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A recent comment on my blog has got my mom thinking that she needs to talk about her opinions on the breeding of “designer dogs.” So I’m turning over the rest of this blog entry to mom. Here’s what mom says:

I know that “designer dogs” are all the rage right now. You can read about them in magazines, see them in many puppy classified ads (usually for bookoo bucks), and even on the Good Morning talk shows.

So first, what is a “designer dog?” Basically, a designer dog is a dog who was bred intentionally with two different breeds to create a “new” breed. For example, my beloved Buddy is called a Chiweenie. He’s a mix between a Chihuahua and a Daschund. Then there are Puggles, a mix between a Pug and a Beagle. How about a Labradoodle? That’s a mix between a Labrador and a Poodle. There are many, many of these mixes out there these days. Honestly, it does amaze me how many different combinations there are.

In the dog breeding community, these mixed breed dogs are making people really, really angry. They see it as a disgrace that might ruin their breed lines. In the dog rescue community, these mixed breed dogs are making people really, really angry. They see it as a disgrace that will cause more unwanted dogs to end up in shelters all over the country. In the normal world (i.e., normal people who love dogs and just have them as loving companions), these mixed breeds are usually seen as cute dogs with cute and funny names. I mean, who can say Chiweenie without laughing at the name?

So I’d say the opinions on these designer dogs, or mutts as some call them, are very mixed.

Here’s my opinion on these designer dogs. I think that in this country, people are free to breed their dogs if they like. I personally think spaying and neutering is a wonderful idea (both my dogs are fixed), but if people don’t want to do this, I’m not going to hound them about it (I may shake my head in frustration, but I won’t hound them!).

I think there are many pure-bred breeders who are wonderful and produce wonderful dogs. They breed carefully to improve the dog breed. But I also think there are many, many “pure bred breeders” who are a disgrace to the dog community - breeders who only do this for the money, breeders who breed their females year after year, puppy mills, etc.

There are designer dog breeders (unfortunately too many in my opinion) who are only breeding for the money because these mixes are so popular right now. Many of these dogs go for thousands of dollars, and in my mind, this is ridiculous. I think these breeders are being greedy, and it’s only going to cause heartache and pain for the dogs. However, I think there are some “designer dog breeders” who are actually trying to produce healthy dogs with properties of two wonderful breeds and maybe without some of the faults. They choose the dogs they want to breed carefully, paying close attention to the health, genetics, and temperaments of the dogs they breed.

I think we also need to remember that many of today’s full-blood AKC champion breeds come from people originally mixing different breeds to obtain a new breed. They wanted a dog that would look or act a certain way, and they couldn’t find a breed that met their expectations. So they carefully created a new breed that was healthy and met their requirements. You can read the history of many pure breeds and find this is true. Were other breeders at the time up-in-arms about this? Maybe, but maybe it wasn’t such a big deal back then.

And about the shelter controversy - does the breeding of “designer dogs” increase the number of dogs at the local shelters? Probably. Does the breeding of “pure bred dogs” increase the number of dogs at the local shelters? Probably. Whenever I go to the shelter, I see tons of full-bred dogs there, and it breaks my heart. These are usually large, high-energy dogs - labs, Dalmations, huskies, shepherds, etc. So I don’t think that designer dogs are the only dogs to end up at shelters; unfortunately, there are many many dogs of all breeds stuck in these places.

So my opinion in a nutshell is this:

Breeding ANY dog for money is bad. Dogs are not a way to get-rich-quick. If you’re breeding dogs because you love them and want to improve a breed or create something great, that’s your right. Just make sure your priorities are in the right place.