Interesting Cross Breed on Craigslist

LOL!!! I can't imagine crossing a poodle with anything and calling it a "hunter" :-) (yes, I'm aware that they are formerly a hunting breed). The minute you add poodle - the fur becomes a magnet for leaves,twigs, burrs, snow, mud, etc etc. That's the biggest drawback to my newest poodle/aussie crosses: I really can't let them run loose in the woods. But considering their smaller size and our growing coyote population, I wont turn them loose anyway.

I'm not in favor of mixing Labs and Standard poodles. But, the gentleman twenty years ago didn't start it. In the late 1960's there was a kennel in FL producing them -- they were supposed to be the perfect hunting dog. One of the standards used as a stud came to live with us in 1969 after they decided maybe it was not as 'perfect' as they thought. Mitchell's Shado My Soul gave me my love of standard poodles, that is still with me to this day.

But most people don't get a horse on a whim. Or certainly nowhere near to the extent they do puppies. I'd guess w/o much hesitation that the number of horses being auctioned for food each year don't come remotely close to the number of dogs being euthanized due to lack of homes.

The Dung Beetles wrote:


Horses are a whole different topic, and I totally agree with what you posted. However, horses are not exploding animal shelters at the rate that unwanted, poorly bred dogs are.
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Lol!! Of course not, horses are also valuable as food. If you don't want a horse, he's still worth x dollars per pound at the auctions.....

Non-allergenic marketing BS; in reality the only thing possible is less allergenic.

Deb and Ed M wrote:
assuming those people doing the breeding are keeping quality at the forefront.

AND.. (still speaking of dogs only) that last line in the quoted post is the MILLION DOLLAR LINE! When done with some responsible thinking there ARE huge successes, but it did become a huge fad resulting in many failures in the canine world.

Horses are a whole different topic, and I totally agree with what you posted. However, horses are not exploding animal shelters at the rate that unwanted, poorly bred dogs are.
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Mixing breeds in the horse world is incredibly common - and those crosses get names like "Dutch Warmblood" and "American Sport Horse". Most of our Olympic Equestrian horses are crosses between draft horses "coldblood" for durability; and thoroughbreds "hotblood" for athleticism. And yes, a warmblood will cost more than either parent.

So it strikes me as neither a fad nor a bad idea to mix dog breeds for desired qualities, assuming those people doing the breeding are keeping quality at the forefront.

That's how many purebreds were developed. Someone wanted to create a dog for a specific purpose, so they bred for it. Stronger, faster, aggressive, cuter, tracking, guarding, herding, hunting, companionship, etc.

Pawz4me wrote:

The Dung Beetles wrote:
The original Labradoodles were bred for a specific medical purpose ..which was a noble idea

I don't really see it as a noble idea at all.

I should have written they THOUGHT it was a noble idea. Obviously W/C seriously regrets it now. I am no lover of the "Designer Dog" concept on any level.

The Dung Beetles wrote:
The original Labradoodles were bred for a specific medical purpose ..which was a noble idea

I don't really see it as a noble idea at all. Why not just use standard poodles as non-allergenic assistance dogs? They're large enough to handle the job and super smart. Grooming needs aren't even a negative compared to labradoodles IMO, because many of them have nightmare coats. I don't buy into the idea that they were tried and didn't make good guide dogs. I suspect a good breeding program and a tiny bit of patience would've come up with a line that served the purpose well. Not to mention that there are several other medium/large breeds that could've been tried--various terriers, Portuguese Water Dogs, Giant Schnauzers, etc.