In what situations, do you/would you start ranting about BYBs and designers dogs...

[JulielBYBsarescumt]

...and bad breeding in public? If a child came up to you blethering over his/her new "Yorkiepoo", do you say anything? Are you neutral in your response, do you explain about designer dogs even if you sound mean or do blether back about how beautiful the dog is just to not hurt their feelings?

Is it different with adults? Are you less hesitant to voice your opinions with people old enough to not be ignorant?

What if an acquaintance or a colleague at work that you do not know well, for example, said they were going to breed without titling/testing? Do you say anything and if so, what? Or do you have to know somebody very well to stick your nose in?

Are you like me and so non-confrontational that you just nod and smile no matter what the situation as long as the dog wasn't actually being abused?

What situations are ok to voice your views, however harsh they may sound, and which aren't?

I'm sure we can all agree that there is a time and a place for it!
Some situations, I feel anyway, are just completely out of bounds.

Weddings for example. It's just not proper.

[BloodhoundsAlltheWayt]

Yesterday.. A woman came up to me at the pet store with 2 teacup CHORKIES.

Here is how it went..

ME: Oh, so cute, are they both yorkies?
HER: Oh no.. not at all! They are Chorkies!
ME: What is a CHORKIE?
HER: A tea cup chihuahua and a yorkie.
ME: Oh my, they are the cutest mixes I have seen in a while!
HER: Oh, they aren't mixed, they are pure bred Chorkies.
ME: Right? And they are purebred teacup? Because teacup is just a term for unhealthy smaller dogs.

HER: What? I really didn't know that.. do you think we will have any health problems?

Then I went on and proceeded to tell her the dangers.


It is easy to talk to people if those people are willing to listen.

I try and be respectful, because often.. it is not the new owners of these dogs.. its the BYBs that manipulated them.

I try and just give them some info they ask for..
If they decide that what I say is rude.. (dont get me wrong.. yes.. they were cute.. but all puppies are.. it is unfortunate how they were bred)
If they decide it is rude.. they can take their bags and go packing.
I simply ask what breed?
They tell me a designer breed..
I tell them the costs of owning that designer breed.


A child, I would love to educate more children on the CONS of owning these dogs.
About supply and demand.. When one person buys a Designer Puppy.. the BYB will have more and more until they can get as much money as possible.

I think the SPCA should educate more children about the serious risks of BYB and Dog fighting, Animal Abuse, etc.

It is very clear that the youth coming up to take our places is FASCINATED by these "new breeds"


I just think when a child is in that situation.. it would be best if they were educated.

I mean.. a little knowledge gain every now and then couldn't hurt anyone, right?

[kdoulos]

I usually try and be tactful as much as possible. Its just not worth the headaches. A colleague of mine was talking about breeding her purebred bichon firse to another colleagues poodle. She knows that I know a lot about dogs, and asked me my opinion. I gave her the honest, but kind answer, and educated her on the problems that can arise from breeding designer dogs, and she ultimately decided not to breed.
I see tons of designer breeds at our dog park, and have had many yorkie owners want to breed their females with my male to make... uh... I think they call them dorkies...hahah. Anyway, I always politely decline, and inform them that I am not into breeding for the money, but to better the breed. If they seem receptive I'll try to educate them, but most of the time the get offended because I say no and walk off.
If kids have those dogs I just nod and say its a cute dog. I don't ask what it is or anything, I'm just polite because some of these dogs are in fact cute. There are plenty of mutts that are.
Now, if someone insults my dog, and calls him a mutt, but says nothing about their dog thats when I get mad. Some lady asked me what my large dog was, and I said he's a German Shepher/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. To which she replied, that I needent tell her his mix because he was a mutt. In that same breath someone asked her which dog was hers and she said the Goldendoodle. I about ripped her head off, but politely repeated her earlier words. I said, oh, well, you really don't need to tell me what us what kind of dogs its mixed with, you can just say its a mutt. She didn't know how to respond. So I told her what I thought about designer dogs, and BYB, and the like. She was to flabbergasted to say anthing.
These are generally how I handle these situations, but like I said, I try to avoid conflict if I can.

[Ashley]

I love my puggle. I happily paid in full for her, I don't care if she's a designer breed. Family friends of ours had their pug and beagle have puppies, no big. As long as they're taking care of their dogs I dont give a flying leap if she's pure bred or not.

[arizona]

A few years ago some moron was holding court out of his truck at a swap meet.
He had two terrified wolf crosses and cubs he was trying to sell to the unsuspecting public for 300$.
He was telling them what great pets and watchdogs they were.
That is when we were still active with wolf and wolf dog rescue and education.
I started asking plenty of loud questions and then I went off on him publicly.
I am not hesitant ever in giving the animals a voice.
I may hold my tongue in an effort to secure the release of an animal.
No, I would not tell a child gushing over a beloved animal anything cruel.Might tell them how important it is to sterilize so their pooch lives a happy healthy life.
All of my friends and associates know better than to tell me ignorant animal stories-most are involved in animal welfare anyway.

[DreadHeadMomma]

did you know that most breeds started as designer dogs? did you know that there is only about a dozen or so TRUE breeds of dogs? did you know that it is exretmely hard to find a pure blooded dog in north america? did you know that both yorkies and poodles are designer breeds? that MOST dogs are mutts? did you know that the ACK and CKC are spreading lies about the purity of the dogs they claim are purebreds? did you know that even the beloved labrador itslef is a designer dog?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labrador_Retriever

it is ok to voice your views if you KNOW what you are talking about... it is NEVER ok to spread LIES about a dog breed that was designed by humans... like 99% of the "breeds" out there.

i don't care who is breeding the dogs as long as you are doing it right

[TruthHurtsaDoesn'tItm]

Good question....

I'm not comfortable "correcting" anyone i don't know in public. I'm too shy. The only exception would be if i where with a friend who could back me up (or talk to loudly about it), if it where at work (i work in a shelter), or if i where out in public FOR that specific reason. If someone where to say something to me in public i would smile and nod and make offhand remarks that wouldn't offend or seem like i was correcting (case in point: someone calls their dog a "yorkiepoo" i say "Oh, a Yorkie/Poodle mix... how nice of you for adopting a mixed breed!")

People i know - family, co-workers, close friends, family friends, etc - i have no issue calmly pointing out the pros and cons (usually the cons) when it comes to dogs. I don't hedge around the issues because USUALLY they bring it up for my advice (i'm the go-to person in the family for animals, only exception usually being the members living in Ohio.)

I accept that people have different opinions. I don't try to "change their mind" but i do try to point out why their idea may not be a good one. I get them to think about it and research it. If they follow my advice or take it to heart, great. If not.... then i just shake my head and change the subject.

[SingleWorker1230]

I just smile. People are proud of their pets. I'm not one to burst their bubble. Since I work for a vet I have to be careful and keep my opinion to myself. I do try and gently talk people out of breeding these pups by saying how hard and expensive it is to do it right. That in order to be a good breeder they need to be willing to take any dog back that they sell and they need to be willing to keep any dogs until they sell. Just those two things usually make them decide to desex. This is especially true if they have a breed that is notorious for having large litters like labs. I ask them if they can imagine having 12 lab pups like theirs in their house at one time. I usually get a look of horror.

[msmanners]

I dont find ranting to be particularly effective when it comes to changing peoples minds, and I think that should be the goal.

I do correct people who use terms like "goldendoodle" and "maltipoo", but I just do it in the course of the conversation.

I am currently fostering a dachsund/chihuahua mix, and someone at Petco today called him a "chiweenie", to which I replied "Yes, that is what some people call them, but I dont use that term - I call him a dachshund mix.".

I think that is sufficient.

[Kaper]

I have not and would not say anything to a stranger, especially a child, with a Doodle/poo mix. If a stranger asked a question about it, I would answer it honestly, but would not bring it up on my own. I would refer to it as a whatever mix and stand my ground if corrected.

If an accquaintance were talking about breeding, I may bring up the titling/testing without lecturing. If they wanted to argue their point, I may counter but wouldnt' make a big deal of it.
I have had this debate with a friend at work who wants to breed his Lab. His Lab is at least OFA'd and did come from a good breeder. The breeder wanted to show his dog, but he didn't want to.
I have also expressed opinions to him after meeting people who have doodle mixes/ or have just bred their year old b*tch (we are both big dog people and deal with the public alot so we do run into a lot of these situations). He calls me a breeding snob.

I did have an incident in the vet's office with a guy who's GSD I was petting. When I mentioned I had a GSD he asked if I had a female to breed. He was anxious to breed his male (age 1) because he is scared something will happen to him and he loves him so much he wants one just like him. If I had a female she wouldn't get within 15 blocks of this dog. The dog showed agression towards a young girl who tried to pet him. The owner laughed and explained that he doesn't like little girls, but the boys can crawl all over him. I guess little girls are too flighty around him. He also pointed out how bad the dog's hips were (so not only do we have bad temperment to pass on, we also have extremely bad hips). I politely steered the topic to how important OFA certs were for the hips and other possible genetics diseases, but didn't lecture.

Add-
If anyone mentions getting a puppy around me, I always give them the run down of puppymills, BYBs, designer dogs and what they should look for. If they choose to listen, great, if not at least I tried.

Add-
Hugo smugo - The purebreeds of today that did start out as mixes were hardly "designer dogs". They were mixed for a specific purpose, usually a working one. Every part of the standard was to suit the function they would fufill. For example, the Lab coat is needed for the environment it would retrieve in, not because it is pretty.
The colors of a GSD were selected so that the black back would stand out against the white sheep they were to herd making it easier for the handler. Their double coat also required for the weather conditions.

What exactly is the function of a Golden or Labradoodle? Don't say "hypoallergenic" because many of them aren't.

These dogs were bred for generations to achieve the standard and "breed true", which makes them a purebred, not a designer dog regardless of origins or a mutt. You no longer need to go back to the original breeds to create a Lab as you do with a Labradoodle.
Most of these designer dogs are first or second generation only, with a few backcrosses.
Designer dogs could become purebreds, I am not even arguing that, the point is, right now, they are not.

I am not saying that the AKC has never registered a non-purebred, but can you back up your statements.

And Wikipedia is not a reliable source.