Please Don't Call These Dogs Mutts...

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

Today on my yahoo homepage I saw that The Wall Street Journal posted an article yesterday about designer dog breeds. 

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112581/pug-beagle-love...

 

In my opinion this is a bad article but I thought it would make for good discussion here. 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Okay I scanned it and agree, it's bad.  Did you read any comments at the bottom?  Some said "no reputable breeder would breed MUTTS".  People are crazy.

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

Yes, the comments were definitely crazy.  The fact that the article also seems to advertise for someone who clearly gets puppies from a puppy mill was just one of the many problems I noticed. 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Oh yes....exactly my thoughts.

[Adina P]

Gosh that was bad. I'm amazed at what a poor job some reporters do.

 

I really liked this line: "For the most part, designer dogs are not hard to breed. Ms. Miller says she simply puts the two dogs together when the female is fertile."  No way!  That easy?

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

and that's why the catchphrase for The Price Is Right is "Help control the pet population.  Have your pets spayed and neutered!"

[Denise & Hunter!!!]

One of my favorite sayings "The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about"

I scanned the article, it wasn't worth my time to read the entire thing, the comments at the end were just ignorance at its finest for the most part.  It amazes me that people can judge what they truly are not educated on at all. 

This is a neat article in Wikipedia about what it means to be a dog breed.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_breed

This is another link in that article.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dog_breeds

The first paragraph states: Dogs have been selectively bred for thousands of years, sometimes by inbreeding dogs from the same ancestral lines, sometimes by mixing dogs from very different lines.^[1] The process continues today, resulting in a wide variety of breeds, hybrids and types of dogs. Dogs are the only animal with such a wide variation in appearance without speciation, "from the Chihuahua to the Great Dane".^[2]

And one more that I find interesting because it references inbreeding and what can happen....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purebred

Breeding from too small a gene pool can lead to inbreeding and the development of undesirable characteristics or even a collapse of a breed population due to inbreeding depression. Therefore there is a question, and often heated controversy, as to when or if a breed may need to allow "outside" blood in for the purpose of improving the overall health and vigor of the breed. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I saw this on the news last night and was nauseated. They are totally promoting BYBs and puppy mills, which is where the majority of these carzy mixes come from. The people who were interviewed were all pet store owners and brokers. The "breeders" and salespeople commenting in this article are the same.

I didn't read the comments left about this article, but I have a feeling I might have agreed with some of them. They are mutts, and I don't find that an insult. I proudly tell anyone who asks that Jackdoodle is a mutt, just like me.

The fact is, this article does nothing to help doodle owners, responsible doodle breeders, or anyone who really loves dogs, and everything to promote irresponsible breeding and purchasing of puppy mill puppies.

And I have to agree, no reputable breeder would breed "morkies" or "puggles".

[1xar0x2rcx0li]

I actually think puggles are a good idea. If you look at pictures of Pugs from 50+ years ago they had a longer muzzle and a less curly tail, resembling what a puggle looks like today. Emphasis on extreme characteristics have given today's Pug a terribly too short muzzle making it hard to breath and limits physical activity. The curly tail has actually curved their vertebrae. I think crossing to a beagle is undoing a lot of the harm done to Pugs. This concept is independent of BYBs that don't health test their stock regardless of breed.

[NewfoundlandNic]

The "mutt" look of shaggy doodles is one of the reasons I wanted a doodle. I <3 mutts!

[Kim]

Because of that poorly written article, I'm still trying to figure out the point of it!!!  Buy from a puppy mill????

 

The comments always do seem to get to me though, when they are talking about the purchase price of these "mutts," I just don't understand why people care about the purchase price of my dog.  What is it to them?  I didn't ask anyone for a loan to get my dog.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The point of it seems to be to advertise for these BYBs and mills who breed anything to anything if someone will buy it. Want a dog with the head of a German Shepherd and the body of a Bassett Hound? I'm sure they'll make you one if the price is right. Look, folks! We're playing games with living creatures and genetics! It's like a real life Build-a-Bear!

 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I would like Taquito's head on Peri's body, but not sure how that would work genetically...

:) :) :)