Hot Crosses - Why the Rise in Designer Dogs?

Do you recognize these dog breeds?

Puggle (Pug + Beagle)

Matltipoo (Maltese + Poodle)

Yorkiepoo (Yorkshire Terrier + Poodle)

Cavoodle (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel + Poodle)

They're four of the most in-demand puppies among Toy cross breeds. In fact almost every dog breed is being crossbred with Poodles to find that winning combination of size or temperament with the minimal-shedding and intelligence of the Poodle.

Although we've had Bone-Mot™ articles before on the technical aspects of cross breeding, I'm going to explore the subjective aspects of why these dogs are so popular.

--Explosion of allergies in adults and children. Almost any doctor will provide anecdotal confirmation of this, but it's difficult to quantify. We may just be keeping better records, or our affluent population is more likely to visit a doctor for something like sneezing, scratching and rashes than we did in the past. Or, there may be more man-made items that we're exposed to and at a pace and quantity faster than our bodies can tolerate.

Whatever the cause, people are searching for dogs that won't trigger allergic reactions and Poodles, with their minimal shedding, have a good reputation in this regard.

--Hereditary health issues in purebreds. There's no denying that many breeds have been overbred for appearance so that their health has sometimes been jeopardized.

One of the goals of the wildly popular Puggle is to avoid the breathing problems that have been bred into Pugs. A purebred Pug has a flat, squashed-in face with small nasal openings, narrow windpipe and long soft palate.

All these breed characteristics limit breathing, contribute to airway obstruction and result in wheezing and snoring. The Beagle strain is intended to improve the Pug's head but retain the Pug's happy and easygoing nature.

--Modern life is increasingly busy and urban. Many established breeds, such as Labradors or Golden Retrievers, require more room to run and time to exercise that today's owner can accommodate. The growing retirement community with their move to permanent RVs and smaller garden/patio homes has no room for large or active dogs.

Even smaller dogs such as Terriers take more time to train and require more exercise than many owners are able or willing to accommodate.

--Owners want more from dogs. On one hand, I'm delighted to see so many people, especially childless ones, getting dogs and treating them as their children. On the other hand, this has created a rise in unrealistic expectations people have on dogs.

I've yet to meet a breeder who hasn't had a puppy returned because he chewed too much, dug in the yard, shed or barked. Dogs have been so glamorized and humanized in the media that people are shocked when dogs act like dogs.

Worse, many of the established breeds have breed characteristics that are not acceptable to these owners. For example, any Border collie is going to herd (animals, children, adults) whatever is around because that's the way he has been bred for generations. Not all owners understand this before they get a working or herding breed of dog.

None of this is the dog's fault but it is clear that some breeds have outlived their ability to fit in our contemporary lives.

--Designer dogs are popular. There is a certain amount of faddish behavior in the demand for these dogs. Puggles are selling for $1,000 and more because they're so popular.

None of the above means that a designer dog can't be a great addition to your family. The problem is that no one can guarantee that the cross bred will get the best qualities of both breeds.

I've yet to see an ad on the Internet for a cross bred that doesn't explicitly or implicitly lead you to believe that you always get the best of both worlds. In fact, anyone who has bred dogs will affirm that you can get the worst of both worlds.

Far from avoiding the genetic problems on one purebred, you can end up with the genetic problems of both purebreds!

Cross breeds are first generation dogs. You not only have no guarantee on adult size but you also have no guarantee on temperament. There are no recognized breed standards yet for any of these cross breeds. We can guess at how large a cross bred puppy will be when he's fully grown but no one knows for sure yet.

That brings me to my suggestion that the dog community should be willing to recognize cross breeds and encourage dog breed clubs to form and establish breed standards.

As usual, the American Kennel Club (AKC) is mired in yesterday and attacks the popularity of these dogs as being nothing more than high-priced mutts.

There is truth to that but the unwillingness of the AKC and dog community to support the lengthy process of creating an official dog breed is the reason for that.

I'm sorry but the reality is that many dog breeds don't have a place in urban American any longer.

People want the size, minimal shedding, and trainability of Poodles without their high-energy and sometimes high-strung temperaments. Many people just do not like the looks of a Poodle. Cross breeding a purebred Poodle with a purebred of another breed may be the way to create a healthy urban dog.

People want these cross breeds. Instead of fighting it, let's join in and encourage responsible breeding that creates recognized breed standards.


P.S. Visit http://www.ToyBreeds.com next month for a new edition of the Bone-Mot™.