Author: Mike Mathews
Designer dogs are really hybrid or cross-breed dogs that have
been developed to try and gain some positive characteristics or
lose some negative characteristics from the founding pure-bred
dog breeds. "Poo" hybrid dogs where the Poodle is crossed with
a number of breeds such as the Labrador Retriever
(Labradoodle), Golden Retriever (Goldendoodle), Maltese
(Maltipoo) Cocker Spaniel (Cockapoo), Bichon Frise (Bich-poo),
Yorkshire Terrier (Yorkipoo) and the Schnauzer (Schnoodle) are
very popular. This is because the Poodle is a very intelligent
breed with a non- or low-shedding odorless coat which is said
to be hypoallergenic. While there is no guarantee as to what
characteristics will be passed on to the first generation
puppies from the breeding parents, the Poodles non-shedding
coat seems to be a dominant characteristic which is often
passed on to the first generation of puppies, accounting for
the popularity of the "poo" hybrids. I guess if you wanted to
ensure a hypoallergenic and non-shedding coat, then you should
acquire a Maltipoo, Schnoodle or a Bich-poo where both parents
have non-shedding coats. It should be noted that there are
really two types of Labradoodles. The first is the unofficial
mixed Poodle/Labrador designer breed described above and the
second is the Australian Labradoodle which has resulted from an
exhaustive Australian breeding program involving 6 different
parent breeds: Poodle, Labrador Retriever; Irish Water Spaniel;
Curly Coat Retriever; American Cocker Spaniel; and English
Cocker Spaniel.
Most of the Poodle hybrids are quite attractive with beautiful
coats. Colors range from whites and creams to apricot, brown,
chocolate, silver, gray, black and multi-colored. Their coats
are low to non-shedding and will need combing, brushing and
clipping on a regular basis. Poodles are very intelligent and
most "poo" hybrids should be fairly easy to train. Since there
are three sizes of pure-bred Poodles (Toy, Miniature and
Standard), you can have many different sizes of "poo" hybrids.
Through the wonders of artificial insemination, the smaller Toy
and Miniature Poodles can be bred with larger breeds such as the
Labrador or the Golden Retriever to produce smaller designer
dogs. While a Poodle could be either the dam or sire in most
pairings, in this situation the Labrador or Golden Retriever
would be the dam. One of the most popular designer dogs today
is the Cockapoo which can take many forms. The Cockapoo Club of
America recognizes two main types of Cockapoos - the American
Cockapoo (Poodle/American Cocker Spaniel cross) and the English
Cockapoo (Poodle/ English Cocker Spaniel cross). Four sizes of
Cockapoo are designated. These are the: Teacup Toy (under 6
pounds grown weight); the Toy (7 - 12 pounds); Miniature (13
-18 pounds); and Maxi (over 19 pounds). Information on "poo"
hybrids such as Cockapoos, Goldendoodles and Labradoodles can
be found at www.dog-breed-facts.com .
Many designer dog breeders insist that the first generation
hybrid puppies will be healthier and have fewer genetic health
problems than the founding breeds. They say that this is due to
a phenomenon called hybrid vigor. Some breeders will even breed
a first generation "-poo" hybrid back to another Poodle to try
and ensure a non-shedding coat. The resulting back-cross will
be ¾ Poodle and ¼ other founding breed. Other experienced
hybrid breeders tend to focus on producing a multi-generational
line of hybrid puppies with standardized characteristics by
breeding non-related hybrids with the desired characteristics.
It is really up to you as to which type of designer dog hybrid
- first generation, back-cross or multi-generation - that you
purchase. However since the founding breeds are always
pure-bred with potential genetic problems, purchasers should
always ask to see the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
and the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) certificates
for both parents. This combination of genetic testing and
cross-breed vigor should help to ensure you acquire a healthy
puppy.
About The Author: Mike Mathews is an editor and contributor for
the popular http://www.dog-breed-facts.com information site and
has developed articles on 3 "poo" hybrid designer dogs - the
Labradoodle, the Goldendoodle and the Cockapoo - which can be
found at http://www.dog-breed-facts.com/cockapoo.html
