oodles of... whatever that thing is.

December 3, 2007 7:34 PM

The Foodle! Bassetoodle! A Chi-Poo and a Pomapoo!! Poogles, Doxiepoos, and Miniature Labradoodles! (oodles more here)
posted by Pants! (51 comments total)

Ok, I wanna cross a male Chihuahua with a female Great Dane and call it a "Great-wa-wa".

Not a dog for everyone, I know, but consider the logistics... That would be one determined little Chihuahua.
posted by ranchocalamari at 7:44 PM on December 3, 2007

I feel like the photos in these links are incredibly unappealing in an "I-belong-on-the-island-of-Doctor-Moreau" sort of way.
posted by HeroZero at 7:49 PM on December 3, 2007

How many of these are from central Missouri puppymill/methlabs?
posted by pieoverdone at 7:53 PM on December 3, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Whoa. Apparently, if you cross an Affenpinscher with a Poodle, you get an unholy demon.
posted by Greg Nog at 7:55 PM on December 3, 2007 [5 favorites has favorites]

Don't forget the cheesedoodle.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 8:05 PM on December 3, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wow. All kinds of dog-poos!
posted by oneirodynia at 8:10 PM on December 3, 2007

Wow, there are some seriously shady breeders linked in the left column here.
posted by pieoverdone at 8:11 PM on December 3, 2007

luxating patella! cherry eye! epilepsy! liver shunts! huge pile of dead dogs who were euthanized because we have a huge pet overpopulation problem on our hands!

People who buy "designer dogs" get the dogs they deserve.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 8:12 PM on December 3, 2007

This is the ugliest dog I have ever seen. It has a butt for a face.
posted by pieoverdone at 8:15 PM on December 3, 2007

freshwater_pr0n, I always heard that if you buy a purebred, you're more likely to have those problems, because they're usually genetic recessives. I have always heard mutts live longer and in better health. And isn't that what these designer dogs really are -- mutts? What's wrong with expanding the gene pool?
posted by InnocentBystander at 8:15 PM on December 3, 2007

Rottoodle. German Shpoodle. pachshund. pooshund. Golden retoodle. Boodles. Poxers. Poodloodles.

damned good fun!
posted by cogneuro at 8:18 PM on December 3, 2007

Daisy Dog: because Bitchshitpoo was taken.
posted by Partial Law at 8:21 PM on December 3, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

Ok, I wanna cross a male Chihuahua with a female Great Dane

I met a lab/chihuahua mix once. Great little dog- he looked just like a golden lab, but pocket sized. His owner told me he was the product of a tryst between her AKA registered female lab and her neighbor's teacup horndog. She wasn't sure her lab was even aware of the wee, determined lothario hanging on for dear life as her dog bounded around the yard. Ah, romance.

That said, I agree with HeroZero about the Doctor Moreau squick. Sometimes it seems like these breeders are mating dogs just to compete for the wackiest 'Oodle' title.
posted by maryh at 8:21 PM on December 3, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

No one mentioned bull-shitz yet?


This appalls me because so many animals are euthanized in the US each year. My county alone kills over 400 dogs and cats every month, due to over population. People need to get their animals spayed and neutered and adopt adult animals from the shelters. I would personally like to shoot every stupid backyard breeder making these animals that just end up in shelters. It is sickening that so many healthy animals have to die because people are ignorant idiots.
posted by 45moore45 at 8:22 PM on December 3, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Holy shit.
posted by pieoverdone at 8:30 PM on December 3, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I always heard that if you buy a purebred, you're more likely to have those problems

For the most part, you heard wrong.

You're more likely to have those problems if you buy a purebred from a terrible breeder.

Now, many or even most breeders are terrible. Many are either puppy-millers or some jerk whose only qualification is that they own a bitch, and know someone who owns a dog that understands how to fuck.

But there are also many ethical breeders. In most breeds, if you buy from an ethical breeder your odds of getting a bum dog are low. They're low because the sire and dam passed multiple health checks. They're low because the breeder looked at the family history of the sire and dam to avoid breeding dogs with problems in their ancestry. They're low because the sire and dam are show champions, which at least means that they seem reasonably sound and aren't glaringly bad examples of the breed, and that people other than the breeder think so.

That said, there are breeds that seem, at the level of the breed organization, to be sick. Cavaliers and their refusal to eliminate mitral valve defects come immediately to mind.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:33 PM on December 3, 2007

Yeah, we've only gotten pets from shelters, never from breeders (with the exception of our sphynx cat, a breeding retiree because she had a uterine infection when she was pregnant), and I guess that advice (mutts are better) probably applies pretty well to shelter dogs, which are much more likely to be from crappy breeders, than well-bred dogs.
posted by InnocentBystander at 8:37 PM on December 3, 2007

My dog's a dachshund terrier. I call her a derrier.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:37 PM on December 3, 2007

I want a pair of Maltipoos!!!
posted by nickyskye at 8:37 PM on December 3, 2007

bull-shitzoodles, actually.
posted by cogneuro at 8:42 PM on December 3, 2007

This thread is not complete without a mention of schnoodles.

Awesome dog. Our old schnoodle Sadie had the heart of a lion.
posted by marble at 8:42 PM on December 3, 2007

As cute as some purebreeds and "designer" hybrids are, I just can't imagine adopting an animal that was bred on purpose, supporting that in any way, when there are so many animals who will never have a home.

But if I ever run across a Daisy Dog in the rescue organization newsletter, look out.
posted by padraigin at 8:43 PM on December 3, 2007

I guess that advice (mutts are better) probably applies pretty well to shelter dogs, which are much more likely to be from crappy breeders, than well-bred dogs

I would guess so, yah.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:44 PM on December 3, 2007

InnocentBystander, it's not that easy. Hybrid vigor is mostly a myth. Breeding from a small gene-pool is one way to get a bad litter of pups, but it's certainly not the only way.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 8:46 PM on December 3, 2007

They take PayPal.
posted by pieoverdone at 8:50 PM on December 3, 2007

nickyskye, if adorableness was a weapon, your link would have left great swathes of internet connected lands barren, lifeless seas of smoking glass.

That still doesn't make it right, tho'.
posted by maryh at 8:52 PM on December 3, 2007

Doxicockadoodle retrievers aside, there are people doing good work with crossbreeds. I have met some excellent Labradoodles in particular.

There are also well-established "types" of hybrid such as the lurcher and the working sheepdog. One of my own dogs is an Australian cattle dog/Border collie cross, and if I were ever to buy a dog, I'd probably look for a rancher who had a litter of them.

Cross-breeding isn't a black and white issue.
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 8:55 PM on December 3, 2007

I have a purebred Australian Shepherd from a fantastic breeder, and my latest is what looks like a husky/border collie mix from the humane society. They're both awesome dogs, though the mix isn't all full of herself like the purebred is. I wouldn't give either up for anything.
posted by Eekacat at 8:58 PM on December 3, 2007

Cross-breeding isn't a black and white issue.

Yeah but 15 years ago we had cockapoos and peekapoos for small designer cross-breeds, and labradoodles hit the mainstream as family cross breeds not long after.

I just sort of think this meme jumped the shark after that. I'm not convinced we're getting some laudable unique snowflake attributes by cross-breeding, I dunno, a bichon and a pug. Bichugs, oy...
posted by DarlingBri at 9:05 PM on December 3, 2007

My chug (chihuahua/pug) is awesome. However, there's no way I can take her seriously as any kind of "designer dog."

I also have a German Shepherd/Pug mix that I jokingly refer to as a German Pug. I consider both of my dogs to be mutts - because they are. Both of the dogs came from private shelters after other people had gotten rid of them.

A lot of the newer labradoodles and goldendoodles are ending up having skin conditions that the original breeders were trying to eliminate. I understand some of the thinking behind trying to breed poodles with all these other dogs but at the same time there are so many dogs out there that are perfectly good dogs.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 9:16 PM on December 3, 2007

Cross-breeding isn't a black and white issue.

It is with my dog, but she just happened to be black and white.

Truth be told, the vast majority of dog owners aren't using their dogs for anything but companion animals. They're neither bred nor trained for any specific purpose, and I do find the justification for either a pure-bred or designer-bred awfully foolish. I bite my tongue, of course, but it's still there.

I had a client in Uptown Dallas that lived in a, I dunno, 30-ish story complex that had a small little white dog. One time I stepped in the elevator to take her out for the walk, and some random woman asked me "Oh, is she a Malti-poo? Those are so hot right now!".

Fuck it. I looked her right in the face and said "I don't know what she is. But she's a dog, not a fashion accessory. Why do you care?"

She didn't look back at me
posted by Ufez Jones at 9:21 PM on December 3, 2007 [3 favorites has favorites]

Supposedly, hybrid vigor is a first-generation effect. After that you have to dig out from under the worst of both breeds' genetic pedigrees, unless you indulge in the sort of rigorous testing and culling that is required to actually create a new breed that isn't a genetic disaster. Relatively few "designer dog" breeders are actually engaged in resonsible breeding. There are undoubtedly some, considering the breeds we have - for better or worse - were mostly created deliberately. But I would guess relatively few are being bred with care for much beyond saleability. freshwater_pr0n's point is valid in the sense that it isn't a simple black and white issue. IMO, of course. Not an expert.
posted by cairnish at 9:23 PM on December 3, 2007

We have a portuguese water dog. Sometimes when people ask we tell them he's a "rotti-poo", or a rottweiler poodle cross.
posted by Rusty Iron at 9:33 PM on December 3, 2007

But I would guess relatively few are being bred with care for much beyond saleability.

Yes. And there is also the opposite issue - buyability, I guess. People seem to be under the impression that by buying a specific breed or cross breed, they "know what they are getting." And while there is a breed standard, it's an ideal and individual dogs vary tremendously.

We have a pure bred boxer. Specifically, we have a boxer who does not drool, has never barked, and (contrary to most boxer stories) has yet to eat the couch. The most destructive thing she's done is eat through flipflops. Our great "family dog" ignores my husband and is terrified of children. Our "high energy" dog is so mellow she goes to the office and most clients never notice her under my desk.

She does snore though...
posted by DarlingBri at 9:38 PM on December 3, 2007

Eimear must drool in private when she knows you're not looking.
posted by Pants! at 9:42 PM on December 3, 2007

Got me a goldendoodle. She's a peach. Gentle, intelligent, friendly, handsome dog. Sometimes, you just luck out, I think.
posted by bigskyguy at 10:09 PM on December 3, 2007

Poodles aren't such great dogs, imo. I can't figure out why they're so widely crossbred aside from the lulz. I'm pretty hardcore for shepherds. So. Smart.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:36 PM on December 3, 2007

I can't figure out why they're so widely crossbred aside from the lulz.

They don't shed, really, which means that people with dog allergies have little, if any, adverse reaction to them.
posted by dersins at 11:12 PM on December 3, 2007

These hybrid dogs always remind me of drum rudiments. I imagine someone walking down the street with a flamadiddle and a pataflafla straining at their leashes.
posted by teleskiving at 3:14 AM on December 4, 2007

We call our catahoula/rottweiler cross a rottihoula. But nobody has any idea what the hell we're talking about. Or cares.
posted by miss tea at 4:00 AM on December 4, 2007

Poodle (+ anything) == Cancer Factory.

@ InnocentBystander: I always heard that if you buy a purebred, you're more likely to have those problems, because they're usually genetic recessives. I have always heard mutts live longer and in better health. And isn't that what these designer dogs really are -- mutts? What's wrong with expanding the gene pool?

The problem with what you said is the math. Hybrid breeds are mutts, at first anyway. But as more and more people start adopting these living cancer cells with fur, the selection becomes less varied and more specific because a standard falls into place. "Oh well, a Yorkie-poo should meet these requirements." Thereby recreating the genetic recessiveness you are (theoretically) trying to combat.
posted by mrzer0 at 5:40 AM on December 4, 2007

Muttafilter
posted by sfts2 at 5:57 AM on December 4, 2007

"Oh, is she a Malti-poo? Those are so hot right now!".

A hot dog?

Breeding dogs for the lulz is pathetic IMO. All these -oodles may be why people are scared of genetic research.
posted by ersatz at 6:20 AM on December 4, 2007

Stop it. Just stop it. Your dog does NOT want a perm!
posted by misha at 8:14 AM on December 4, 2007

I cannot help myself: here is my friends' Dorkie Poo - mom is a Yorkie-Poo and dad is a miniature dachsund (yes, the pups were products of owner irresponsibility and true love; also, free) and Mojo, the dorkie poo in question, is all cuteness. Smart, too.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:44 AM on December 4, 2007

Why would anyone take a perfectly good dog and ruin it by adding Chihuahua?
posted by schroedinger at 9:14 AM on December 4, 2007

Peke-a-Poo!

Maybe it's their general like-able-ness as dogs that makes them so popular for cross-breeding. From Wikipedia:

Poodles are intelligent, alert, and active. Arguably one of the most intelligent breeds [6], historically, their aptitude has made them ideal for performing in circuses across the globe for centuries. Otherwise notable is this breed's keen sense for instinctual behavior. In particular, marking and hunting drives are more readily observable than in most other breeds. Even Toys will point birds. Classified as highly-energetic, poodles can also get bored fairly easily and have been known to get creative about finding mischief.

Poodles are extremely people-oriented dogs and, therefore, are eager to please. They are excellent watchdogs, but unlike some working breeds, don't usually become "one-person" dogs when they are part of a family. Standard Poodles in particular tend to be good with children. Poodles are adaptable and easy to train. Like most dogs, they appreciate daily exercise, such as a walk or a play session. Most are fairly agile and athletic.

posted by grapefruitmoon at 12:25 PM on December 4, 2007

Huh, poodles get all the action.
posted by randomination at 2:12 PM on December 4, 2007

I used to make up breed names for my (rescued) pit mix based on news items. She was a Panamanian Strongman Dog for a while, then a Somali Warlord Dog.
posted by goofyfoot at 2:43 PM on December 4, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Honestly, I thought most of those were pretty hideous (I never cared for poodles), but I LOVE pieoverdone's supposed "ugliest dog ever" - please tell me I'm not the only one who finds that totally adorable.
posted by naoko at 7:55 PM on December 4, 2007

Besides, we all know that this is the world's ugliest dog.
posted by naoko at 7:58 PM on December 4, 2007