"Designer dogs" healthier?

Question

See for yourself. Not my opinion, a news article.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_009164449.html

Answer 1

I think that the probelm is that people are making the dogs breed a particular way for profit. It just doesn't work. =/

Answer 2

I agree with this article in part, this may be true of designer dogs bred by backyard breeders but there are legitimate breeders breeding these dogs. I have a Bichonpoo. I checked the breeder out before purchasing her, met the parents, have copies of their papers the mother is a pure bred Bichon Frise and the father a pure bred Toy Poodle and I saw their health certificates. My pup is very healthy, happy and well-adjusted. She has no behavioral problems in fact she is the best behaved puppy I have ever owned (she is 5 months now). Her health is excellent she is fully vet checked. So while backyard breeders may produce defective designer dogs they can also produce defective pure bred dogs. Many (like myself) choose a designer dog because the cost of a pure bred dog is out of bounds, designer dogs are far less. Shelters (at least those near me) do not have small breed puppies. I don't regret my decision for a minute to buy a designer dog. She is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Answer 3

So true.
As a breeder of high quality Beagles I can assure you that none of them will ever produce a "Puggle". Since most every Beagle breeder feels the same, the only dogs that will be available for this "Designer breed" are the worst of the worst. Anytime that low quality dog is used in any breeding program the results are completely predictable.

Where the real problems will become evident is when these designer dogs are bred to other designer dogs, because then a lot of undesirable genes will be doubled up and become dominant traits.

Answer 4

I'm not a fan of these dogs and think all BYB should be shot with a ball of Shiite, BUT our "purebred" dogs today didn't trot out of the primorial swamp bearing certificates-Selective, careful breeding was used to perfect a dog for a certain purpose-so if your Grandma wants a dog with the temperment and intelligence of a Lab, that won't shed ......... But Healthy, well adjusted dogs must be used-if you are buying a mutt it should be reflected in the price!!! It is the people who are willing to pay insane prices for these mongrels that cause the problems!!!

Answer 5

I think that designer dogs are a crock. First, it gives byb an excuse not to get papered dogs and show them because they cant paper the puppies anyways. Second, anyone who breeds mixed breeds normally does it for profit because no quality breeder would ever produce a non pure pred dogs. Third, they are found to have health problems because how can you know which traits and breed faults are going to carry to which puppy?

Answer 6

I have to agree on the possibilities of gaining wonderful traits from the two breeds used to create such a thing as a "designer dog", BUT.... what's missing is HEALTH TESTING. Not just general health screening, but breed specific health issues that can afflict individual breed (more so than others), not to mention issue that can develop down the road that there isn't testing for yet. Multiply that by 2 breeds...

Answer 7

Too bad this doesn't get more publicity. I would love to see one of the news programs do a story on this and how these are uneducated breeders looking to make a buck and aren't doing anything in the way of ensuring the litters they produce are healthy. So very sad to see this.

Answer 8

This is what happens when dogs without papers get to breeding. Now they have made it a lucrative hobby. Just because a dog looks like a Lab doesn't mean it should be making more Labs.

Answer 9

because the people who breed these dogs dont show the parents and dont take them to the vet for x-rays etc... they are not healthier parents genetically - the REPUTABLE purebred breeder would still produce better dogs over all

however these "designer" dogs may be SLIGHTLY better than the purebred from a "backyard breeder" they are certainly NOT better than from the reputable purebred breeder... and there is no reason for it.

still is NO excuse for the outragous prices...

Answer 10

I think that mutts can be healthier in some circumstances. These "designer dogs" aren't healthier because they are bred in poor condition by BYB!

Answer 11

Agree with the basic premise of that article. I think mixed breed dogs can be healthy depending upon their parentage and how they are bred. Backyard breeders making these animals on purpose out of low quality dogs is why there are so many problems with them!

If you have a low quality labrador and a low quality poodle, you will get a low quality mixed "labradoodle". They are not able to pick the best attributes of each animal and only pass those on. The pups get it all: hip problems, skin problems, eye problems, etc.