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...

@Sunhoop

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 kind of understand what your saying... However my Bichon is the cutest dog in the universe OK!!! Out of the cross breeds we meet the cavachons are my favourite, smaller & less bouncy/energetic than the cockapoos... Its obviously the bichon in the cavachon that makes them so cute & friendly 😜 The cavachons we meet around us are just adorable, my neighbour has 2 aged 10 & 12, they are so well behaved, so cute & have no health issues, they are still very puppy like & always play so nicely with my bichon.

Since getting my miniature labradoodle 3 years ago, I’ve learned so much about cross breeds and designer dogs that I wish I’d know back then. It doesn’t matter to me that a dog is a mutt because of being posh or not, it matters because they are unethically bred, purely for money and there are too many of them now.

I got a mini labradoodle because I wanted a lab, but with a smaller house thought it would be too big and I’m slightly allergic to shedding dogs.
What I’ve got is a small lab sized dog who sheds all over the place and as much as I love him I wish I’d just went for a mini poodle as they’re actually gorgeous little things.

We have a collie and a parson russell terrier. Both 14. Not sure what that says about us but they really are the perfect dogs for us.
As long as dog owners treat their dogs well, it really doesn't bother me what breeds they have

The really wealthy old monied people around me would never have a doodle/ poodle/ mix sort of dog
The have labs, spaniels and small terriers like JRT or Norfolk/ Norwich oh and sometimes a dachshund

Surely they all have corgis?

I saw a picture of Princess Anne with an English Bull Terrier recently.

Cockapoo, Labradoodle, Cavapoo, Puglier etc etc are not recognised as a pedigree breed. It's a crossbreed aka a Mutt lol by The Kennel Club. There is no authoritative breed registry for these dog types, one does not currently exists and therefore cannot be regulated. Cheeky backyard breeders are now asking £1,000 plus for these puppies and people are paying it. When you have paid out that kind of money, it's a pride thing, no one is going to openly admit their dog is a Mutt with no papers. It's a sad state of affairs that people paying this kinda money as it's only perpetuating more and more dog theft and puppy farming

A dog is another mouth to feed, with vet bills and insurance to pay out on, and needs time for walks that a lot of working people just don’t have

@greenstables

I am glad it will work out that way for you guys. What I am saying is not personal to you or your friends.

I do think a lot of people got lockdown dogs because it suited their life at the time. I think life will bounce back much quicker then you think and people will want to go on 2 weeks holidays to the canaries and they will have to budget €25 per night for dog sitting. They will want to go out in the evening with friends without returning home for a 1 hour walk with a dog. Their aging dog will cost a lot in vet fees.... the puppy that was never home alone will trash the house on the days that they are left alone.

There are loads of factors to getting a dog that I don't think 100% of people have considered. If people truly thought through getting dogs how comes there has been so many campaigns saying a "a dog is for life not for Christmas"

@TokyoSushi

It's poo/doodle world around here, absolutely tonnes of them.

But we live on a large 'Executive New Build Estate' so there are also tonnes of overtly designer clothes and white range rovers, the dogs fit in perfectly! (We have one!)

Same here; estate is absolutely full of doodle cross’ and we have a cockapoo. We wanted to rescue but, like so many others wouldn’t have met their criteria for one daft reason or another. I don’t really care what people think of my little dog; cross breed, mongrel, whatever people want to spout off about. We chose the breed because they are low shedding and I have allergies. NOT because she looks like a teddy bear or for her cuteness! She is a happy, healthy, well looked after little dog with everything she could need.

I have a bichon Frise and a Lhasa apso but they are both rescue dogs, they came together as a couple and I love them to bits although I have to say they are the most challenging rescues I ve had . I ve had a retriever previously and a Heinz 57 rescue and they were both very easy compared to these two who both have a lot of bad habits

Posh people I know have labradors/spaniels or terriers, breeds that rub along well with others Labs and terriers do not rub along well with others - labs can be aggressive and terriers are often like their names. Have rarely encountered an aggressive cockapoo. Last week my dog was viciously attacked by a cocker spaniel - that was a bit of a surprise.

10 years ago everyone around here had labs and retrievers around, now it's cockapoos and a few Vizslas and Dachshunds which are all great but come on some variety please - I love seeing lots of different dogs.

‘Cockerpoos’, ‘Cavershons’ etc are crossbreeds, they’re not Kennel Club recognised breeds, definitely a case of ‘saw you coming’! Anyone buying these puppies obviously have more money than sense!🙄

@Somethingselfdeprecating not everyone wants a kennel club recognised breed dog!

@Somethingselfdeprecating

‘Cockerpoos’, ‘Cavershons’ etc are crossbreeds, they’re not Kennel Club recognised breeds, definitely a case of ‘saw you coming’! Anyone buying these puppies obviously have more money than sense!🙄

My dog is KC registered but I had a random person approach me and tell it he wasn't as he didn't have the right traits - honestly I couldn't give a fiddler's fuck - he was talking shite anyway but seriously - you love your dog - his pedigree is and should be irrelevant.

Today I have seen some doggos, they were

Teeny tiny yorkshire terrier
St Bernard
French bulldog
Staffy and his brother a whippet
Sheltie
Golden retriever
Standard poodle

St Bernard... Now there’s a dog you don’t see often these days.
They’re gorgeous.

@SimonJT

Today I have seen some doggos, they were

Teeny tiny yorkshire terrier
St Bernard
French bulldog
Staffy and his brother a whippet
Sheltie
Golden retriever
Standard poodle

Excellent variety! We saw a Springer spaniel Great Dane Puppy Vizsla Puppy Terrier Labradoodle Spaniel 100 Cockapoos

@Orangeblossomscent we Joel it’s like a cockapoo convention going on in our small village! We were walking ours and say three others with their owners chatting. We felt nearly obliged to go over to them but settled for a wave

[quote EpiphanySoul1]@Orangeblossomscent we Joel it’s like a cockapoo convention going on in our small village! We were walking ours and say three others with their owners chatting. We felt nearly obliged to go over to them but settled for a wave [/quote]
My dog adores cockapoos they are his favourite breed to play with - so we are always happy to see hoards of them!

Definitely not class. Snobs/Trendies/Wannabes/keeping up with others in area maybe. I know a lot of properly posh people and they have traditional working types; none of these more recent crosses which have all sorts of issues in temperament/health (we are a solid border collie family and have had several as rescues over the years. Good middle income professionals). People I know with labradoodles and cockerpoos have had a lot of problems.

@claireandbabe

Definitely not class. Snobs/Trendies/Wannabes/keeping up with others in area maybe. I know a lot of properly posh people and they have traditional working types; none of these more recent crosses which have all sorts of issues in temperament/health (we are a solid border collie family and have had several as rescues over the years. Good middle income professionals). People I know with labradoodles and cockerpoos have had a lot of problems.

I CANNOT BELIEVE how judgemental and rude people are about the breed of dog you have

EpiphanySoul1

Next door have a standard poodle, no silly clipping done to her. She is the most lovely and gentle of creatures.

Staffy and his brother a whippet how fabulous. We have 3 cats and we call them brothers and sister.

We have 2 rescue cavachons - adopted them at 16 weeks . They are now 4 years, we have just adopted an ex breeding cavachon from Ireland where puppy farming is still legal. She is supposed to be 4 but looks 94-I want to show everyone who wants a cute fluffy breed her photo. This is the real damage here with the huge upscale of puppy buying and pricing. She has only lived in a cage, in a metal shed and been bred from continuously. However she has the most beautiful trusting soul and I can't wait for her to enjoy dashing around for squirrels like my other crazy pair.

The worst bred dog I ever had had a pedigree as long as your arm with cruft winning parents, grandparents, etc. The breeder was the person who introduced the breed to the country and apparently highly respected. Her front room was wall to wall rosettes and silverware.

It was a behaviour issue which on subsequent sleuthing seems to be an issue with her dogs. And she ignored me when I tried contacting her. KC registered, good bloodlines, etc are meaningless. Totally meaningless.