I just saw my first 'borderdoodles' today...

[Dal & Mad's Mom]

I have siblings from this litter. I didnt have room for all but, they were home raised. Mom was the border collie dad was a mixed yellow wire hair he was turned in with the pups and I believe he was adopted. They are also mini about 2/3 the size of a normal bc puppy. Very cute. Why pay thousands when these are waiting at a shelter is beyond me. One of mine is already adopted before hitting the web.

[sea4th]

I also remember reading somewhere that someone was breeding a Newfoundland/Border Collie mix. Why?

 

Esox

 

I'm writing from work, so I don't have access to the information, but what you're referring to, i.e., the bc/newf breeding --- that was done as a study on how behavioral traits are passed on and they settled on bc & newf because they wanted to cross two breeds which had really nothing in common with each other. The original cross was the bc/newf. From that point on, they used the offspring. D--n! I'm drawing a blank right now, and there are others here, I'm sure who have a lot more information on this, but I do remember that Donald McCaig wrote an article for the Smithsonian (?) on this study.

 

So, IOW, it wasn't the profit motive for this cross that you are referring to.

[sea4th]

I apologize... I don't mean to push any buttons or step on any toes with that, but in my experience a lot of Amish bred dogs I've come into contact with are not well bred. I certainly don't think if this collie was well bred the guy would have been selling him for a measly $20- that's my point. This particular dog is a conformational nightmare as well. I have also heard that there are a number of Amish people who run puppy mills. I certainly don't mean that all Amish bred critters are garbage or have poor breeding.

 

Again, I'm sorry... I really don't mean to stir anything up or hurt any feelings

 

No hurt feelings here. The best therapy dog I had was my Dolly, Amish bred border collie. However, she was severely epileptic, hence, the most expensive dog I've had because of her seizures. They began at about 9 months of age and I watched her as she died of a massive seizure 4 yrs. ago at the age of 11. Would I go to the Amish for another dog? H-ll no!, but I wouldn't have traded Dolly for the world. I think it's OK to generalize, but there are exceptions to every rule, so when I say I wouldn't go to the Amish for a dog, doesn't mean that there might not be an exception. I just wouldn't actively look into that community if I'm in the market for a dog. General rule of thumb -- look elsewhere. Dolly and I taught a lot of people that very lesson. I was a heartbreaking lesson to learn. I figure that it's Dolly's legacy.

[Laurelin]

I'm writing from work, so I don't have access to the information, but what you're referring to, i.e., the bc/newf breeding --- that was done as a study on how behavioral traits are passed on and they settled on bc & newf because they wanted to cross two breeds which had really nothing in common with each other. The original cross was the bc/newf. From that point on, they used the offspring. D--n! I'm drawing a blank right now, and there are others here, I'm sure who have a lot more information on this, but I do remember that Donald McCaig wrote an article for the Smithsonian (?) on this study.

 

So, IOW, it wasn't the profit motive for this cross that you are referring to.

 

That sounds fascinating. Is there any reading online anywhere for it? I've never even heard of that.

 

Btw, those puppies are incredibly cute.

[sea4th]

That sounds fascinating. Is there any reading online anywhere for it? I've never even heard of that.

 

This is a link to it, but it's not the entire write up. The article was longer, went into greater detail and had photos, including those of the subsequent generations. Overall, very interesting.

 

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...s-abstract.html

[ziggzmom]

A somewhat good friend of mine learned that Jade hadn't been spayed, and her first comment was "Wow! Too bad Sam is neutered we could get some cute puppies out of the two of them!" Okay... Sam is a (Lassie) Collie that she bought at a horse auction for $20. He's Amish bred (read: garbage? ridiculously poor breeding?) Not to mention that we'd get a bunch of puppies with no purpose or future... I was shocked when she made that comment too- she was totally not joking either.

 

 

Years ago I had taken a roll of film in to be processed. There were some pictures of my Belgian Sheepdog bitch on it. When I came back to pick up the pictures the guy behind the counter asked if I wanted to breed her to his wolf hybred! YIKES!!!

 

Janet

[Amelia]

"My neighbor who lets her lab run at large all the time - even in season - had her bitch come up pregnant AGAIN last spring."

 

Hello all, I had a neighbor once who let this happen to his female. The last litter all died from parvo. It was the last litter because another neighbor and I kidnapped the poor thing and had her spayed. I'm sure we opened ourselves to every manner of lawsuit known to man, but the dog didn't have any more puppies and our own dogs were no longer at risk.

 

As to the designer dogs, only in a country as self-centered and gullible as ours would people successfully sell puppies based on a catchy name. Don't get me wrong, I love the USA, but we surely have goofy side to us.

[KathyF]

I do not agree with these crosses with "designer" names. But I was told a new one recently, a Porkie. It is a Pomeranian crossed with a Yorkie. It was all I could do to not roll my eyes at this person.

 

Kathy

[PSmitty]

As to the designer dogs, only in a country as self-centered and gullible as ours would people successfully sell puppies based on a catchy name. Don't get me wrong, I love the USA, but we surely have goofy side to us.

 

Yup, I agree!

 

So I am angry that people deliberately breed two dogs of different breeds, give it a title, and then sell them as a "designer dog"

 

But I am also curious as to WHY someone is so stupid as to pay that much money for a mixed breed when you can get plenty for a small fee at the local shelter????

 

My thoughts, exactly.

 

As for the whole "designer" name...I used to work at the front desk at our training club. When people would give their dog's breed as labradoodle or goldendoodle, I'd write "lab/poodle mix" or "golden/poodle mix" on the roster. I don't know if it pissed 'em off, but I felt better.

[Laurae]

As for the whole "designer" name...I used to work at the front desk at our training club. When people would give their dog's breed as labradoodle or goldendoodle, I'd write "lab/poodle mix" or "golden/poodle mix" on the roster. I don't know if it pissed 'em off, but I felt better.

 

Subvert the dominant paradigm! Go Paula

[SoloRiver]

I don't understand this designer dog craze. If there is not one single dog breed that attracts you, I'm sure there is a Heinz 57 at a shelter that is exactly what you want.

 

Well, for one thing it's predictability, which you don't get with a Heinz 57. In many cases, the F1 cross of two pure breeds is remarkably consistent. Puggles come to mind here. Despite the fact that the breeders are most likely using the most heinous examples of each breed to pump out their designer puppies, every puggle I've ever seen looks like a clone of the last. It's when you start breeding puggles to puggles that you start getting inconsistency in the puppies.

 

Now, we can protest all we want about how there are plenty of breeds already out there if you want consistency, but like I said, I don't see a point to most of the pure breeds that exist either -- so there isn't anything especially terrible about the purposeful crosses in that sense either. And frankly, from the perspective of most pet owners a Border Collie and Aussie are functionally equivalent, so for most pet owners the two breeds are redundant. When people ask me if they should get a Border Collie or an Aussie and what they want is simply an intelligent, active pet that looks more or less like a farm dog and will never be asked to work anything and probably never be used competitively in any dog sport, I usually say it doesn't matter which breed they get, and they should go to rescue and get whatever is available first. To most people the nuances that make the two breeds different just don't matter very much.

 

So depending how you look at it, puggle owners have just as much of a "right" to their dogs as I have to mine. I think puggles are ugly and have horrible temperaments (or at least the ones I've known have -- two that lived in my old apartment building were the bane of Solo's and my existence, as were their horrible owners) but some people will settle for nothing else.

 

Like I said, it isn't the crossbreeding that offends me, it's irresponsible breeding. That goes for breeders of purebreds as well as mixes.

[beachdogz]

just heard on TV that a Labradoodle is on the Obama list. Someone needs to clue these people in.

[JMack]

just heard on TV that a Labradoodle is on the Obama list. Someone needs to clue these people in.

 

 

But the Obamas _are_ looking for a shelter dog, 'doodle or a Portuguese Water Dog. There aren't any guarantees, of course, but if you have a child with an allergy, some breeds seem to affect them less. (I say this as someone who does not believe in breeding companion dogs, at all.)

 

Just to say one thing about calling any dog 'garbage' (jader, this is really to make a general point--not to belabor anything with you after your more than gracious apology)--

 

I wonder if we should all be more careful (myself included) in the kind of language we use about animals. We live in a society that is more dog-as-thing than not, that throws animals away when they no longer suit or please.