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...

We wanted a labrador but our house is tiny. We ended up with a cockapoo because it's a nice small-medium size and doesn't shed hair.

Round here the more aspirational people have those designer crosses as well – the ones that look like Muppet dogs – or whippets in expensive and stylish coats (some with full-length sleeves).

I love whippets but I do think people are dressing them to show off. And expensive designer crosses annoy me, probably disproportionately.

Personally, as well as whippets and greyhounds I love a lurcher or a scruffy little terrier thing. Dogs that look like animals, basically, not cuddly toys.

I am allergic to dog hair so had to get a non-shedding dog. A poo-mix. You are being very unreasonable and sound a bit snobby yourself!

@WhoEatsPopTarts

Where I live it is, but the cockapoo is for the try hards. The ‘posh’ all have rescue dogs.

what if you have a rescue cockapoo like me? Am i a posh try hard 🤣

HRTFT but holy Dejavuuuuu

“ Most pure bred dogs are prone to genetic conditions, I believe labradors are prone to hip problems but nobody ever gives lab owners a hard time.”

Responsible breeders ensure that breeds like labs, which are prone to certain conditions like hip dysplasia, are checked out before they are bred from. So nowadays low scores are mentioned in adverts, for all sorts of inherited conditions.
This is how they are trying to reduce the incidence of these conditions, brought on by years of breeding without the knowledge about genetics that we have now.

DH was brought up with a German Shepherd, and really likes their temperament and intelligence, but years ago GS dogs were the go to choice for the people who now get called chavvy, and GS were bred widely and irresponsibly, leading to deterioration in intelligence, temperament and hip scores in the breed. So he has chosen a similar, but less mucked up breed from Europe.
Looking at pictures of different breeds from years ago, so many of them look quite different (and much healthier.) GS dogs had much straighter backs than the exaggerated slope that is the breed standard nowadays, and which contributes to hip dysphasia.
The English bull terriers' skull shape was less exaggerated, the flat faced breeds looked nothing like as squashed as they do now, etc.
I hope we can breed them back a bit into something like their older, healthier selves.

I long for a non-shedding, mud-hating fluffy type of dog which I can carry around. They're easier.

25 years of owning Labradors and the hair and mud is never ending. I keep homing Labradors though...

People who buy one of the ‘poo’ crosses are putting money in the pockets of puppy farmers. Bitches are kept in dark barns in their own filth, never go outdoors and are bred over and over again with little recovery time to make as much money as possible until they die or are abandoned. Even if you do some research and find a ‘good’ breeder, every time you walk the dog or introduce it to someone you’re a walking advert for the ‘breed’ and those people will buy from puppy farmers.

Isn't a Cockapoo just a mongrel/non pedigree pure breed, whichever way you dress it up

I like the pop cross as you get the soft fur but not full poodle - full poodles have soft fur too, and when not clipped into show coats and not having shaved feet and faces, are indistinguishable from the various poo/doodle cross breeds.

One of my friends has a labradoodle, sheds like crazy. Plus side, she only needs to go to the groomers once a year.
She is a mad energetic goofball from two working parents, the dam and sire's owners had pick of the litter.

Oh I would love any of the "poodle mix", or even pedigree poodle dog owners on here who could recommend a nice breeder send me a DM with some details! I'll travel (lockdown restrictions allowing).

Dh is allergic to most dogs but is ok with poodles and poodle crosses. He's oddly ok with some shedding dogs but didn't want to take the risk. Now he's WFH at least 4 days a week for another year, and I only work mornings, its the perfect time to get a dog.

But as others have said, the prices are crazy and I'm not confident I'll easily spot a puppy farm.

(And before you tell me to adopt not shop - I've been checking our local rescues since last summer, none have had a dog that would be ok with children.)

@MargosKaftan , just get a poodle. You will know what you are getting and they come in various sizes. A standard poodle is one of the most attractive dogs you can get (if they have a sensible hair cut).

@AgathaX

I like the pop cross as you get the soft fur but not full poodle - full poodles have soft fur too, and when not clipped into show coats and not having shaved feet and faces, are indistinguishable from the various poo/doodle cross breeds.

They do have the soft fur but it’s the dopey amiable Lab look with the fur I love.

I just googled poodle, cavapoo and labradoodle and goldendoodle it’s the latter two that get to me.

Other people won’t see the difference though and have different likes when it comes to dogs which is fine!

All dogs are crossbreeds, as they all originally came from wolves. Technically, the doodles are mongrels. Countrywide, doodles are now the most popular dog, it's just fashion, nothing to do with class. You are reading so much into nothing @MammabearX1

All expensive cockapoo or cavachon types... Thorough breds seems to be gone out of fashion & there's not a mongrel in sight...

Really, not a mongrel in sight? Sounds like an awful lot of mongrels in sight!

All that proves is that a fool and their money are easily parted.

@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...

Cockapoos and cavachons are mongrels. They are not pure breeds.

I think it's a number of things:

• a lot of rescue centres won't rehome to houses with primary school aged children so people who are willing to adopt have little choice other than to buy a pup if they want a dog
• the doodley cross breeds are non-shedding making them good for allergy sufferers and usually very good with children
• people with young kids often want a puppy so can grow up the kids and get used to them from an early age
• good size for people who lives in flats and maybe don't need loads of exercise?
• it helps that they look cute!

Er they are mongrels, and stupid people paying over the odds for dogs that will be purely bred just so they can have a certain look. Look up pure breds from 100 years ago, and look at the state they are in now.
Mixing 2 different breeds esp ones that have been poorly bred will result in dogs being in bad health even French bulldogs have been bred badly that nowadays they look different from years ago and suffering breathing troubles.
It's sad, it's not a status thing its a stupidity statement.

I live in a very working class area and we have lots of staffies and bulldogs. Definite uptick in frenchies over lockdown.
It's not a long walk to a much "posher" area though, and I'd say the most common dogs there are labs, golden retrievers and especially cocker spaniels. I would always think of working line gundogs as "posh" dogs.

All dogs are crossbreeds, as they all originally came from wolves

There is actually no scientific evidence that is true. Science can establish that wolves and dogs come from the same canine grouping - but that isn't entirely helpful since the wider Canid family group includes, for example, walruses! Not a lot of similarities there then. We know that wolves and dogs are close enough relatives to make interbreeding possible. Homo sapiens were close enough relatives to make interbreeding possible too! And wolves and dogs share huge amounts of DNA in common. So do humans and chimpanzees - are we descended from Chimps, or the other way around?

The "dogs are descended from wolves" mythology originates from Darwin and the other early evolutionary scientists. There was no proof it was true then, and there is no proof it is true now.

@CuriousaboutSamphire

I have one with the other kind of 'Oh my god that's cruel' type of nose and "What's wrong with it's eyes?" dog.

How could anyone just leave your lttle snuggle in town?

Your dog is such a beauty! Such a sweet egg-head

I have always loved Bull Terriers (as a child, my neighbours had them) but sadly because I have never owned a dog before I would be unlikely to be a suitable owner for one due to inexperience

I have a golden retriever. Am I posh?

Sorry, that should say "Homo sapiens and neanderthals were close enough relatives to make interbreeding possible too!"

Personally I'd love a poo cross (my brother has a shih poo) as they don't shed! Number one reason to have them in my opinion.