August 18, 2008Comments are closed.dogs, marketing
“The problem with designer dogs is people might think they’re trendy — and that’s not a good reason to buy a dog” – rescuer
Did you know the original ‘designer dog’ was a marketing initiative to help find a guide dog association puppy raisers?
Although Royal Guide Dogs always had a waiting list of families wanting to puppy walk the Guide Dog puppies, no one from those waiting, wanted to open their home to a ‘cross breed’. Wally knew the importance of the puppies being properly socialized in family homes but it wasn’t looking hopeful.
He contacted television station Channel 9 in Melbourne, with a story about a ‘new breed of Guide Dog’ called the ‘Labradoodle’. After the show went to air, the phone lines were jammed with people offering to walk this ‘new breed of Guide Dog’! ref
So successful was this ploy that it completely flipped on its head the concept of ‘purebred snobbery’ and instead turned the ‘mongrel’ or ‘cross breed’ into a highly sought after pet.
There is often the feeling amongst rescue that anyone who fails to do their homework and falls prey to designer dog promises, deserves what they get. But dog owners throughout history have gotten giddy for new breeds and canine breeders have always bred the dogs that people wanted to own.
While it is easy to mock the faddishness of designer dogs, it bears remembering that many of our haughtiest purebred lines are themselves recent human inventions, willed into being amid a surge of similar excitement. The purebred pug itself may have been the first, real American canine craze. Though its origins are older, the pug toddled its way to distinction in the 1870s, appearing on calendars, trading cars and as stubby-faced ceramic tchotchkes. Its celebrity owners included the queen of England. ref
Rescuers have silently protested against puppy farming by stubbornly distancing ourselves from designer dogs; refusing to call a poodle lab cross a labradoodle. These policies were brought in to help us feel that we weren’t perpetuating the myth that these dogs are any kind of ‘breed’.
Unfortunately it’s had the opposite effect two-fold. By referring to LWF’ies as maltese X’s instead of ‘maltliers’, breeders and sellers of these animals are able to deny there is an abandonment problem;“the pounds aren’t overflowing with oodles” (no they’re not, they’re full of poodle x’s).
Secondly, potential adopters who are ignorant of the issues surrounding DD’s who have their hearts set on one of these ‘breeds’ don’t think for one moment to ‘visit a shelter instead’. And the breeds stay fashionably rare.
The most common sources of designer dogs are pet shops and BYB; the two places least likely to screen new owners for suitability or help guide them through normal behavioural issues. Sure, designer dogs are fashionable, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all the people who want them are automatically bad owners. However, when set up to fail it’s often a very quick decline; unknowledgeable owner + no support network = relinquished pet.
As rescue keep pets from becoming impulse items and ensure pets go to a compatible home we’re the best source of designer dogs. In fact that’s exactly what most of our dogs are; completely unique combinations of breeds. Rescue groups, now overflowing with designer dog cast offs, should embrace this new change in consumer behaviour by providing a designer dog name to their adoptees; essentially we should give potential adopters what they want.
Bring out your Jack-A-Bee (Beagle x Jack Russell), Poogle (Beagle x Poodle ) or Corkie (Cocker Spaniel x Yorkie). List your Malt-A-Poo (Maltese x Poodle) proudly alongside a Labmaraner (Labrador Retriever-Weimaraner) or make up your own name and laugh with new owners about this silly craze.
People will always want a pet that suits who they think they are. You’ll never convince a staffy fanatic that they should have a chi – you wouldn’t even try. So why are we all trying to convince the public that they should stop wanting cavoodles and pugliers? Especially when we have exactly the same animals, but much, much better programs for keeping them in their new homes. It’s never been our role to push the barrow for purebred breeders – by giving our pets ‘designer names’ we’re confirming DD’s are in fact common, normal mutts that can be found in a shelter.
Our motto should be
“mutts and mongrels – the most fashionable fido can be found at the pound!”
And check out PetFinders Adoptable Mutt Maker or the Mutt-i-grees Club for inspiration!
