What's the Deal with Sick Doodles?

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

It seems like we are reading an awful lot about doodles being sick lately.  I want your opinion.  Do you think that is because doodles have more health issues than pure bred dogs?  OR is it because we are on a doodle web site, so that is why I am only hearing about doodles being sick and if I went to a pure bred web site, there would be just as much sickness with them too?  OR is it because doodles, since they are a mixed breed, are bred using not the best quality dogs to begin with?

 

I'm just curious.  I feel tricked in a way.  When I did A LOT of research about which dog to get, I read all this (what seems like bogus to me now) information about "hybrid vigor" blah blah blah.  Is that true OR are breeders just trying to trick you to sell you doodles? 

 

I LOVE Bexter and wouldn't give him up for the world, but I am getting nervous that I might be looking into a very painful and expensive future with him if he turns out to be sick like it seems so many other doodles are.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

 I think you just here a lot about doodles being sick because we have over 8000 members. If you took a poll on sick dogs and they were all connected in one place the number would be astronomical. If you really think about it there aren't that many sick doodles compared to not being sick. It's just like humans, in my life I know of many women with breast cancer but I know far more of them without.

My daughter has two dogs.,,,Sophie (the million dollar dog) is a boxer beagle mix, don't even get me started on her health issues and then Lilly a full bred boxer, well she has allergies, she can be a mess at times.

So really you just never know. Bexter is probably perfectly healthy, we think Daisy is too, but you never know what the future holds.

[Suzanne & Jack]

I agree with you that it does seem like we are reading a lot about sick doodles.  I think it may seem more common on here because the members all have a common interest (doodles) and want to share any experiences.  We are more likely to want to alert others to potential problems, illnesses.  As this is a very sympathetic and empathetic community we share our experiences.  I doubt if I would get much response if I posted "Hey my dood had great poop today!!!"

If it gives you comfort, my Jack is 5.  He came from a petshop, his breeder was part of the amish puppymills. I've since learned the evils of this.  He has never had any health issues.  (Knocking on wood)  He is given vitamins and fish oil everyday.  I think there is a lot of luck in having a healthy dog. 

 

[Carolyn and Ruby]

Suzanne,

"I doubt if I would get much response if I posted, "hey, my dood had a great poop today!"

Oh, don't be toooo sure.  Great, high-quality, FIRM poops are a thing of beauty, especially for those of us who have doods with sensitive tummies.  I always applaud a "good" poop! :)

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I agree with with both Lisa and Suzanne.  I really don't believe that doodles are more frail or sickly than other "breeds" of dogs.  Because people tend to post newsworthy items (along with some very funny and uplifting things), a certain percentage of the posts are just going to be about sick dogs - so it may seem like a disproportionate number of dogs are ill.  Also, a sizable number of DK'ers have doodles that were rescued - so little is known about their health background, including whether the parents were health-tested before being bred.  Reputable doodle breeders use quality, healthy, good tempered dogs.  I don't think you were being tricked in any way.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have under 10 dogs in my immediate neighborhood and none of my close family or friends have dogs except one son , who has a rescue. So I would think all dogs are healthy KOW. But here we have probably at least 10,000 dog , so it is not surprising we have some who are sick. I don't know of a comparable site so how can we compare.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

KOW ????

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Knock on Wood :)

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

of course, thanks Karen. Sometimes I am a little slow.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I had to think about it for a minute, too, lol.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think it's a little of all of the reasons you stated. I think we hear more about the sick dogs because nobody posts a discussion to tell everyone their dog is healthy, lol, or to ask for advice on how to treat a dog who isn't sick.

But I also think that the fact that in mixed breed dogs the breeding dogs may not have been of the best stock does play a role, too.

On a purebred website, you would hear about sick dogs, but there again, a great deal would depend on what breed they were and where they came from. Some breeds have more genetic diseases than others. Golden Retrievers have more cancers than any other breeds. German Shepherds and Schnauzers have more digestive problems than most other breeds. GSDs and Labs have more skin problems than most other breeds. You get the idea. So on a Lab owners' site you might hear more about allergies, and on a Golden owners' site you might hear more about cancer. And then it would depend on whether these are dogs from very respected lines that have been tested for these diseases, or dogs from mills, or something in between.

I also think that on any site where you have a lot of inexperienced dog owners, you are going to hear more about problems, including illness, because experienced dog owners don't need to go on a website and ask what to do, or "have you ever heard of such and such", because they have heard of such and such and they already know what to do.

I have no doubt that JD's health problems stem directly from the fact that he was from a puppy mill. Not a doubt in my mind. Just lousy genetics and breeding.

The "hybrid vigor" claims on the breeders' websites are a lot of Hoohah, or Hokum as F would say. I don't think most of them are trying to trick people, I just think they heard that hype themselves and are passing it along, just like hypoallergenic claims, and they don't know much about genetics, either. Same thing when you see things like "The mother is X height and weighs X and the father is Y height and weighs Y, so the puppies will be (average of X & Y). All you have to do is think about all the men you know who are taller than either of their parents to realize that genetics don't work that way, it isn't like mixing half black paint and half white paint and you get gray.

If the same genetic diseases run in two different breedas, which is the case with Labs, Goldens, and Poodles, the offspring of the mixes have just as great a chance of having those diseases as a purebred puppy would. Mixing breeds is not in itself a protection aghainst genetic diseases. It depends on the breeds and the mode of genetic inheritance. Also, not every genetic disease requires two copies of the defective gene. Some can be passed by just one affected parent, no matter what other breed he was bred with.

[Bonnie and Kona]

and thanks to F the hokum word runs rampant. heh heh.

I agree with what everyone has said. I just had to laugh out loud about hokum. I wonder if we can use it in every discussion. Let's try.

[Melody & Bruin]

hee hee hee