Comments on: Was Your Favorite Dog Breed Ever A “designer Breed”? Did People Say They Were Mutts? What If Breeders Listened?

By: Cornelius Q. Rockefeller III

Cornelius Q. Rockefeller III — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

Mutts have always existed and I have no problem with them. But designer dogs are a recent phenomenon. People who breed them are only interested in money and don’t care about the health of their dogs. The puggle, which is considered to be one of the first designer dogs, was bred by a guy who runs a puppy mill. It would be a lot better if these poor dogs weren’t kept in tiny cages and forced to have dozens of puppies.

By: pete_tin

pete_tin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

Designer Mutt breeders are not creating a new breed, they are continuously breeding two breeds together to create overpriced mutts.
The process of the type of true dog breeding you are talking about is far to expansive for this forum, but easy enough to research. If you take the time to Read, and Learn, you will quickly realize that what you are asking is not what you think you are asking.
Designer Mutt breeders are puppy mills, who have two non-registered or registered pet stock parents of different breeds, dogs who can not be used for legitimate breeding, and they sucker people who are less well informed about dog breeding into believing they are doing something marvelous.
A new breed is not created without extensive back breeding, re-breeding, record keeping and CULLING, it is a complex and time consuming lifetime passion to succeed at. It requires a very firm grounding and understanding of genetics to do successfully.
Older breeds took far longer to stabilize because there was a less educated more hit and miss approach a couple thousand years ago.
A breed has not been created unless it is stable, healthy, and breeds true. If the puppies can not breed true, it is not a breed, it is a mutt.

By: IsThatSo

IsThatSo — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

My favorite dog breed is a shelter dog, purebred or mutt, who cares.
I hate designer dogs but I also hate expensive show dogs. Sure it is bad to breed mutts for thousands of dollars, but it is just as sinful to sell purebred dogs for thousands of dollars.
I think breeding should be illegal for five years and everyone should have to go to a shelter for their dog. Trust me, they will find purebred dogs there as well as puppies, adorable mutts, and everything in between.

By: Nancy M

Nancy M — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

Oh gosh, more idiocy. ‘Designer breeds’ are NOT breeds and they are not being MADE into a breed == they are being perpetuated as a first or second generation mutt – that is all. Some breeds begin as crossing of several breeds but they don’t just keep crossing them – they start breeding successive generations to make consistent breed type and characteristics. YOU attempting to justify ignorant mutt breeding by making up that they are how ‘breeds’ started is foolish as they are NOT being produced AS a breed — they are F1 or maybe F2 breeding is all – mutt breeding. You are not making a good argument for irresponsible mutt making dear. When you have ONE ‘designer mutt’ breeder that has designed a reasonable standard as a goal and is actually breeding successive generations, 8, 9, 10 generations of PURE bred examples of their ‘breed’ then they have produced a breed but until then they are simply making mutts to sell to people even stupider and more irresponsible than themselves that would support such ignorance based breeding.
Yes, those people said they were mutts for the first number of generations – until they are purebreds, they are mutts.

By: moof

moof — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

I suppose in a way my breed of preference is a mutt. When English Mastiffs all but disappeared in the twentieth century, similar dogs like Great Danes, Bullmastiffs and Saint Bernards were introduced into the mix to expand the gene pools and sort of recreate the breed.
Can’t say I’ve ever heard of these slobber-dogs referred to as “designer,” though.
I think the biggest problem many people have with “designer dogs” is that people are just throwing together breeds that are cute. Breeds that are currently established were generally developed for reasons that are more sound than that.
As a random example, take the Redbone Coonhound, which was specifically developed to track faster and scent and tree game more effectively. Or the Jack Russell Terrier, which was designed century to dig prey like foxes out of their dens. Or even the Golden Retriever, which was developed as a trainable, pleasant companion with superior retrieving skills. Those three “for example” breeds were developed primarily during the nineteenth century.
I think goals like those are a little more respectable than deciding to breed the cutest, tiniest dog possible, especially regardless of the immense health risks.

By: sciencec

sciencec — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

You are comparing two different things.
Designer dogs are mutts, plain and simple. They come from two dogs of a specific breed, NO thought to standard or goal because there is NO standard- therefor there is no predictability and the name is 100% meaningless! It can’t be a favorite breed, it isn’t a breed. Love them for the special flavor of mutt that they are, but don’t dignify crappy breeders by using stupid names.
The mutts given special names now are not anything close to the process to truly start a new breed! All the purebred dogs we have today came from MANY generations of very selective breeding. Some came from mixes of other dogs. THose original mixes would not look anything like the breed we have now, and they were not predictable while that initial refining was being done.

By: CF_

CF_ — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

when breeders “designed” dogs they did it to make a dog suited for a purpose… eg. Border Collies to be a superior herding dog..
the idea NOW is to make $$
this is PROVEN by the fact that dogs of NO status are sold for high dollars – most often the parents are NOT quality dogs – if they were – they would be breeding purebreds
most dogs used in designer dog breeding situations have NEVER attended a dog show to prove their worth as a breeding animal

By: Pink Teacup Pachyderm!

Pink Teacup Pachyderm! — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

None of these “designer” mixes are a “breed”.. they are just a mutt!
To be a “breed” it has to breed true for many generations.. meaning it comes out with predictable traits and qualities. It takes many years of selective breeding to achieve this. The true breeds we have today were created from selective breeding the domestic dog as it was known for specific traits (at one time there was no “breeds”.. just a useful animal to man kind!).. or dogs were selectivly crossbred for particular traits to serve a purpose.. such as hunting, herding, guarding, etc.
My breed’s history goes pretty far back, and its not very well detailed.. its thought that many hairless breeds derived from the same breed, and over time they branched off and different breeds were created from selective breeding and selective cross-breeding. The cross breeding wasnt done to make a “designer” dog, but rather to use dogs with similar traits to help preserve and improove a rare dog. There are other breeds that were cross-bred with similar breeds for the purpose of salvaging the breed too.. for example the shar-pei.
When most breeds were created.. the idea of “pets” was a silly notion.. “pet” dogs were reserved for wealthy ladies (and even then, the dogs still served a purpose of being ratters, alert dogs and bed/lap warmers.. castles were quite drafty).. dogs were bred for working ability.. not for cute little puppies to sell for profit.
Just slapping two dogs together and giving the pups a name doesnt make it a “breed”.. its just a mutt by any other name… no different than what you can find at a shelter or rescue for much cheaper. people who are breeding them are not breeding for any particular trait or quality. That’s the whole concept behind “designer” dogs.. breed any dog to any other available dog, give the offspring a name and sell it for profit.

By: Matt the Crimson

Matt the Crimson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

can’t really compare how true breed were created. No my favorite breed was not a designer mutt. Back then dogs were designed with a purpose in mind, and educated people were involved in the program and a standard was set before attempting to produce. Now a days, idiot byb’s who breed crossbreeds do it for money, there is no set goal aside from that, they did not create a standard, they did not go about it the right way, yet people still get ripped off.

By: Luvsdard

Luvsdard — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:08:43 +0000

AMEN!!! The problem is that people pay outrageous prices for any dog, purebred or designer or whatever. With all the homeless dogs in the world, you’d think that the laws of supply and demand would persevere but not in this world. Most people think the more they pay for a dog, the better it is…not true. A dog is a dog is a dog. Every dog has a different look and personality and you have to get the one that’s right for you….pure or mutt.