Dear Dr. Forsythe: What do you think of all the designer breeds of dogs they are coming out with now? Is it chancy? Do they usually carry the inherent problems with the mix? Like maltepoos, maltegriffs, maltzus, etc. We would love to get a friend for our dog, but aren’t sure about these breeds. Can you put in your two cents?
Loves designer fashion, not sure about designer dogs
Dear Fashionista: I too love fashion, but you’d never know it by the way I dress. I’m going to try to answer your question without getting too deep into doggie “doo” myself. I wish people breeding purebreds would stick to the breed standards currently in place. I’ve never heard of a person buying a purebred female dog whose seller would condone mating it to another breed. Doing so goes against the AKC and enters into a very controversial world where debate begins on which pets are “designer” or merely “mutts.”
By the way, what defines a “designer dog”? Just because it’s half Maltese and half poodle and absolutely precious, is it more “designer” than the pet waiting to be adopted at Pet’s lifeline that is part lab/shepherd? Isn’t he “designer,” too?
As far as being “chancy,” pets with mixed genes tend to have fewer problems than pure breeds, owing to a phenomenon known as “hybrid vigor,” so that is an argument in favor of coming out with new combinations. Pets supposedly become stronger when you “mix up” their genetics. Some of these newer creations can be wonderful additions in the home such as labradoodles: they are sweet, smart, beautiful and hypoallergenic. This kind of genetic gambling can also backfire when genetic problems from both breeds can crop up in the offspring. Who wants a “two for” puppy with a medley of genetic problems such as allergy, eye problems and soft tissue problems from each breed cropping up? It is also important to understand how these designer pets come about and for potential buyers to know that every designer puppy always results from two separate purebreds rather than parents of that same designer breed. For example, if you breed a Maltese and a Poodle and like the puppies you get and want more of them, you can’t cross two maltepoo puppies when they grow up and expect to get the same kind of puppies: you won’t. You’ll get some other possibly similar mixed breed that may or may not resemble the parents. This is because genetics is complicated. It takes years and years to carefully refine and create a new breed. So remember that people who are creating these mixed breed “designers” are doing so by repeatedly breeding two different purebred dogs to create a desirable mix that people want.
A few years ago when I purchased my children a half Chihuahua half Shi-Tzu puppy, I assumed that “Hunny Bunny” was the result of an accidental mating (and simply the cutest mutt ever born). It wasn’t until months later that I found out her “breeder” was continuing to breed Hunny’s mother and father to make more puppies to sell. He was also marketing her brothers and sisters as “designer” dogs. So I have mixed feelings about the process. My kids have a designer dog, which is nothing less than heaven on earth, but I’m not really OK with the idea of creating a plethora of designer dogs. The ones I see at my practice I adore, but I’d really prefer if we started at Pets Lifeline – there are some dandy designs in the cages there.
Thanks for a great question.
Dr. F
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