Those Aren’t Mutts, They’re Designer Dogs
If you have a one-of-a kind mixed breed dog (or mutts as most of us fondly call them having at least one myself) you can now tell your friends you’re leading the fashion pack in dogs. TheStreet.com reports that Designer Dogs are the hot new “breed” with celebrities.
Letting the Designer Dogs Out
you have the latest gadget, the hottest car and the best restaurant reservation in town, chances are you also have your eye on this season’s trendiest accessory — the designer dog.
Singer Jessica Simpson totes hers around in a Louis Vuitton bag; actor James Gandolfini has a pint-sized pup, too.
“Any dog that costs upwards of $2000 is going to cause a considerable stir among those who look for trendy things,” says Maggie Bonham, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Designer Dogs.
While mixed-breeds have been around forever — usually the result of random couplings — breeders are now intentionally producing mixed-breed puppies, marketing them as designer dogs and selling them for thousands of dollars.
These designer dogs are startlingly popular, according to the American Canine Hybrid Club, the designer-dog world’s answer to the American Kennel Club.
The club is registering about 500 litters of designer dogs a month, more than double the number of litters it was registering just more than a year ago.
To read the rest of TheStreet.com article, follow this link.
Of course, not everybody is happy about welcoming these new breeds into the canine family, as seen in this article from The Wall Street Journal.
High-end mutts sit up and beg for respectWith her silky coat and full repertoire of tricks, Roxie could be a contender for one of the canine world’s top prizes, the coveted Best in Show ribbon at the Westminster Kennel Club competition. There’s just one problem: her ancestors.
Roxie’s not a purebred, she’s a mutt. She is part of a growing segment of hybrids, in this case, a popular cross between a Labrador and a poodle known as a Labradoodle. Her owner, Krista Waitz of Orlando, Fla., is pushing for dogs like Roxie to compete with purebreds despite their mixed lineage. “We’re in for the long haul,” she says. “We’re not giving up.”
It’s one of the biggest controversies in the canine world. Now that pricey “designer” dogs with names like the Giant Schnoodle (Giant Schnauzer/poodle) or the Morkie (Maltese/Yorkshire terrier) are trotting into homes around the country, their owners are demanding entree into the canine elite — and getting pushed out like junkyard dogs at a society ball.
Most of the country’s 73 million pet dogs are still purebreds or mutts from the local pound. But breeders say designer dog sales are booming. Wallace Havens, whose Puppy Haven Kennel outside Madison, Wis., sells 2,500 puppies a year, says requests for $600 designer dogs grew by 10 percent over the last year while demand for Puggles (a cross between a Pug and a Beagle) has tripled. The American Canine Hybrid Club, the designer dog world’s answer to the American Kennel Club, says it’s registering 500 new litters a month, more than double the number in 2004.
To read the rest of The Wall Street Journal article follow this link.
So the next time someone asks you what breed, you’re mutt is just say, “designer dahling!”
I love mutts and purebreds all. What I don’t care for are the greedy, lazy people who are pushing this “designer” thing. Dogs from a long line of carefully controlled breeding intended to accomplish a particular result (i.e., purebreds) differ from so-called mutts principally in the degree to which you can predict what a puppy will look like when grown and to a lesser degree what the dog’s behavioral inclinations may be (although the behavior is really most dependent on environmental variables like the quality of early experience). Both kinds are equally dogs and wonderfully lovable. The profit-driven idiots who take the results of the hard work and dedication of reputable breeders of two different breeds and tout the cross as some special designer thing should be condemned. I have no problem with the cross per se as I have no problem with our mutts. What drives me up the wall are the lies and pretense surrounding this designer thing! No way would I ever go to such tacky people for a puppy. The public should be warned not to expect healthy puppies from people of this type.
These dogs are indeed mutts. That’s what a mutt is, two parents that are different breeds. Oh, theyr’e adoarble alright, but there are plenty of mixed breeds dying in shelters. I think its a real shame people are profiting from this. As an owner of a pure breed cocker spanil, I paid mucho dinero to have just that. Why should people pay the same big bucks to have a mutt that they have no idea how they’ll turn out?
I wholeheartedly agree with the top two postings. Because people claim a mutt is a designer dog they seem to be able to make a couple thousand more. And those idiots in hollywood just create a bigger craze by buying into this stupidity. They are MUTTS! Admit it. Drop the denial. There is NOTHING wrong with owning a mutt as they more often than not make some of the best pets because the gene pools for the pure breeds are often limited and can create some off balanced purebreds. I own pure-breds just simply because I foster for a rescue. My older pets I purchased through a pet store (12 years ago before rescue came into mind … lesson learned! Too many wonderful pets in the pounds and rescue systems that need homes!!) or a breeder (11 years ago). Just drop the ego trip and say “My mutt is the best!”. Drop the pretenses and quit making your wallet your god. Love the dogs for what they give you … unconditional love …. don’t love them for their designer name.
These mutt “breeders” are demanding entry into AKC shows? Who are they kiddin???!!!! It sickens me that these puppy millers and back yard breeders actually think that they should be judged in the same category as a stellar breeder who has dedicated him or herself to the betterment of the breed instead of profit! Who are their foundation dogs? What standard are they working towards? Do they interview the prospective household before they place a puppy? Do they place a pet with a spay/neuter contract? Do the puppies come with health guarantees? They obviously breed for profit without regards as to whether or not these pups will end up in shelters. What happens when the designer dog goes out of style? Fashion is fickle and unforgiving. Give me a break! If you want a mixed breed, please visit a shelter and adopt a dog in need. Doing the good and humane thing never goes out of style!
Am I wrong, but isn’t this the same way some pure breeds we have today were created? My understanding is that pure breeds were breed into what they are today. Right?
This is a reply to Lin: The problem here is both in the motive and the method. Yes, in the past serious breeders would have an idea (vision?) of a breed they wanted to develop. They might simply select breeding animals from an existing breed based on traits they wanted to emphasize and slowly develop toward their vision. Sometimes they might select breeders from two or more breeds in an attempt to get to their goal more quickly. But in all cases a great deal of time and money was spent to work toward the goal carefully and gradually. Trust me or ask any reputable breeder, there is no money to be made breeding dogs IF YOU DO IT RIGHT. Breeders worthy of the name do it for the love of the breed and their desire to improve the breed, i.e., breed healthier, more intelligent, more beautifully constructed, etc., dogs of their breed. Just turning out puppies from a female of one breed and a male of another does not establish a breed. Watch the DVD “Den Mothers” to get a better sense of this or contact the AKC and read some of their literature. This “designer” thing is just a marketing ploy and I can’t believe people who would do this have the best interests of the dogs at heart. Especially since the prices they are charging are a total rip-off.
I have been watching closely this designer dog thing that is developing inthe US with surprise and disgust.
I love ALL dogs myself, purebreds and mutts.I respect all kinds of life and this industry of the perfect,designer dog is a huge and sad proof of how greedy we humans can be.
I am sickened by the way we use dogs to make money. And this designer thing is one of the worst i have witnessed so far in my life.
Educate your childern not to support puppy mills, teach them to choose adoption first…Teach them to love and respect dogs of all kinds, purebreds and mutts alike.
I agree with my good friend, Lucy and Irma’s mom. I own two VERY different dogs, one an all-american mutt, and another a purebred. I adopted both from shelters. I fell in love with their personalities, not their breed, or name of breed.
About a year and a half ago, my boyfriends sister ordered a dog from Puppy.com. (I know, I know..I was upset too). Her dog came with a thousand dollar price-tag plus airline fees to transfer this little 3 lb dog from god-knows-what-mill to NJ. She has paperwork, and is called a Malta-Pek-a-Poo. Then she had the audacity to call Bullet a “mangy mutt”. I laughed so hard, I almost exploded! My boyfriend and I now jokingly call Bullet a “PitKita”.
I’ve never not adopted a pet, and can’t imagine not getting one from a shelter. Mutt or purebred, who cares. Both my boys are wonderful, and I could care less what they are.
Lovable mutt works for me!!
I own a precious Maltipoo and while I admit that he is a “mutt” I was willing to pay a higher price for him to get exactly what I wanted. He has many qualities from the intentional mix of a Poodle and a Maltese that no other combination produced for me. So…. call him a mutt and call me foolish (I understand) BUT don’t assume that the “mutts” dying in pounds would be adopted were it not for the designer dog craze because the same person that will shell out the money for their perfect little designer dog is not usually the same person that will get a rescue dog or a pound puppy.
[...] That said, I’m sure that many of these designer dogs, like other mutts, are perfectly sweet, lovely family dogs! Look at Louise here who has a beautiful face! The problem is that they are not being bred in the systematic, controlled method it would take to actually develop a new breed. Check out the previous blog entry about this topic for some great commentaries on the subject. Designer dogs breeding some discontent [...]
Good day
I live in Cape town South Africa and would like to own a giant teddy bear schnoodle but cant seem to find a breeder in the western cape province, could you please help me find a healthy puppy that i can call my own and love like my own child…
I adopted a Maltipoo. I also rescued a Maltese. I think they are both wonderful!