Help keep One Green Planet free and independent! Together we can ensure our platform remains a hub for empowering ideas committed to fighting for a sustainable, healthy, and compassionate world. Please support us in keeping our mission strong.
Designer dogs are all the rage in the U.S. and a growing trend across the world. People are really going breed-crazy, throwing together dogs to create new breeds like an American Neo Bull (American Bulldog and Neapolitan Mastiff mix) or a Bernedoodle (Bernese Mountain Dog and Poodle mix).
The list of strange dog breeds goes on and on (no joke, just click here for a full list). And while many are scrambling to get their hands on the “hottest” dogs or the “cutest” new breeds, this blind demand comes at a steep, steep price.
On one hand, the designer dog trend contributes to higher euthanasia rates in shelters. In fact, 5,500 dogs are killed in U.S. shelters every day, yet somehow we keep producing more simply because some want a certain “type” to take home, leaving homeless dogs with little chance of finding the forever families they deserve.
The demand for hybrid breeds has also given rise to cruel and unsustainable puppy mill operations, where dogs are often confined to cramped wire cages or kennels and suffer from severe health problems that can range from kidney disease to respiratory disorders.
Wally Conron, who created the first Labradoodle and is credited with starting the designer dog trend, has seen the hybrid dog demand give rise to these often unseen or unrealized effects and is now speaking out against the industry.
According to the Associated Press (AP) via TODAY, Conron, working in the 1980s with the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia, bred a prized Labrador and Poodle pair to make the world’s first Labradoodle in an effort to fulfill a request from a couple that comprised a wife with vision problems and a husband with allergies. They had wanted a guide dog that would work well to satisfy both of their needs.
In no time, the Conron’s Labradoodle became the “hot” dog to have, and the hybrid breed grew to more public fame with celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Tiger Woods, and others becoming their guardians.
Conron laments his unsuspecting role in launching the designer dog craze.
“I’ve done a lot of damage,” Conron recently told AP. “I’ve created a lot of problems.”
“Marvelous thing? My foot,” he said. “There are a lot of unhealthy and abandoned dogs out there.”
While Conron may not become a full-on activist like ex-dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry has in an effort to change the industry and people’s minds, his comments still signal a dawning realization that simply because we “want” something doesn’t mean we should go ahead and do as we please, as other sentient beings often get entrapped in the mix, becoming objects of abuse and misuse instead of admiration.
Image source: rickhogan / Flickr
@ Marsha – “I do not see how my purchase of a designer dog contributed to euthanasia rates.”. You paid/funded a person to purposely bring a litter of puppies into this world when over 5,000 dogs are euthanized every day… how do you not see a connection? Every puppy in that single litter displaced a dog or puppy that needed a home. People now have access to PetFinder and other search resources that can alert you when desired breeds become available for adoption. The fact that you paid for your “designer dog” (the description makes me want to vomit), rewarded the breeder and provided incentive to create another batch of designer pups which only serves to perpetuate an already completely needless industry.
:(
I expressed similar thoughts to those of Marsha Sea on a post a couple of days ago. All of the comments other than mine were solidly that adopt/rehome is the only ethical option. I feel that there is no reason for someone who wants, say, a Himalayan kitten for her daughter or a collie pup for the family to feel guilty for purchasing from a responsible breeder vs getting a mixed breed from a shelter. Just be responsible & spay or neuter. While we often read wonderful stories of the pets who are rescue, the other side–and I am speaking from personal experience–is that their previous treatment often leaves them w/physical and/or emotional issues. Those of us who rehome understand this & take that possibility as part of the adoption. I had to wonder at some of the comments if those same folks who judge rehoming as the only appropriate option elected to adopt children vs having their own birth children. Is it not the same thing? Human adoption saves lives: gives more opportunities &, as in foreign adoptions, will guarantee they will not go hungry, have a roof over their heads, etc.