Crossbreeds - why so expensive?

(40 Posts)
GenuineLeather Fri 30-Aug-13 11:01:36

Genuine question. I'm looking for a puppy and baffled as to why some cross-breed puppies are more pricey than the pedigrees. I get that any puppy is expensive and time-consuming to breed and rear and I get that some crossbreeds are healthier or have desirable characteristics of more than one breed. However, is it me or are some people selling what sound suspiciously like accidents down the park as fancy designer breeds?

I'd be happy with a crossbreed, to be honest but I'm eager to know how one tells 'deliberately bred to maximise breed positives' and 'shouldn't have let my dog off the lead but it's a nice earner' pups. How do you tell? Also, are people randomly making up crossbreed names?

GenuineLeather Fri 30-Aug-13 11:02:53

And this is not my usual user name. Sorry! I will try to get the old one back. I am usually Georgianmumto5. Clerical error by me.

Floralnomad Fri 30-Aug-13 11:05:07

All the expensive designer crossbreeds are simply a money making machine ,that's not to say that they are not very nice dogs . Have you looked at the Many Tears rescue site ,they generally have lots of puppies and young dogs and rehome nationally .

GenuineLeather Fri 30-Aug-13 11:17:32

All the ones I see on there say they must be home where there is another dog. My requirements for a dog are quite niche. I have tried the relevant breed rescue. The people I've spoken to from it are lovely and we passed their home check, but every time we get near to a dog from them, it falls through. I'm finding the stress of this (planning the road trip, etc., followed by the let-down) to be too stressful.

Must say, I thought the same about the fancy shitpoos, jackdoodledandies, cockerups and what have you, but wasn't sure if I was judging them too harshly.

tabulahrasa Fri 30-Aug-13 11:34:18

I've never seen an advert for crossbreed puppies where they were health tested or for the same price or cheaper than well bred puppies of the parent breeds would be.

Which tells me it's about the money.

moosemama Fri 30-Aug-13 12:24:29

Georgianmum, what sort of dog are you looking for and what are your niche needs? Perhaps if you give us some idea of the type of dog you'd be interested in rescuing, we may be able to recommend a suitable rescue organisation.

Lonecatwithkitten Fri 30-Aug-13 12:59:39

There are some people breeding the designer cross breeds who are doing the health checks though they are very few and far between. They also give life long support to puppies and will take them back. They are as I say few and far between and are looking to create a breed that can be recognised. Some popular, but small breeds were in this position not that long ago, Norfolk, Norwich and Parson Jack Russell terriers would be prime examples.

Quaffle Fri 30-Aug-13 13:02:44

Because there are a lot of very stupid people around who think they're getting something special/rare if its got a made up name.

GrimmaTheNome Fri 30-Aug-13 13:12:44

The origins of the Labradoodle are honourable - wanting to create a non-allergenic guide dog. I think there are some breeders who've put effort into getting this sort of cross to breed true (ie lab temperament, poodle non-shedding) rather than random poodle temperament, lab coat and all variants in between! And presumably these breeders do the relevant health checks for both parent breeds too. But they seem to be the exception.

Quaffle Fri 30-Aug-13 13:17:07

Yes but how many breeders of labradoodles are doing it to supply guide dogs? There is NO good reason to carry on breeding crosses.

Even the guy who started the whole thing has said he regrets it.

GrimmaTheNome Fri 30-Aug-13 13:19:52

Quaffle - not many I'd imagine. Interesting about the guy who started it - I'm sure he does regret the ensuing puppy farming and backyard breeding arising from his good intentions. sad

GrimmaTheNome Fri 30-Aug-13 13:24:28

And as for the crosses other than labradoodles... no good reason for them at all. There's hundreds of established breeds with lots of temperament, size, coat etc to choose from. For most pet owners if you want a poodle type coat get a poodle FFS - three sizes, nice intelligent dogs! Its noticeable that for all the -oodle and -poo crosses you don't see that many actual poodles...which must mean there's a lot of poodles being kept just for crossbreeding mustn't it?

tabulahrasa Fri 30-Aug-13 13:37:46



MrsWolowitz Fri 30-Aug-13 14:47:47

I've got a cocker x poodle and love him.

I wanted a spaniel but couldn't have the hair (allergies). He doesn't shed.

I know some do but it's rare that they do and it's very minimal.

Do people really think that anyone buys a dog because its got a funny name? hmm How very odd. If that were the case, Pomeranians, Dandie Dinmonts and Coron De Toleurs would be the rage surely?

Rather than it being the dogs name that tempts people to want them I think it's got more to do with the low/no shedding and generally great nature.

The snobbery towards crossbreeds is very hmm considering most breeds started out as cross breeds.

LtEveDallas Fri 30-Aug-13 14:58:11

It's not snobbery against cross breeds MrsW, it's snobbery against 'designer' crossbreeds. Dogs that have been bred for a niche market when more than 50,000 dogs are killed every year simply because they cannot be homed.

tabulahrasa Fri 30-Aug-13 14:59:40

It's not that rare for poodle crosses to shed, it depends what the other breed is and which genes they inherit.

Crosses have a great nature if the parent breeds have a great nature and they complement each other and the puppies get the good points of both breeds and not the worst of both.

It's not snobbery to think that there are far too many dogs in rescues and that unethical breeders shouldn't be encouraged - no matter what kind of dog they're breeding.

moosemama Fri 30-Aug-13 15:08:39

I don't think people are being snobby at all, rather they are concerned and dismayed at deliberate cross breeding of dogs without relevant health checks for both parents and a proper understanding of the genetics involved.

As someone said upthread, there are people who take it very seriously, health check, offer back up for life and will take the pup back if it becomes necessary. Unfortunately, they are in a very small minority. The vast majority of so-called breeders are doing it because these 'new breeds' are very fashionable and therefore sadly a very easy way to make money.

You only have to have a quick look at Gumtree, Preloved and other free-ad sites to see how many of these dogs are being bred and sold. If they were being bred by decent breeders, who really care about their dogs' welfare they wouldn't need to advertise, as they would already have found homes for their pups before the mating had even taken place.

It's bad enough that we have so many unwanted dogs in the UK due to people failing to spay/neuter and the resultant accidental matings, let alone people deliberately breeding and selling crossbreeds for profit.

ilovebabytv Fri 30-Aug-13 15:24:30

yeah because no pedigree breeders are just in it for the money hmm. I will tell you why cross breeders (or indeed any breeder, cross or not) can charge hundreds of pounds. Quite simply because there is a market for it.

ilovebabytv Fri 30-Aug-13 15:27:26

Although there are far too many dogs in rescues, but certainly where i live, they are mainly full of staffies/whippets/terrier type larger dogs. Certainly not any little lap dog types.

GrimmaTheNome Fri 30-Aug-13 15:29:27

>yeah because no pedigree breeders are just in it for the money

sure, but two wrongs don't make a right. And with 'proper' breeds its a bit easier to be sure what health checks should have been done.

tabulahrasa Fri 30-Aug-13 15:30:20

Of course you get pedigree breeders doing it wrong as well...but if you look hard enough you can find one doing everything they should be, it's much harder to find a breeder with crosses who's doing everything they should be.

GrimmaTheNome Fri 30-Aug-13 15:31:28

Rescues typically have a lot of rejected 'status' dogs so yes, won't have so many little lap dogs. Not quite sure of the relevance of that to this discussion though.

Lonecatwithkitten Fri 30-Aug-13 15:32:56

There is a concept that these crosses are new actually the first reference to the Cockapoo was in The Times in 1859. It was put forward as a good way to get a small dog that offered the features of both a water dog and a ground dog.
That has been deliberate breeding of the working type crosses for 160 years now.

ilovebabytv Fri 30-Aug-13 15:33:35

Maybe what im saying is that we shouldn't be sniffy about cross breeders, only unscrupulous bad breeders. And there are plenty of them on both sides.

Some cross breeds are insanely overpriced, some are not. In fact, it seems that the better breeders charge less for their pups than the puppy farms. I have a cockerpoo (F1b) and he cost the same as a cocker spaniel or miniature poodle puppy. We chose the breeder because she insisted on a puppy contract, meeting us several times before allowing us to secure a pup and still keeps in touch (pup is now 6 months old). His parents were both health tested, as were his grandparents.

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