes for me. And no rescue pups around anyway here or that would definitely be an option.

Interesting stream.
Sorry folks I’m a cat person basically but as a nanny in East London looked after both the baby and the dog to several families. It was the beginning of the whippet craze and I walked, fed, cuddled a stunning whippet - expensive, a dopey charming rescue greyhound and a bichon

• probably the best for families. I grew to love them all but too really enjoyed the dog walking community in our local park - walking baby and dog twice a day we got the silent nod introduction to a group of people who basically just loved their dogs and cared passionately about their health and safety and got so much from the group.

Yep I bet at the beginning when you choose a dog both class and fashion are relevant but to me what’s great is how quickly cared for dogs become just individuals rather as we view our children.

@greenstables

Lots of people saying but doodle dogs are just mutts/mongrels etc...I don't care! We're hoping to get one and not once have I stopped to think would I prefer a thorough bred pup. I couldn't care less that they are a mix of two breeds, in fact, if anything that's more of the attraction. Good with kids, non shedding, good size, fun and friendly - ticks all the boxes for me. And no rescue pups around anyway here or that would definitely be an option.

Poodle crosses aren’t all non-shedding, you won’t know if the dog is until their 6-18 months old.

Good with kids, fun and friendly are nothing to do with a breed, they’re all down to training.

Sizes also hugely vary depending on the mongrel you choose.

I don't agree, I think the characteristics of the breeds are indicative along with training of course. Non shedding is more likely if there's more poodle and this depends on the generation of cross. When it's mini poodle and cocker you pretty much know the maximum size.