Would any poodle cross owners be interested in a separate forum on here where we can (hopefully) talk without judgement?

[DoodlesInTheHouse]

Genuine question. I asked MNHQ about this (under different name, if you are looking at this MNHQ) and they said to ask on here to see if there was interest.

I understand fully the views of some that some poodle crosses are not a good idea for a variety of reasons (puppy farming, health checks, various other reasons etc etc), but we also have our own reasons on why they suited our family, why we chose not to rescue at that time (and very likely will rescue in years ahead) and we are very, very happy with our choices. We are intelligent adults and made an informed choice. I come from a very dog-oriented family and knew what we were doing.

It seems impossible to ask a question about poodle crosses on here without being jumped on. It wouldn't be the done thing if we were talking about breast v formula, or SAHM v working mums, but it seems to be acceptable to ridicule the choices that some of us have made.

Would anyone be interested?

I don't think the poodle crosses need their own forum but I'm another who is in favour of rescuing, not breeding.
Just as an aside, I'd like to share this cautionary tale about the difficulty of finding a 'well bred' poodle cross.
I have a highly intelligent, lovely friend who wanted to buy a Cavipoo after meeting a mutual friend's lovely little Cavipoo.
She did a lot of research and took all the advice given and finally settled on a breeder in Kent ( or maybe Essex, I can't remember) who seemed koscher. They went to visit the pups, met the mum and saw some health certificates. The house was clean and tidy and the dogs seemed friendly.
The breeder had quite a few dogs but said the mum was her favourite, slept on her bed etc. The puppies were well sociailised , and had had a vaccination, so had been vet checked, supposedly.
They bought the pup home and it was very small and had chronic diarrhoea. It proved to be caused by not one, but two protozoal infections which required months of treatment. The puppy was also diagnosed with a heart murmur at this stage and was operated on for this when she was 9 months old ( she was too small before this).
Some investigation ( ringing the vet 'clinic' where the pup was vaccinated) proved it to be a vaccination only pop up affair in a garden centre and one of the satff said the breeder had brought in 18 puppies to be vaccinated at the same time my friend's pup had been jabbed. My friend had been told there were three in her pup's litter and there were no other pups in the house...
MY friend got back to the breeder who did offer her her money back for the return of the pup, but my friend actually talked her into being allowed to keep the pup and getting the money back in return for signing something saying the breeder was not
responsible for any vet fees.
There was some other health problem as well but recently she was spayed and an examination of her mouth has proved that pup needs extensive dental work to correct her puppy teeth not falling out.
Luckily my friend has insured her tiny dog but just wanted to share to show how difficult it is to find a genuine breeder of these dogs now they have become so popular.
I do believe that pedigree dog breeders are sometimes motivated by the possibility of improving the breed, but unfortunately money is the motivation behind a lot of crossbreed breeders :(

Why would you think a lovely family dog has nothing to do with breed characteristics that are, to a large extent, genetically determined? Creating a litter of puppies with potential to be good family dogs takes a lot of knowledge, a lot of hard work and a bit of luck. Chosing dogs that have a settled temperament, with no known problems like fear aggression, resource guarding and separation anxiety and so on, then breeding these dogs to each other is much more likely to produce a family friendly dog than a pot luck approach.

Roo I am suggesting that good breeders should only operate within a known breed, with the exception of specific and purposeful attempts to create a new breed. Given how I have defined good breeders anyone who has one off (or a few goes at) mixing two different breeds is not a good breeder. The first labradoodles were bred purposefully to create a breed suited to training as guide dogs for the blind for people with allergies. That idea quickly got lost in the frenzy for doodling everything.

We should all be campaigning for a dog license rather that taking cheap pops at poodle cross owners

Again. No-one is taking shots at poodle crossbreed OWNERS. That ship has sailed, the deed is done. Dogs are dogs. But if people can be put off going to the breeders in the first place maybe we can stop the trade.

I prefer dogs to most people.
I prefer dog owners to most non-dog owners.
I care not a jot for dog breeders.
I cannot abide crossbreeders.

I am in France which complicates things a bit but it is difficult to find a good breeder of any breed. I love GSDs and have always had one until my last one died from degenerative myelopathy three years ago. For the past few years there has been a commercially available genetic test for DM so I was not going to buy another pup until I found a breeder who checked for everything as well as DM and used lines suited for a family friendly dog and had few litters brought up in the house. For three years I have looked at the websites of hundreds of French breeders and called more than 40 breeders. I have found one breeder that fits my requirements and she has a one year waiting list, but so be it - I only needed to find the one breeder.

boo why would poodle crosses not produce good family dogs though? Or why would they be any less likely to than, say, a single breed?

Dog breeders are dog breeders - there are good and bad. Research, research, research.

I look at King Charles spaniels and wince at the state the breeders have got them in

Roo breeds are bred for specific purposes, not all of which are compatible with being a good family dog. Take an extreme example, Huskies, they need an insane amount of exercise, they cannot be let off the lead, the howl at night, they are aloof and generally difficult to train - they are brilliant at pulling sleighs in the snow in the middle of nowhere, but that activity does not figure highly in family life. So some breeds are more or less likely to be suited for family life (if one can make such a generalization as 'family life' since surely the life of a family living on a farm with other animals is quite different from the life of a family living in an inner city apartment).

Then you need to ask what the poodle was crossed with. Cross a poodle with a husky and chances are you will get enough husky traits to make the dog unsuitable for family life.

But the real answer is that you'd have no clue what a poodle cross is likely to produce. The whole point of breeding is to select dogs for particular characteristics and strengthen the presence of these characteristics in future generations while weakening other, undesirable characteristics. In the end though you cannot guarantee anything, just try to manipulate genetic probabilities. With one off cross breed pairings what you get is down to luck; you are not getting a dog that has generations of efforts to push in one direction behind it.

The question is not why would cross breeds not produce good family dogs but who knows what they would produce? Could be good family dogs, could be bad ones,I could be great sports dogs, or agility, or assistance dogs, who knows? You have to roll the dice and see what you get each time.

Labs and poodles are usually great family dogs. That's probably why my dog is a superb family dog.

Dogs are dogs, what is wrong with poodles??? Do they miss their good breed traits as soon as they have mixed blood?

Do the same happens to labs, spaniels, Yorkies, etc when they mix with other dogs or just when they have poodle blood?

My mongreldoodle plays hide and seek, loves to be squashed hugged, be around people, is very patient, affectionate and is always ready to play. Not a good family dog my ar*e.

I guess in the context of a mix of, say, 8 breeds, you will be sucking it and seeing. I guess. (Although that is the Australian labradoodle and they seem pretty nice dogs)

But crossing two breeds - you will have a pretty good idea of what you are getting from those breeds. No real difference from crossing two of the same.

My dog is a standard poodle X Labrador. He sheds a bit. He is greedy like a Labrador. He is mischevious like a poodle. He is a bloody great family dog.

I didn't want a pure bred - I wanted a cross. I did my research.

Not sure I'm understanding the difference here. But my dog is a hell of a lot healthier, so far, than the "pure" German Shepherd up the road, which can hardly walk. More predictable in nature than the snappy Collie next door.

It's snobbishness, that's all!

boo I guess I'm fundamentally against the whole notion of "pushing" by breeding in the first place. The Kennel Club can go fuck itself, as far as I'm concerned, for what it has done to dogs.

Pirate, that's so great, as long as YOUR dog is fine then I guess we don't have to worry!! Jeez.......

YES! One of the most sensible posts I have read this week. Thank you! 😉

Surely the reason poodle crossbreed are popular is because you have the possibility (not assurance) that shedding will be lower than the original (not poodle) breed. That's an attractive trait.

I mean rather than just being "fashionable" or liking a silly name.

@doodlesinthehouse. I'm off with you... I'm an intelligent adult who doesn't need to be preached to, or slandered. I'm totally done with the attitudes on Mumsnet.

Don't be so ridiculous lastgirlontheleft You know nothing about me and you are making huge assumptions about my character based on the single fact I wanted a lovely family dog. When we chose our dog we had two young children and DP, who has a disability wanted a dog that was easy to train and would complement our family. That's precisely what we got with our dog and we love her dearly and we think she loves us too. So basically, fuck off with your snotty unpleasantness.

Surely the reason poodle crossbreed are popular is because you have the possibility (not assurance) that shedding will be lower than the original (not poodle) breed. That's an attractive trait.

This is what i dont get though. If the non shedding thing is such an attractive trait, why not just get a poodle ( or a yorkie), where it's guaranteed. Why all the palaver about a poodle cross, where you actually reduce your chances of the coat attribute you want?

I think it comes down to snobbishness about poodles themselves. A poo or oodle is "cooler", simple as that

Rather than beating up poodle X breeders, and owners, why don't we all focus our efforts on trying to improve standards across the board for all dogs, whether a cross or not?

micah many of us prefer mixed breeds, for a variety of reasons. Nowt wrong with that.

Micah don't be so dense.

It's got nothing to do with being "cool".

Last you can't infer that from what we have posted, don't be stupid.

Rooner and Nomud agree.

this breeder has some interesting points to make about the issue of genetic problems.

I think that was the wrong link pirate

www.kimberlenes-labradoodles.co.uk/default.aspx?page=185

www.kimberlenes-labradoodles.co.uk/about-us

This isn''t where I got my dog from by the way!