Wednesday 30 June 2010

Designer Dogs

First off, and nothing at all to do with anything I'm about to say, there's an alarm going off outside and it's making me very irritable. Grr.

*ahem*

So, after wanting and debating over whether or not to get a puppy for a long time, I'm now getting a designer dog. I had wanted a greyhound, a lurcher, or a whippet. Something that likes walking, but will be lazy in the house and sprawl out and go to sleep. Perfect. But then I kept noticing adverts for 'Jackapoos,' that's a Jack Russell crossed with a poodle. They're also known as Jackadoodles, but people seem to like naming these breeds to have the word 'poo' in them, for whatever reason. (Jackapoo, cavapoo, cockapoo etc.)

I thought these pups looked too cute. And I found a litter close to where I live. This wasn't a quick decision, I'd been pondering this for a long, long time, but when I saw the pups I fell in love. Even then, when I got home I was umming and aahing over whether or not to get a dog at all.

The Jackapoo isn't a breed. Not really. It's a crossbreed. But, now that there's a word for it - 'designer dogs,' people can charge a lot of money for these non-breeds. Which I think is wrong. My pup (which I'm bringing home soon) was the cheapest in the litter because he was black and the others were brown (chocolate). You might think that's puppy racism, but apparently chocolate is just more desirable. Anyway, that's not the reason I chose him. I chose him because he was the prettiest. And obviously, that's the best reason for choosing anything, right? Boyfriends etc... (I jest!)

It's the designer dog label that irritates me a little. My puppy is a crossbreed. I don't mind that. My last dog was a crossbreed, a Jack Russell crossed with a spaniel (perhaps she should've been a Janiel, or a Sprussel?!) But now, people are breeding any two dogs together, giving them a silly name (labradoodle?!) and calling them 'designer' so that they can charge a lot of money.

Do you know what the worst one is?

Puggle.

I'm pretty sure that's a cross between a pug, and a muggle. Which is bestiality, surely? 

1 comment:

  1. definitely puppy racism ;)

    Seriously though, I'd say you're far better off with a dog that's a crossbreed, even though I agree that they shouldn't be charging so much for them and I think calling them designer dogs with those cross-names is just an excuse to do so - full breed dogs have a range of problems (physical and mental/behavioural) due to way too many years of inbreeding.

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