Frankenstein pups

[Bunionbabe]

We've been looking for a new dog/pup for a while, rescues and breeders. Scrolling through Pets4Homes I'm shocked at some of the weird crosses that people are creating. Today I saw for sale a rottie/dachsund cross, a husky/dalmatian and countless mini fluffball mash-ups. To make it worse these people give their creations cute hybrid names and charge £1k for them. Who buys these pups and why?

Idiots who think they're cute and that you're guaranteed to get the both of best breeds and forget you can get the worst of both plus a whole load of health issues.

It’s one big money making exercise and unfortunately there are plenty of people out there willing to spend good money on what is effectively a mongrel.
Legislation to control dog breeding by any old Tom, Dick and Harry is long overdue.

^ This

So everyone coos over little cute pups- then they get older and all the health issues show up so it’s pts, fund the health issues- winner for the vets, or rehome.

All the above. Also, what are the logistics of trying to mate a rottie with a dachsund? Some sort of cruel joke? I know why I prefer dogs to most people.

Probably artificially inseminated by some weirdo ‘collecting sperm’ from the dog and shoving it in a syringe…

Weirdo indeed.

Cross breeds have always been a thing. There’s been a strange period where the only dogs available are pedigree or multi cross mongrels, but “first cross” and “second cross” terms exist because some people who control their dogs breeding (like pedigree breeding people do) have always crossed breeds.

if you think it’s reasonable to spend £1k+ on a pedigree puppy with parental history info, I’m not sure why a cross breed pup where both parents are pedigree dogs (from different breeds, rather the same) with parental history of both would cost less.

Im afraid having had to spend a bit of time with people who breed pedigree “show quality” dogs has made me a bit more cynical about people who do it “properly”.

Surely, they're very expensive mongrels?

Why not just rescue some Heinz 57 mutt from a shelter?

Mongrels/cross breeds are generally healthier than pedigree, no?

Pets4Homes has a reputation for selling unhealthy dogs from bad breeders.

Two pedigree dogs of the same breed produce pedigree puppies that could themselves later produce pedigree puppies etc...
The idea of a pedigree is that the dog is matching a certain standard. If you cross a pug with an italian greyhound you could have anything on a spectrum from pug to italian greyhound, no idea what you'll get, whether it's in terms of looks, abilities or temperament.
Knowing what you'll get is why you pay £1k (or quite often more to be honest)

On top of that, maintening a pedigree line comes with costs, I know that a lot of people are against breeders but it's a fact that breeding doesn't come cheap. For example, my dog's breeder travels around Europe to find the best studs, it's a rare breed and inbreeding factor is something to look at so you can't just take the stud next door.

I have nothing against cross-breeds, I'm very fond of cockapoos, I miss the good old Heinz 57 that don't seem to exist anymore, but I don't think that deliberate breeding them, as cute and lovely as they are, can ever be described as ethical.
Maybe one day these breeds will be recognised officially (most likely) but for now, there's no justification to charge people £2k for a cross-breed puppy.

They're often not from pedigree parents though are they? It just a random person who fancies making a bit of money, and crosses their dog with something else to make a mutt they can make a mint from. There's a ridiculous amount of poorly bred pups out there that people buy without asking any questions because they're cute and they want them. Even worse a lot of these crosses are from puppy farms set up to look like they're coming from a home.

People with pedigree dogs generally wouldn't cross them with another breed because the result wouldn't be pedigree any more. The point of pedigree is to keep a high standard in a breed (although this has been taken too far in some instances) and with a cross you have no idea what you're getting. If they're crossing their pedigree then they're obviously just looking to cash in on what's popular.

First crosses are usually pedigree parents. And they generally more than second cross dogs. (Although on sites like pets4homes there aren’t really any cheap puppies)

OP - pets4homes isn’t a great place to look for a new puppy, do you have a breed in mind you want?

I feel like the thread could have ended here!

TBH anyone buying a dog through gumtree/pets4homes or any of those dodgy online sites should be banned from getting a dog. Takes a special kind of idiot to buy a dog online from these places.

In short - no, simply because are way too many different factors involved and the vast majority of these "crosses" won't come from health tested parents and I suspect many won't even see a vet unless it's for their eight week check and to be chipped.

It's true that the KC and pedigrees can have multiple issues but mixing two unhealthy pedigrees won't make a healthy puppy.

I've got a weird cross (mongrel), in that it's not very common. I have googled it and you can't find much.

He's a Labrador and Red Setter.

He doesn't look like Frankenstein though.

I'm off to look and see what weird crosses I can find now and to check if they do look like crazy monsters 😂

An elderly relative told me she lived in a village with a rather unusual collection of dogs thanks to an ambitious and determined dachshund... larger bitches aren't safe from smaller dogs if they're willing, it seems. So some of the crosses may be accidents.

Obviously larger dog, smaller bitch would be a recipe for utter disaster.

In this day and age there's no such thing as an "accidental litter".

Where are good, reputable places to buy a puppy?

Go on the KC website and use Champ Dogs to find breeders near you of breeds you are interested in (it's useful to cross-reference the two websites tbh). Then, speak to the breeder and say you're considering getting a puppy from that breed, you live locally and you'd really welcome some practical advice about the breed because you want to be 100% you are the right fit for that breed. Most breeders are more than willing to speak to potential buyers (they use it as a form of vetting - my mum did this when she was considering getting an English Setter and the breeder really appreciated it). They'll tell you all you need to know. Most breeders have been in the game for YEARS and no one knows the breed like they do.

Then, once you've bottomed out what breed...you need to speak to several breeders of the same breed. No two breeders are the same. There will be 'feelings' you get from some that put you off - and that's okay. It took me three breeders to get one I felt was the right fit for my most recent dog.

You should never buy randomly online and you should never use a reference from some random you've never met before! Someone posted about this recently - she even linked the website that the random person had said belonged to the breeder - and about 20 posters agreed it was a puppy farm that the woman had been told to go to, to get her designer mongrel. And yes, it was clearly a puppy farm.

I have a weird cross - dalmatian x german shepherd. He was an doggy daycare accident. Not all of the ones youve seen will be intentional.
Also, my dog is brilliant

The KC website has some good info on considering what breed might suit you, questions you should ask the breeders and what to look out for, and also what they should be asking you.

Be aware that someone advertising 'KC registered pups' is no guarantee of anything.

We found our first dog by going to a breed show and talking to a lot of breeders. The second one, DH did a lot of phoning having found breeders online, including asking them about other breeders.

Another vote for Champdogs. I narrowed my search down by region then checked for health and genetic testing of the parents. Had a shortlist of three breeders. One wasn't having a litter for over a year, one never replied, the third we were on a waiting list for eight months. Had lots of telephone conversations so we were both sure about each other.

I think this is where mongrels and cross breeds are two different things.

Mongrels - have ancestors of all different types over many generations. Have probably benefited from a wide gene pool and basic evolution and are generally healthy.

Cross breeds - are bred from two or three pure breeds, each of which may have its own health issues. While they’re less likely to inherit both copies of a fault, that fault is still fairly likely to occur. Add in to this the fact that many (not all) people breeding cross breeds won’t bother to do the health checks to see if their dog carries a fault, and the chances go up.