Designer Dogs © 2006 Sheila Booth

Oh, the irony in the name! Was the phrase Designer Dogs first used to conjure up a fashionable, stylish, chic, trendy, exclusive, and expensive dog or was there a more sinister meaning in the development of that moniker? Perhaps the underlying black humor of the name was really meant to describe how these nouveau puppy mills were planning, contriving, devising or intending to pull a fast one on a sympathetic pubic when their only purpose, object, aim and end was in fact a fast route to easy street.

There is one major purpose in the breeding of these dogs-money. Money and lots of it! Quick cash for the irresponsible entrepreneur, backyard breeder, puppy miller or perhaps a more appropriately designation would be the scam artist!

There is an old saying: " a fool and his money are soon parted" and that expression takes animation as these yuppie puppy dealers find buyers with more money than brains. Just how high will these Designer Dog prices go before puppy buyers come to their senses and realize that the profiteers are laughing all the way to the bank while the mutts they breed are dumped on gullible suckers?

What does the unsuspecting buyer know about the genetic background of their Designer Dog puppy in relation to temperament and health, longevity or size expectations? Often, very little background is known of the first generation of these cross breeds and even less information is available as puppies are sold from second and third generational pairings. As for the longevity-these Designer Dogs do not come with a wealth of credible history or follow-up clubs and groups that dedicate themselves to researching and improving an established breed.

But, you ask: "what about the "adorable puppy" component?" Of course, Designer Dogs can be absolutely adorable puppies, but every puppy is adorable. There are many adorable mutts in the pounds and shelters all over the country and many of those have the 'cute' factor for much less money. Breeders also have adorable puppies, but the reputable ones do not allow everyone with a disposable dollar to traipse through the kennel bringing potential diseases to the young puppies or falling into an impulse buying purchase that could prove disastrous for the buyer, the breeder and more importantly the puppy.

So what is the real reason these up-scale purchasers feel they have to share their lives with a dog that fits the Designer Dog appellation. I believe it is all about marketing. The marketers of these animals are to be given the highest marks, because when you take a mutt of mixed breeding and offer it without background or guarantees and you do it for huge dollars; it is all about the marketing!

Perhaps Designer Dog buyers deserve what they get in the adage of "buyer beware", because, with the vast amount of information available on a basic Goggle search of the Internet, no one should be purchasing anything without proper research, especially not a companion animal. Buyers should know that a puppy purchase is for life and they should also understand the expected life span of their pet. They should research the type of dog they want in their home-and by type, I mean the generic considerations of size, activity level, purpose of the breed, pedigrees that include knowledge of health issues, temperament of related animals, and whether of not the parents were structurally strong specimens suitable for breeding. A very important consideration in the Designer Dog issue is that the buyer should investigate the facts, not believe the falsities-some of which may include: the 'non shedding' issue; the 'healthier hybrid' issue; the 'hypo-allergenic' issue; the 'about to be registered by ABC registry in XYZ country issue; and (ready for this one) the " Designer Dogs don't get fleas" issue.

Tragically frightening is the thought that perhaps Designer Dogs came about because purebred breeders and their associations did not do a good enough job in developing healthy lines into their breed or did a poor job of marketing the benefits of the healthy purebred dog. Purebred breeders should shoulder some of the blame for the rash of Designer Dogs that have hit the marketplace because somewhere someone is letting unscrupulous people breed from the purebreds and others know about it, while remaining silent. Even breeders, who have done a good job with the bloodlines entrusted to them, sometimes became so selectively secret with their animals or so exclusive with their sales that an average puppy buyer could not find a good purebred, or finding one, they were not prepared to remain on a waiting list of unreasonable length. Perhaps the Designer Dog issue should be seen as a wake-up call to anyone breeding purebreds in that all the current top canine stars in their respective fields were developed as man's companion-not man's showpiece, and as such, they all deserve to be in companion relationship. 

What about the veterinarians? Should they share some of the blame for the upsurge in Designer Dogs? As a major source of information to the potential puppy purchaser, are the Vets passing on information about the reliability of these breedings or do they suggest the vigor of hybrids without qualifying that information in regard to a particular pairing which results in the Designer Dog.

Much of the Designer Dog market is driven by demand for dogs that fall into the 'just a pet' category. The "just a pet' request should not result in placement of inferior animals without pedigrees, but instead should be a strong example of the best of the purebreds that show the strengths and qualities of the line based on good ancestry. The buyer requesting a "just a pet' puppy is seldom asking for a sickly one of bad temperament and poor structure, but instead want an animal that can physically live up to the every day stresses of family life. Purebred breeders should be educating and encouraging the potential puppy buyer who wants "just a pet" because that is the dog that breeding is all about -- the socialized puppy with structure, movement, temperament, and genetics that can take on every day life and strife while maintaining the position of the constant and composed companion animal. A breeder who is able to track all their pet puppies through the entire lifetime of that puppy has a whole lot to offer the breed in general and their breeding program in particular and that information is certainly not available to the owners of the interbred Designer Dogs.

Admittedly, I am prejudiced against these Designer Dog mutts, but that prejudice is not against the individual dogs resulting from this travesty in breeding and sales. Some of those dogs are adorable, intelligent and useful companion animals, but too many of these Designer Dog puppies grow up to be other than expected especially in the over-sized or shedding versions which often become disposable merchandise for upset owners who can not fall back upon a reputable breeder with health guarantees and reliable buy-back contracts. I am a long time breeder of Standard Poodles and, as such, I have seen the oodles of Designer Dogs that have a moniker, which includes part of the Poodle name. Poodles have been and still remain the prevalent breed in the cross-breedings that produce what have come to be known as Designer Dogs . I never sold a dog to be used for indiscriminant breeding and now I, along with numerous other breeders, have to look at the unwelcome options of spay and neutering eight week old puppies in order to insure they will never end up parenting in Designer Dog puppy mills.

So if you have a Designer Dog already, then I wish the best for you and your dog. I hope you love it as a trusted family member and keep it well cared and close to you for the lifetime of the animal. But for those of you who are considering a Designer Dog puppy purchase; now is the time to re-think that purchase and educate yourself to the fact that you are encouraging unethical breeding and puppy mills when you demand one of these so called Designer Dogs.