What breed of dog wouldn’t you have again?

[PizzaSophiaLoren]

We have a little Beagle/Poodle cross and my word she had the worst characteristics of both. Stupid, disobedient and scent driven like a Beagle. Fussy with food and snappy like a miniature poodle. We do love her despite this.

This evening she pushed us to the limit by chasing rabbits for two hours in the local tiny park. Her recall goes out of the window when she is scent triggered. We thought she’d got better. But no, she’s still a dick.

What breed or cross of dog would you never get again and why?

Anything with a yap rather than a bark

Sadly Chihuahuas I’ve had four ended up rescuing a couple, they are lovely in the home very personable and unconditional love etc but and it’s a big but - taking them out is very stressful I’ve only had one that liked other dogs. They can be very reactive which makes life hard. Also where I live everybody has medium to large size dogs, taking a very small delicate dog out is a liability not everyone is responsible. It’s bloody hard work. Also they are very prone to heart issues which is an awful ending.

next I’m thinking a bedlington whippet maybe lurcher, something happy that just wants to run around !

Maltese, I have a maltese rescue and she is lovely but OMG the barking, she thinks it's her job to protect us all and when I have a headache the barking goes through me.

I’ve had a golden retriever and a Labradoodle. Our Goldie was a wonderful dog but very greedy, she loved muddy water and shed like crazy. We thought a Labradoodle would be the perfect dog! She was very active, you could never wear her out. She was bossy and demanding and she did shed a lot and she ate rubbish.

There’s something goes wrong with crossing two intelligent dogs. I would avoid getting a goldendoodle.

Have a look at poodles. They are amazing dogs. I have no negatives to share about poodles. I think the stupid haircuts put people off but it turns out that you can have them cut to look like a normal dog. 😂

Have a look through my posting history (if you have premium) it lays out the issues with doodle-cross breeding quite clearly.

But, in a nutshell, the healthiest dogs (which you should absolutely want your dog to come from) are never used to breed doodle crosses and most doodle-crosses have a bad quality of life and/or behavioural issues because of bad breeding. Owners of healthy, well-bred, pedigrees (like me) breed to make their breed better and not for the doodle aesthetic/money.

This is a really interesting thread as I've not owned a dog as an adult and we always had the same breed when I lived at home - Keeshonds, a spitz breed. They are lovely well behaved dogs and look so cute, all fluffy like giant pomeranians. But omg the hair that comes out of them, all over the house, furniture, your clothes!

Our neighbour had a Beagle and a Weimaraner, both now rehomed due to him unexpectedly becoming a single dad. The Beagle was soooo clever. The first week or so they moved in he worked out how to open the back door and two side gates and they both escaped about three times. The Weimaraner was very dim but would add the required muscle and height for Beagle's dastardly plans. I've heard Beagles settle much better if they are with at least one other Beagle.

A friend's daughter got a Husky - her first dog in a smallish flat. That did not go well. Apparently another breed that needs a "pack" and a shit-ton of exercise.

Friend's have a French Bulldog rescue. He's a really lovely happy boy but loads of breathing/health problems so they said they wouldn't have another one out of choice.

Husband remembers his grandparents having Jack Russels and that they tended to be quite snappy and aggressive. Is that generally true? I don't know.

When I daydream about getting a dog (I probably won't) i like the idea of a big dog!

@Melsy88that is the question isn't it! My partner said she did training, and most people I've met with shih tzus tend to have similar issues to what she had, rather than my experience. However, I do think it's down to the owner, my partner is a very anxious person and I think she put that on the dog too. It's still put me off that breed for life.

My doodle was from a 3 generation pedigree on both sides, DNA clear of the major breed illnesses in both parents.

Agree with that. Yappy dogs are also often the type to nip children.

Thats interesting. I've got a shihtzu cross, who is dream dog (though don't know if that comes from the shihtzu side) and all other shihtzu's i've met have been really placid and gentle.

I knew Jack Russells would get a mention! They have some bad PR for sure.

I understand some people think all JRT's are aggressive bolshy dogs but ours is a sweetie. He's affectionate and full of character, doesn't yap or even bark too much but does shed, like everywhere. He loves all people and most dogs. Very smart but all terriers can be willful and need firm training and reminders.
Like many breeds it just depends on the dog's parents, owners, training, environment etc as to how they turn out but obviously some breeds can have a tendency to certain characteristics, what they were bred for etc. I think JRTs were farm dogs, ratters originally.

This sort of proves my point. You have no benchmark to measure it against. You say it was 'DNA clear' from both parents - but what about the tests that aren't done on DNA? Like dysplasia. Were heart tests done? Many pedigrees should be tested for this. So did the parents have those tests done? How did those tests from the parents measure up against other pedigrees from the respective pedigree lines? Did you check?

I've made this point about a million times now, and I will keep making it: you will never find a Golden Retriever used to breed Goldendoodles that has the sort of health test scores (for dysplasia particularly) that they should have. That is because those excellent Golden Retrievers are not used in the breeding of these doodle-crosses. Why? Because their owners care about the breed not profit.

@Melsy88ooh that is interesting. My neighbour has a shih tzu cross who thinks it a guard dog, you can't walk past the garden without it charging and trying to attack you! I wonder if the shih tzu side is placid but whatever its crossed with isn't? My shih tzu was a pure breed, KC registered. Whereas I think my partners was a cross, but no proof of that, but she was teeny tiny for a shih tzu x

@LandSharksAnonymous What’s your opinion on a Golden Retriever x Bernese? I think they’re called a golden mountain dog. My friend has one, and he is a beauty, but very hard work, although at less than 2, I think it’s his age.

Just curious if you advise against crossing all breeds with goldens, or just poodles?

Pedigree of what though? The original breeds or crossbreeds?

Why were pedigree dogs put up for breeding with another breed of dog?

I do have a problem with the fashion for poodle crosses - people are breeding them, calling them designer dogs and charging pedigree prices, you can't predict the outcome of a cross breed, and the dogs seem to be highly neurotic.

My own adopted (we call her second hand) mutt required a DNA test to identify her dubious parentage. Her parents must have been crosses, as her grandparents were some sort of combo of border collie, greyhound, malamute and husky.... So she's stubborn, intelligent, high prey driven dog who runs at an insane speed. She also has separation anxiety, and a coat that blows constantly. There was clearly ZERO planning going into her breeding and she was diagnosed with arthritis in her wrists aged 5. Not sure what tests could ever have been done to predict the health of a mutt.

Not read the whole thread, but coming on to say it really does depend what bothers you/ your lifestyle. I have a mostly beagle and he’s pretty much a dream other than the barking, but I’m not sure I’d trade his happy loving nature for a quieter dog!

there are lots of surveys you can do to see what breed would suit- looking at lifestyle, amount of walking, whether you are experienced etc. a friend of mine did one to help choose her breed and she found it very helpful. I think that type of thing is useful as well as considering the other characteristics of the dog that you like

I think mixing breeds in general is a bad idea for two reasons (A) You cannot be sure what characteristics you will get and (B) they are never the best examples of their breed.

People do it to try and have the 'best dog possible,' because they want the 'best characteristics' of those dogs. There's something about either the Bernese or the Golden they dont like - right? Otherwise they'd have bought the pedigree. The problem is, you very often don't know what you are getting. You could end up in a situation (which many people have) where you have the worst traits of two breeds. It's why rescues such as Spaniel Aid are so full of these 'designer doodles.' With pedigree breeding, it's easier to know what you're getting - particularly if you use a good breeder.

I see the argument a lot that it results in healthier dogs. But, as I mentioned above, this isn't true. I've just had a litter and the girl I bred from has a 3/3 hip score (which is excellent - breed average is 18 altogether, and hers is 6 altogether - and I have never seen a dog with better in 20 years of being involved in the breed). I have spent years breeding Goldies to have the healthiest dogs possible. I would never, ever, use her to breed anything other than Goldies. I breed to make my breed better and so do all the breeders I know that I would recommend (and those are the breeders with the healthiest dogs). That means that the sorts of dogs that are used to breed mongrels (for lack of a better phrase as we're not talking doodles anymore) are never the best examples of their breeds. They're not the healthiest. They're not the best bred.

People say that mixing breeds means you avoid possible things like dysplasia, but as I've shown above, that's also not true. Bernese and Goldies are both prone to cancer, dysplasia and heart disease. Breeding the two doesn't lessen the risk of your dog developing any of those issues. In fact, it makes it harder to find out how health your puppy might be because chances are you can't find generational health tests (which, although I have many issues with the KC - they do make it very easy).

With a pedigree, you can be more certain of health tests being done generationally. For example, I provide 3 full generations of health tests and a further 2 generations of 'mostly complete' - as heart tests weren't really done ten years ago and although that still means my dogs are fully health tested under KC requirements, they're not in my eyes as heart defects in Goldies are quite serious.

But with these other mongrels (again for lack of a better phrase) most often you might get the parents, but they won't be the best of the breed, and you almost certainly won't get grandparents. It's like humans: just because the parents are healthy, doesn't mean the grandparents were.

I would say, in theory I have nothing against these breeds. But I hate the idea of dogs being used for breeding that aren't the best example of their breed and where the breeder is negligent in choosing the sire/dam - we have enough defective dogs in the world, we don't need more!

Sorry that was a lot...

Thanks for taking the time to reply @LandSharksAnonymous
I’m happy to be educated on it

Solidarity to all the people who've said Patterdale.

Border collie.

She was completely untrainable (took her for proper training sessions when it was clear we were making no headway - didn't work). Aggressive and would growl at anyone near her and snap at anyone who tried to touch her. We had to keep her locked in when we had visitors as she'd properly go for any strangers.

She wasn't a working dog as such (as they're meant to be) but we lived on a farm and she was constantly on the go, I'd walk her for hours and play football with her etc and she'd be up on the farm with my parents the rest of the time, so I don't think it was lack of exercise or mental stimulation. She was just a bit nuts!

I had a Parsons Russell Terrier, put me off terriers for life!
He absolutely trumped the cookerpoo! (That Clingy, nervous, obsessive and neurotic dog with inbuilt duracell battery that self charges while running after a ball)
No off switch, selective hearing and an insane prey drdrive. I actually left that dog in a country park once as it was getting dark & cold and toddler DC was crying and needed some food. This dog was fished out of a muddy swamp with a huge fishing net by a park ranger because he couldn't stop digging and don't start me on the pure hatred for other dogs! Anything that looked like a dog on the horizon he'd be either gone or try and pull you towards it so he could pick a fight... a fearless, shitty little hooligan!
But the best agility dog I have had to date- made it to champion in record time!

I came on to say Dalmatian as well. We have one now and he is the most beautiful, loving, friendly and funny dog. He has such a gorgeous personality, I honestly have never met a dog like him. But he is hard going! So so clingy, just wants to be on top of you all of the time. He doesn't know when to stop and his recall can be so frustratingly bad (despite multiple different trainers, who have all said the same thing), we don't let him off the lead now as just can't guarantee his recall, (we do book a paddock 3 times a week though). He's nearly 10 and still thinks he is a puppy. I really do love him, but I am not sure I could do this again!

My jack zhu is an absolute tit.

They all can have issues. TBH after nearly 4 yrs with my rescue, I have decided balanced dog trainers will be my future go-to straight away. All the postive only woke bullsh1t was a waste of my time, money and effort!

That’s reverse sneezing lol 😂
I love my chi chi id have another one any day full of character loyal mines an arsehole but god I love him 😍 x