dog breeds

You need to check your own posts -how can a cross breed be a breed.
You say they are a nice mix -have you ever met one with sebacious addenitis, PRA or HD? I have (2 in the same dog). Have you met one with both coats? Impossible to keep brushed when more than an inch long. Moulting - some can shed worse than the worst shedding lab.

Why did you not get a poodle or one of the other water dogs? There are quite a few. The cross was originally done as a quick fix when somone had no large poodles or curly coat retrievers within thousands of miles. The experiment was a failure but the puppy farmers soon jumped on the bandwagon.

TBH anyone buying a mutt for more than a rescue donation is a sucker.

True^^^^...and if you have not read the story of the man who 1st bred them for a purpose then read it (he is devastated) about what he created and what it turned into:(
 
TBH, I'm bored of people asking WHY I chose my labradoodle. Thats like asking why anyone decides on ANY particular breed/cross breed whatever!

My dog has a super temperament and has no health issues whatsoever, there's nothing more I need in a dog - she fits the bill perfectly.

The bigger picture here is that PURE breds equally can have awful health problems due to the over-breeding. So in my opinion labradoodles are no different. In fact I thought "mutts" as some of you have so kindly put it, are generally healthier than pure breds...
 
The bigger picture here is that PURE breds equally can have awful health problems due to the over-breeding. So in my opinion labradoodles are no different. In fact I thought "mutts" as some of you have so kindly put it, are generally healthier than pure breds...

That is the myth that most puppy farmers & poor breeders use... Cross breeds are marketed at people who believe such misinformation.

The heathiest option is a well bred pure bred from fully health tested parents. It certainly isn't a cross between two breeds which share inherited problems.
 
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A "hybrid" a cross between two species...such as a horse and a donkey..NOT a cross between two breeds...very different. Incidently hybrids are often weaker and infertile ;)
 
I have 2 Newfoundlands, originally bred to haul nets in for fishermen and now more commonly used as water rescue dogs.
I also have a Standard Poodle orgibating in Germany (though some believe Russia) as a duck water retriever. Now not as common as they were and generally considered to be a poofty pet...which they certainly arent.. !!! They are every bit the athletic working dog they were bred to be with astounding intelligence. Unlike my Bewfies who are as thick as two short planks :rolleyes:
 
TBH, I'm bored of people asking WHY I chose my labradoodle. Thats like asking why anyone decides on ANY particular breed/cross breed whatever!

My dog has a super temperament and has no health issues whatsoever, there's nothing more I need in a dog - she fits the bill perfectly.

And that is the most important thing in my opinion :)
 
So why a deliberate cross breed and not a shelter dog?

I've no idea why Magic Melon decided upon buying her dog. Perhaps she just liked him? Perhaps she doesn't have as much need for specific types of dogs as some of us? Perhaps she is new to dog ownership and flicked through some pages of dogs and settled on this particular crossbreed? Who knows. I know why I've bought every single one of my dogs. I've spent my life with dogs so I'm quite clear on what I want but many people aren't hence the amount of dogs in rescues!
 
I have a lab collie cross rescue who was until recently a fantastic cow dog and now an irish wolfhound whose job seems to be to eat sleep and grow in any combination :)
 
Japanese akita! But I rescued him then left home - which my mum and dad thank me for everyday I am sure. He is lovely but not a breed for the faint hearted. We never managed to get him to do what we wanted consistantly. i.e. he knows what 'heel' means but it doesn't mean he wants to do it! Dog aggressive (no socialisation as puppy before we got him) and don't even mention the moulting! urggh!

When he hit 7 years old he put on tonnes of weight, was very lethargic and was diagnosed with thyroid problems which a lot of akitas apparently develop.

However he is the cleanest dog to have around the house, very civilised, very intelligant and very loyal. We love him
 
I seem to remember that it was Guide Dogs For the Blind who were the very first to cross poodle and labrador.Specifically it was for those blind people with an allergy to moulting fur..which labs are extremely good at shedding.I did see a magnificent cross breed a week ago,a lovely big red sable black masked chap ,cross between a Rottie and a Mastiff.
 
I seem to remember that it was Guide Dogs For the Blind who were the very first to cross poodle and labrador.Specifically it was for those blind people with an allergy to moulting fur..which labs are extremely good at shedding.I did see a magnificent cross breed a week ago,a lovely big red sable black masked chap ,cross between a Rottie and a Mastiff.

The link is already in this thread http://www.globalanimal.org/2010/12/02/man-who-created-labradoodles-regrets-the-cross-breed/25768/

It was not Guide dogs for the blind -they always used curly coat retrievers and have used standard poodles but a guide dog group in Australia that needed to supply a dog to Hawaii. They had no curly coats and the standard poodles available were too small.
 
Kazakh Tazi, similar to the Saluki but considerably stronger. As the name suggests they are kept for hunting in Kazakhstan where they hunt Hare, Fox, Badger, Siberian Roe Deer, Wild Boar and wolves.
They are incredibly hardy and intelligent, hunting over ground conditions which would cripple most sighthounds in short time, not to mention coping with extreme temperatures ranging from 40 C in the summer down to -40 c in the winter.

Saluki's, Hunting dogs from the middle east where they hunt Hare, fox, Jackal, Gazelle and wolf.

7750000146_8800e0519d_c.jpg


http://www.flickr.com/photos/7270140@N08/sets/72157602119982718/
 
2 border collies - one of which was a rescue with oodles of issues which we have either worked through or 'adapted' to ;) He's happy, I'm happy:) and a recent unexpected addition -

A Papillion x Chihuahua cross also known as Papichu or Chion or some other combo I can't remember or pronounce properly! lol She was only 6 months old - needed a home as the first one didn't work out. She takes a 12" rug so is little. Sadly she thought she was a Doberman guard dog when she first arrived here... She, the collies and I have had several 'free and frank exchange of views' while I explained she was a ickle ***** and biting was not acceptable.... calm has now been restored ;):D:D

Not a little dog person but would not be without Smeagol now :D She was bred deliberately by a knowledgeable breeder of both breeds, both parents healthy and good natured, sold, came back to the breeder, and then given to me - my lucky day.

I don't and wont slight any dog, cross or pure, there's so many to chose from!:) -but their problems are usually always human related- look to the end of the lead :mad:

But please - as has already been said - lets play nice :):)
 
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Quick question...

why is a lurcher an acceptable 'breed' on this thread but a labradoodle isn't?

A lurcher isn't a breed either last I checked ;) Why go off being bitchy about one partbred and let another slip by without a mention? Is there something inherently better about a lurcher, or something inherently inferior about a labradoodle (silly name aside)


(said as someone who loves lurchers and lost mine just after Christmas so no offence intended!)
 
Bred for a purpose with functionality in mind, over hundreds of years, and usually cheap as chips with no silly claims. That's why I have less of a problem with them. Even the creator of Labradoodles (as a low-shedding guide dog) has his head in his hands over what has become of them.
 
Bred for a purpose with functionality in mind, over hundreds of years, and usually cheap as chips with no silly claims. That's why I have less of a problem with them. Even the creator of Labradoodles (as a low-shedding guide dog) has his head in his hands over what has become of them.

Maybe. I don't think my lurcher was bred for any other reason besides the fact they were popular with certain parts of society at the time though and therefore were produced in their droves. (mine was from the RSPCA so I didn't buy him but you see my point)

At the point that I rescued my lurcher ( '96) the rescues were as full of lurchers as they are now full of staffies. They weren't being produced with a single thing in mind at all. They were being bred for a profit in huge numbers by undesirable breeders.

I find it very strange that people would be rude about someone's dog because it is a new thing and they don't approve (possibly correctly but still no need to be rude) and yet pass no comment what so ever on the fact that a lurcher isn't a breed either? I can't work out if it is because the people who said lurcher are regular posters that no one pulled them up or whether it is because people hate labradoodles that they did feel the need to go off on one about them?

I guess it doesn't matter, just seems odd and makes no sense in my poor little brain.
I'm glad I didn't post a nice happy post about how lovely my lurcher was or I'd probably have got the same snarky replies (not being a regular and all!)
 
Bred for a purpose with functionality in mind, over hundreds of years, and usually cheap as chips with no silly claims. That's why I have less of a problem with them. Even the creator of Labradoodles (as a low-shedding guide dog) has his head in his hands over what has become of them.

Absolutely athough some lurchers are being bred for no purpose now. :( BTW we allow discourage dodgy lurcher breeding.)

I groomed a bichon yesterday. New client and owner has asthma. She bought a dog from a " reputable breeder " (her words) 200 miles away for her dad's 70th birthday after he lost his ancient mini poodle. Said dog a multigeneration yuck doodle was fine as a puppy but grew up to have a double coat and she now cannot visit her dad in winter. She realises she was conned by all the... it will be perfect, non shedding la la la on the website and did not know of any suitable for asthmatic breeds other than poodles & bichons. People get taken in by the advertising - some, like this lady, realise they were conned and her face when I asked "they sold you a pup as a gift for your then 70 year old father ?" was a picture - she then let on she saw the huge Std poo dad but not the mum and the pup was there with littermates.
A reputable breeder would have wanted to meet dad at least and know that there was close by family backup before allowing a pup to a pensioner.
 
I don't recall being rude about Labradoodles? And I have no issue with individual dogs, of course all our dogs are cute and lovely and wonderful :p

What I do have an issue with is the sales pitch and the way in which they are sold and marketed.

Round here there are very few lurchers as pets, they are working dogs, like I say, bred for a purpose, and those which are pets or rescues or a by-product of a litter which was bred to work.
We could also apply the same logic to JRTs - not a registered/recognised breed, bred to work in its' origin but with the pleasant side-effect of being quite a good pet dog.
Not sold at hugely inflated prices with a huge sales pitch for a dog which may not be what it says on the tin.
 
I love Lurchers. Labradors and Poodles (I also love Poodles) have shared health problems, so I'm always apprehensive about the intentional crossing of them, as it's doubling up on them. Big piece in Dog World last week saying that the KC are considering registering x breeds:eek: If it had been April 1st, I could have had a laugh about it. This surely has to be for the purpose of swelling the coffers :rolleyes:
 
I have two, a cavalier, and then a cross between a Serra da Estrela (huge Portuguese breed used to guard sheep from wolves) and a german Shep.

Its incredibly funny - the cavvie thinks she's a guard/hunting dog, while the big one (who was actually supposed to be a guard dog) is the sweetest, most adorable and relaxed dog in the world.
 
These breeds may have already been said but;

I had a Newfoundland, originally meant to help fishermen bring in the fish. Recently been used for rescue as well.

Currently i have a Bernese Mountain Dog which was bred to herd cattle in the swedish mountains.
Also have a Springer Spaniel, gundog, bred for flushing and retrieving in shoots for pheasants and other game birds.
 
I disagree massively with all the spaniel owners' comments because I know why they were really bred... to test the patience of a saint! And also to make sure vets can take regular foreign holidays and drive shiny cars:D:D:D
 
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