I quite agree - that type of thread isn't the place for that type of comment. It's all very well someone wanting to 'inform the unsuspecting public' of their opinions of deliberately bred cross breeds, but imagine if someone decided to do similar on the thread of someone asking for help about their pedigree dog.

Very interesting thread regarding the mixed breeds. I will never understand why people have to make all these mixed breeds. All the rescue shelters / centre's are quite over run with dogs (and cats). I for one feel that all those 2nd and 3rd chance dogs are just as good as good as the cross-breeds. If I am wrong, please correct me.

I have always adopted senior dogs from a rescue shelter / centre in the past. The dog that gets a new home from a rescue centre is eternally grateful. My current 'generic' dog is 50% Weimaraner (her mama); and 25% Labrador Retriever and 25% Terrier (her daddy). Some people think she looks more Labrador and others think she looks like a black Weimaraner. But she is my 'generic' angel and I love her!

My feelings exactly.. i paid £300 for my lhasa x dachshund.. and would gladly pay more if i could find another just like her.

I completely agree

That sums it up well for me, I too have nothing agianst cross-breeds.

But of course the problem is that these crosses are rarely from ethical breeders who health test their dogs, they are usually from people with no knowledge of breeding who just want their bitch to have a litter or people out to make a fast buck.

I think Dogsey is great and spend far too much time on here myself! But I do think it can be quite a harsh unforgiving place, I made a faux pas in my early days and felt like running for cover. I agree that if posters claim they have a new breed they should be politely corrected and then gently educated to the problems with crosses, not jumped on!

J

The reason I get irate about deliberate crosses is that they have been bred by opportunist `breeders` for a manufactured market. The fallout from this market is tragic. What happens to the Doodles who grow up with the wrong set of characteristics? Or the fashionable `teacups` when they get too big to be carted round in a designer handbag?
Nobody is denying that crossbreeds are usually great dogs - healthy, family-friendly etc. The same can`t be said of the animals being touted as F1 ( as though they were plants!) pedigree dogs.
Yes I agree we should be welcoming to new people and always remember that their dog is their beloved pet, but I do reserve the right to be able to discuss the ethics of breeding for Fashion - to the detriment of the dog.

They were a failed experiment - the coat type doesn't breed true as non shedding and its not clear what the coat type will be until training is well underway

It isn't clear when mating what the coat type will be...it is clear once the pups are born though. Labradoodles are still used as assitance dogs at times, as are many dleiberate first crosses |(they tend to only be first crosses though). For some reason, Guide Dogs have a higher success rate with the crosses than they have with pure bred dogs. Most people think of a lab or a GSD when they think of a Guide Dog when in actual fact most of them are Lab X GRs...the GSD X GRs also have an excellent rate of success, as do FCR X GRs. As I say though, they do tend to only use first crosses and do it for specific reasons, to match the needs of their clients.

i dont know how true this is-it may have been in the past but i do know guide dogs are very against using guarding breeds for this work so i think they have now stopped the crossing involving any guarding breeds including the gsd

Nope. GSDs are still frequently used as are GSD crosses. As a 'resting' puppy walker but active boarder for the organisation, I can safely say there are plenty of GSD crosses and pure GSDs being used as Guide Dogs.