Designer Dogs

Just recently a wonderful lady came into the store with the cutest wee pup named Spiker (named as everytime a small ball is thrown his way he "spikes" the ball down to the ground). She was very proud of her "designer" dog that she paid quite a bit of money for from a local family. There were no papers and no lineage trail to back up the claim of her sweet pooch but she was happy as a bug in that oft quoted rug. I couldn't help but wonder when it was that "Mutts" became "Designer" dogs and was it the blending of the best types of dogs, hopefully getting the best traits and characteristics that warranted the ever skyrocketing costs?
Now, I am all in favour of any dog that with, say, a poodle cross has a more manageable coat especially for shedding or allergy reasons....or maybe a breed mix that offers a more manageable size but I offer up that there seems to be a run towards the checkout counter with cash in hand for what is being merchandised as specific and special breeding with provenance and panache.
I knew that my customer paid about $1500 more than what she should have from a back yard breeder but I wouldn't be the one to tell her. I was just happy that she found a lovely dog with which to enjoy for a good long while.
The upshot of her purchase is that she probably got a quite healthy dog considering the insideous breeding practices of some puppy mills that are breeding smaller and smaller dogs without care to potential health care risks. As long as they have a paper trail people are willing to pay for these dogs as well.
I always suggest 2 options for those who are looking for a new addition to the home.
The first is to do a good amount of research online for types of breeds that would fit your personality and home life. A greyhound for a homebody is not a good fit as well as some breeds that will not suffer a family that has several young children. Find out what suits you and start with dog forums online for those breeds and ask around for reputable breeders that have impecable reputations and facilities and then wait. Always wait a few months before the actual decision to get a dog. Give yourself enough time to see if you HAVE the time. There's no hurry really. After all this will be a decision you will have to stick with for a while. Never, ever give a pet as a surprise gift without the person knowing about it first...it sounds romantic but its not....doggy barf at 4am...teething on your Manolos and pee everywhere runs flat pretty darn quick.
The second thing I tell people is that there are MANY excellent rescue organizations with perfectly perfect pets in every way (to miss quote a certain Miss Poppins).
I know several people who have the most beautiful pets from looking up pet rescue organizations. Some of these organizations deal with specific breeds and only them while others offer a variety.
I can't tell you just how happy and relieved looking some of these pooches are with their owners.
I know one woman who now owns the most gorgeous boxer featured here on this blog named Broedy that came from Boxers without Borders...a super group of people. I can bet that she also saved herself a good amount of money and got a perfect fit to boot!
Designer dogs...purebreds....happy Benji mutts (my fav) their all good just dont let someone market you into a corner without doing some research. Spiker is one lucky pup but I wish he wasn't being made out to be some super special anomaly....maybe when Louis Vuitton is tatooed on his ass I might think designer..until then hes just a gorgeous dog.