doodle diss UPDATE

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

I'm at obedience class with Gracie my Frenchie. It is a very small class - three students - Gracie, Mesa a Jack Russell Terrier and Zoey a Poodle. Zoey's mom is a groomer and at the last class I asked her to bring in her business card because I have not yet located a groomer for Zach and her poodle was wonderfully groomed.

So.... we are in class today, and we had an assignment to learn a bit about our breed to share with the class. I tell the class about the interesting history of French bullldogs and their wonderful personality and then Zoey's mom shares a bit about Poodles and closes by saying that she thinks it is an atrocity that poodles are being bred with labs, they end up in shelters and they all have ADD. 

 

I looked at her and I said, really, I have a doodle, he is hands down the smartest dog I have ever owned.How does the existance of my dog harm you as a poodle owner? ....crickets  

 

Fast forward to the end of class - she tries to hand me her business card and I told her, no thanks, but I don't want my dog groomed by some one who thinks that his existance is an atrocity.

 

I don't get this hatred of doodles by some members of the Poodle community? If you don't want one don't get one and don't let your poodle participate in a breeding program. I am missing how poodles as a breed are harmed by the existence of doodles.

 

UPDATE: Just an update - we went back to class and Zoey the Poodle and her mom were not there - no show no call - I wonder if it was something I said!

My Gracie as it turns out is a bit of brown nose and does much better in class than at home, and really performs when the trainer is watching her - stinker! We train at a service dog training center so there are lots of props and crates . During play time, she was sniffing around and she peed in a dog crate - so she went from being "teacher's pet" to the "dog house" in one one-hour class!

Thanks so much for all your support last week - not only do doodles rule - those that they own do too!

 

[Becka]

I don't get it either, Cindy. And someone should buy this woman a dictionary so that she can learn the definition of "atrocity"! Sheesh!

[Joe R.]

Way to stay classy while putting her in her place. Though I do think my boy Gus does have ADD. :-)  But that only because he's a big goof ball. Serisously though, it's a good thing she did reveal her true feelings. Zach would probably have been groomed in a poodle cut, no matter what instructions you gave her. I've had that happen with Gus on a couple occasions.

[Robyn, Greg and Snickers]

Good for you! We have a lady in our neighborhood who has a poodle when we first got Snickers she thought he was a poodle when I told her he was an Irish goldendoodle she humph and said why would they do that to a poodles good genes. She now is slient when we see her on walks. As Adina has pointed out how does my dogs breeding affect her dogs lineage? Again good for you not taking her card either. 
The 

[Jennifer Tramell]

Congrats on handling this with grace and confidence!  It probably had more impact since you were in the class with your purebred Frenchy but also own a doodle. 

 

It really is amazing how people have such strong feelings about doodles.  We have 2 vets who we use because we have horses and alpacas in addition to the doodles ("we" includes my mom & sister).  One vet is more convenient for office visits for the dogs, the other is a small animal and farm vet - we have her come out for a "farm visit" and she takes care of anything/everything from dog vaccinations to alpaca ultrasounds at the house.  The "dog" vet has made implied disparaging remarks, very discreet but let's just say there are no warm and fuzzy feelings in her office.  The "farm" vet thinks the dogs are great and recently said that she has only met one goldendoodle who didn't have a great personality (that dog was a rescue who freaked out and had to be returned to the rescue organization).  I think we will be sending more business to the "farm" vet (but she's 30 minutes away) just because it's nice being with people who like your dogs.

[Sally, Ditzy Mitzi & Sgt. Pepper]

My family attended a  Eukanuba dog show about 5 years ago and were walking around looking at the booths where the groomers were when someone came over to us and gave us some papers and a rather large pin with a circle with a / through it.  The pin says "Say No to Designer Dogs".  I still have the pin, and Ditzy Mitzi Fluffmuffin, a beautiful strawberry blonde Golden Doodle. We got Mitzi about a year after the show.  Guess Mitzi won!

[Bryce P]

That is soooo rude why would anyone make a pin that says that. Many people with purebred dogs think they know it all. They think people should stop breeding and buying doods. They think a doodle is just like any other dog. It is VERY annoying.

[Leslie and Halas]

I can't believe she still tried to give you her business card after that.  As if you'd take your doodle to a person that you know has already decided she doesn't like him.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Leslie, there is a LOT of STUPID out there!

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Clearly, science instruction in America is sorely lacking!   No backward gene-dilution occurs in the mating process.  (Or maybe it does occur and that's what's happened to cause the narrow-mindedness of some dog owners!)

[Bryce P]

It is not just the poodle community. People everywhere hate doodles. I asked why once on yahoo answers, and they said that they don't hate the dogs they hate that people pay more than $1000 for a dog that you can find in a pound. I for one looked in all the shelters and never saw a goldendodle or labradoodle.

 

And another thing, nobody thinks that every purebred was once a mix but those people are wrong it just makes me so mad.

[Rose Ann and Amante]

I have had my encounters and just can't understand why a person thinks they can anything they want. You don't like doodles fine don't get one. Seriously! How does me buying a mixed breed  effect the dog you have. I am telling you I am gonna think upsome classy come backs for all these comments. ( i work better when I am prepared). I just don't understand. Do you think these  same people  will tell someone  that their child existence  is "wrong"?

[Jacque Reynolds]

Oh, Cindy, I am so proud of you! There is a forum for groomers and they are constantly laughing at Doodles and their owners, saying how stupid we are and how ugly our dogs are...and yet I would be willing to bet that they don't have the courage to say no to the heavy fee we pay them to groom our dogs.

When I moved here, my neighbor (owns and shows Chesepeke Bay Retrievers) asked me what kind of dogs I bred (I had not brought the dogs here yet) and when I told her, she shuddered! Then I said that I provide them for service dogs...it always takes the wind out of their sails when I say that...but now that we have been here for a couple of years, she often tells me that my dogs are so cute and so well behaved. :o)

It just takes them time to get to know Doodles...but, like you, I refuse to interact with such bigots. To hate a dog because of lineage ...now THAT is atrocious!

If you ever get a chance to talk with her again, you might want to ask her how many Poodle breeders she knows that test hips, elbows, patellas, DNA for vWD, PRA/PRCD, thyroid, cardiac, etc.? And how many does she know who will take their puppy back, at any time of life, for any reason? Good breeders prevent shelter dogs...it is the bad breeders (and irresponsible owners) that populate shelters and there are bad breeders/owners in every breed.