Cross breed puppies..

We have a few relatives around for dinner this evening (aunts, uncles etc..on my mothers side, so her siblings n co) n we were talking about dogs...and x breed pups, i was showing them the link posted on another thread showing all the new 'breeds'. They got talking etc..and were saying how when they were kids all their dogs were mongrels, and all just 'aquired' as puppies from neighbours/adverts etc..and they once had a big hairy mutt, named tango, whos mum had been a lovely irish setter and dad had beena rather rambuctious standard poodle..who cost them the price of a homemade game pie
Its strange how this was what..thirty, forty years ago..and i can remember when i was a young child..so early nineties, even then x breed pups were free..OR about 15/20 pound..and it was quite unheard of purposley doing so.
So where did it all go wrong?
When was it, and why, did people start x breeding and charging such HUGE amounts?
Just to add..i'm not anti cross breeds, i own one, and i brought her from a 'breeder' too..but certianly nothing near for as much as some of the sums these pups are going for!

It's supply and demand. If people are willing to pay someone is going to supply them.
Becky

Yeah that's true. These days as well you have 'celebs' with their dogs and for some reason lots of people idolise these people. It then seems logical to mix these dogs, 'create a new breed' and charge silly money. Silly people then go and buy these 'exclusive' dogs.

I s'pose Luke its trendy to have a Labradoodle or something else more bizzarely named and people are cashing in.I too remember a lot of dogs (often roaming back then) which i could not recognise so they must have all been crosses and likely paid nothing for.

When I bought my sister her kitten, (no almost a year old! ) I remember my grandmother finding it unbelieveable that I was paying £30 for a moggy.

She gave me the old, 'back in my day', we'd be glad to give them away, she found it appauling I was being charged at all to take one, and even more appauled that people would breed moggies and cross bred dogs at all, let alone for a price!

I think that the money is irrelevant...It doesn't matter if they are practically given away or people were glad to get rid or if they charge alot it's what happens to the animals that is important. You could say if people are prepared to pay the same as they would for a pure bred dog for a cross then they must really want it where as if people are able to aquire them for free, easy come easy go? Although I think it makes no differenence.

I think "celebs" (if you can call them that! ) have a lot to answer for. I bet Chihuahua prices have gone up a bit thanks to a certain Miss Paris.

Sadly some people are idiots () and if they see something on TV that looks cute or cool then they decide they just have to have one. Unfortunately they don't take into account the sleepless nights, house training, chewing etc.

It's all about fashion sadly and the dog comes second to some.

Hi.

I purposely chose to buy two x-bred dogs in succession as an adult, having been brought up with 2 x-bred bitches. My dad believed the more the mix the better temperament, less health problems, and greater longevity and both dogs where great family pets and lived to a ripe old age - hence my choice - as they were beautful dogs. Of course, none of these dogs were specifically mixed, they were just your average mutt and I doubt whether they cost very much. Elli Bell is 12 years old and she was bought for £150 as cross bred collie puppy, which I think at the time I could have bought a thoroughbred but it was a x-bred for me.

Please do not think I have anything against thoroughbreds, I love them all, its just that I have had great experiences with my x-breds and have am having another great one with Elli Bell

Best regards

Mimi

It was the same when I was growing up not that we had a dog then.But we often had cats and they were given away I think it was through accidental matings these things happened,so people were glad to give them away.Has to be said though I am not sure any-one was interested in the welfare of the animals when they were gone it was luck if they ended up in a good kind home.
Our dog Max was a mongrel and he cost £50 from dare I say it Loot in 1997 from a very nice Family who's bitch had been caught at the farm where the man use to work by their dogs.
He had a lovely nature but unfortunately very bad health and died at 41/2 unfortunately I did not know as much as I do now that being thanks to Dogsey and doing my research.I do think people are cashing in on this cross breeding but as long as they have had the relevant tests done and people get to meet at least the Mum they won't be buying into too many problems.

The breeder of our pup had a couple of chihuahuas (the chihuahuas ruled over the border collies!) and she was telling us how when they got there first chi, the average was about £300-£450, but now since Paris Hilton stepped out with one it's shot up and you can be paying £1000 for on dog.