What is a designer dog??

Is it just me or when I was a kid these were called mutts and people didn't brag about having one??

I don't know if I am tainted in my view because of all the horrible things I see or if I am not alone in thinking that designer dogs are a bit ridiculous. It seems like a puppy mill or backyard breeder had an "accident" between (for example) a Lab and Poodle and then decided to profit off of it. And since it worked so well with those now they are crossing EVERYTHING under the sun and giving them these crazy names.

I have had people say to me I have a Cockapoo but it doesn't have papers. WELL YEA DUH! Because it is a MUTT!!

Nothing against Cockapoo's or Labradoodles I know people that have them and they can be (KEY PHRASE HERE CAN BE) very nice dogs but really it is just someone trying to make money off people and A LOT of money at that.

I have rescued plenty of Labradoodles.. PLENTY OF THEM! Even puppies.. and I have rescued Jack Rat (Jack Russell / Rat Terrier), Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel / Poodle) and Yorkiepoo (Yorkie / Poodle) and Beagle / JRT mixes (no idea what the designer name is for those) and Chiwinnie (Doxie / Chihuahua). So, don't get me wrong here they have all been nice dogs and I know it is now main stream to call them by the smashed together names but I just think it is crazy the amount of money someone will pay for one of these dogs.

Labradoodles are selling for $1,200 and up at Pet Land (you know that is my favorite store.. LOL!). I have seen ads in news papers and Internet for mix breed.. Oh sorry designer dogs.. for $2,000 and sometimes even more. There is even one website of a "breeder" that has a page of puppies called Oopses... it says right on the page "We don't always know who the father is of our Oopses" OMG are you freaking kidding me??? And she sells them for $1,000 a piece.

Again don't get me wrong I have adopted out plenty of designer dogs and for some people it is a perfect balance / mix of a dog. My one friend at work adopted a Goldendoodle puppy from me. It is actually black because the father was a Black Poodle. Apparently a "breeder" couldn't sell them all at Christmas so he dumped them at the pound. UGH!! Anyways, it is perfect for his family. His son is allergic to dogs and he really didn't want a little dog and he really didn't like poodles. The mix is PERFECT! Nice big dog with Golden personality and poodle hair PERFECT. Now, if he went and got this dog through a "breeder" or a Pet Store he would have paid $1,800 for the dog with NO vet care. He adopted this dog from me spayed and up to date on all vaccinations for $200.

Crazy isn't it?

The sad thing is a lot of dogs are loosing out on homes because of this crazy cross breeding. People are expecting to get one thing and then the puppy grows up and is something totally different then they expected. Like these Golden and Labardoodles. There is NO guarantee they will come out with Poodle hair. Litters are usually 50 / 50.. half have poodle hair and half have the lab or golden hair. The other thing people don't realize are the personality traits... OMG Labradoodles if not trained properly can be SOOOOOOOOOOO hyper and BAD DOGS! So, after having a BAD dog for a year or two people are dumping them at the pound. It isn't the dogs fault the owner had NOT A CLUE how to train / raise a Lab OR a Poodle. Which both breeds need a lot of exercise. So sometimes crossing them you just intensify those energetic traits.

For example Beagle JRT mixes... OMG whose bright idea was that?? Hey I have an idea lets take a dog that is known for only following it's nose, never listens, being difficult to housebreak and mix it with a REALLY hyper stubborn dog that needs lots of exercise and see what happens. Great you have now created a REALLY fast, hyper Beagle that when it runs away YOU CAN'T CATCH IT!!!!! Oh and now they can jump really high too... GREAT because Beagles don't already get into garbage.. now they can get in the garbage and back out of it without ever knocking over the can. AWESOME!

Sorry, I just had to see if anyone else out there agrees with me.. the designer dog thing has just gone over board. I had someone contact me saying they wanted a Beabull... I had to look that up on the Internet it is a Beagle and Bull dog. Granted the pictures I have seen are FREAKING CUTE! But I have a friend that has a Bull Dog and they are really lazy and stubborn. So, I wonder what happens when you mix the Beagle in there?? Anyways, the person said she was willing to spend up to $1,000. OMG! That is a lot of money for a mutt!

I wonder what designer name my dog would be?? He is a Rottie, Shar Pei, German Shepard and Borzi mix....