Is my dog a designer dog?

Question

I got my golden retriever/black lab mix puppy six years ago. She and the rest of her litter were being given away in front of K Mart. I found a website last night saying that this is now one of these new breeds of dogs. They are called Black Golden Lab Retrievers. I prefer to call her a dog lol. I got her before all of the designer dog fad came around. I got her because I thought she would be a good companion to my son. She has been everything I could have hoped for. I dont really care what she is ( designer dog, purebreed, mutt, or plain dog ) we love her. She looks just like the picture on the web page too. Tell me what you think about this new "breed". I just want to know if this is the new designer dog craze.
http://www.gotpetsonline.com/golden-retriever/golden-retriever-breeders/black-golden-lab-retriever.html

Answer 1

I guess you could consider it a "designer dog", if both the parents were purebred in their specific breeds. Personally, I don't think much of the "designer dog" fad. It took people hundreds upon hundreds of years to perfect the purebred breeds we have now. It takes at least several generations of breeding two different purebreds before you have even a slightly predictable offspring (coat, size, temperament, etc). A "yorkipoo" or "goldendoodle" will take at least 5-7 generations before they begin to look consistent from litter to litter (and that's the defining characteristic of a purebred dog). Until that happens, (along with really good record keeping) they will just be cute mutts. So, while your dog may be the best dog ever :) it's not a "breed" until the offspring are consistent, there's good record keeping of who's being bred to who, and and a breed standard is written and followed.

Still, I looked at the pictures of a Black Golden Lab Retriever, and they are really cute. Almost made me want one :)