Designer Dogs
Designer Dogs
These designer dogs or hybrid dogs are tremendously popular – especially the Puggle and Labradoodle. Many celebrities are buying these hybrid breeds because they are expensive, trendy and very cute. Other popular mixes are the: Schnoodle (a Miniature Schnauzer and Poodle mix); Golden Doodle (a Golden Retriever and Poodle mix); Shorkie (a Shih Tzu and a Yorkshire Terrier mix) and Corkier (a Chihuahua and Yorkshire Terrier mix). There is no room to list them all but the American Canine Hybrid Club has registered well over a 100 different hybrid breeds. We will discuss two of them here.
Choosing a Designer Dog
You should decide what kind of dog will best meet your requirements. You may want to choose a cross-breed, designer or pure-bred dog.
If want to choose a designer dog such as a Puggle or Labradoodle, then you have to decide whether you want a first generation or a multi-generational dog. The first generation Puggle will have some random combination of its breeding parents, a Pug and a Miniature Poodle, breed characteristics. A multi-generational designer dog will generally breed true and it will look like its breeding parents. A good example of a designer breed that is breeding true is the Australian Labradoodle.
Labradoodles History
The history of labradoodles began in the 1970's in Australia. They were first developed by Wally Cochran. Cochran was encouraged to start the cross breed between the Standard Poodle and the Labrador Retriever by a blind women who suffered from dog allergies. The initial mating of the two breeds was quite successful and three low-allergy pups were produced.
The first hybrids produced surpassed the best qualities of both purebreds. Due to this fact, Labradoodles became extremely popular in Australia and more breeders began crossing the breeds. However, as cross breeding continued, the offspring produced were not consistent. Some were low shedding and allergy-free, while others lacked these qualities.
When it comes to eliminating allergies in a breed, this doesn't only mean producing a dog that sheds little hair. It also means eliminating other allergies such as dander and salvia. The goal was to create a breed of dog that was hypoallergenic but still had high intelligence and a friendly temperament.
The Labradoodle is a cross between a purebred Retriever and a purebred Poodle dog breed. This combination should have the intelligence and non shedding coat of a poodle and the wonderful family dog and retriever capabilities of the Lab. If you look up the temperament of a Poodle you will find: “The Poodle is one of the smartest and most trainable of all dog breeds. The standard Poodle is lively, good natured, friendly, proud, athletic, affectionate and extremely loyal. This is a thinking dog that can be trained very easily and almost anticipates any command. Poodles are very loyal and become very attached to their owner and family. Poodles that are socialized early do very well with children, other pets and strangers.” When you research the Labrador Retriever you will find: “Labrador Retrievers are one of the best family dogs in the world. The Lab is gentle, loyal, intelligent and extremely reliable with children. These Retrievers are not apartment dogs but can adapt well to city living if they are given sufficient exercise. These dogs love to swim and should be given lots of opportunities to retrieve sticks from the water in all kinds of weather. The Labrador is good natured and eager to learn and can be easily trained to do everything from competitive obedience and field trials to becoming a “seeing-eye” dog for the blind.”
The resulting Labradoodle is slightly heavier than a Standard Poodle with a medium length coat that could range between curly and non-shedding to straight and shedding. The resulting temperament can be any combination of the two founding dog breeds but should be an intelligent and good family dog that should live for 10 to 12 years. Both of the founding breeds had a large number of health problems – some common and most different. Therefore before buying a Labradoodle puppy, ask the breeder for the results of the parents screening for orthopedic and eye disease problems.
The Puggle or Pugle is a cross between a purebred Pug and a purebred Beagle dog breed and are the most popular designer dog breed today. Since both founding breeds are medium to heavy shedders, the resulting Puggles will not be low shed breeds. The breeders will say that the Puggle will take the best characteristics of both breeds and you will have a dog without the breathing problems of a Pug and one that has a much calmer temperament than the Beagle. If you look up the temperament of a Beagle you will find: “Beagles are calm, loyal and excellent with children and other dogs. The breed is cheerful and happy and they make good family pets except for the nose. Once a Beagle picks up a scent it will follow it to the exclusion of everything else. Beagles are like their cousin, The Basset Hound, and are fairly difficult to obedience train because of their independent or stubborn streak.” When you research the Pug you will find: “The Pug is an even tempered, easygoing, pleasant and friendly companion. This sturdy dog breed gets along well with children …. The Pug doesn’t need much training but enjoys the process and is fairly easy to train”
Puggle puppies are adorable. The fully grown Puggle should stand between 10 and 16 inches tall at shoulder height and weigh between 15 and 30 pounds, live for 12+years, with short hair that will shed, and be either somewhat stubborn or easily trainable. Since both founding breeds are good with children, the resulting Puggles should be good with children, strangers and make great family pets. Both founding dog breeds have a number of different health problems. While cross-bred dogs are sharing a larger gene pool, there is no assurance that only the healthy genes will dominate. It takes many generations to create hybrids that will breed true. Before you buy a Puggle puppy make sure that the breeder has screened the parents for eye problems and orthopedic diseases.