Puggles, poochons and peekapoos

[DoozyDog]

Yesterday's "random bred" dogs are new expensive status symbols

Home News Tribune Online 01/30/06

By CHERYL MILLER
GANNETT NEW JERSEY
People laughed at Lisa Russo last year when she decided to breed her female beagle with her male pug.



"Everyone made fun of me," the Toms River resident recalls. "And then, in November, when Snoopy (her beagle) had her puppies, all the news stories on the puggles came out."

Now it's Russo who's having the last laugh — when she isn't busy answering her phone. Several advertisements for her litter of seven puggle puppies — three black like their dad and four fawn like their mom, all with wrinkled pug faces and floppy beagle ears and tails — have yielded her countless requests for the newest designer dog, each at $800 a pop.

And at least one area pet store said it had recently upped their price tag to $1,600 for the prized pup — just in time for the December holidays.

Forget the purebred "purse puppies" like Paris Hilton's teacup Chihuahua of yesterday; puggles are definitely today's "It" dogs. They've graced the covers of newspapers like the New York Post, been featured on news shows like "Good Morning America," the "Today Show" and the "Ellen DeGeneres Show," and shown up in the homes of such stars as James Gandolfini and Jake Gyllenhaal, to name a few.

And breeders are having a hard time keeping up with the demand.

"We've gotten calls from Canada and London for puggles," says Garry Garner, president and owner of the Arkansas-based American Canine Hybrid Club, which has been providing registration papers for mixed-breed dogs since 1992: papers are granted if the hybrid's parents are purebreds, or if the pup has purebred ancestry. "We have some breeders doing hybrids in Canada, but none right now in England." But that may change. The desire for hybrids has "really exploded in the last several years," he says, with no signs of slowing down. And right now "puggles are the most popular."

They are the latest in a string of designer dogs that have captured the public's fancy and pocketbooks over the last several decades, says Garner. He cites the Labradoodle, a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle, as one of the most popular designer dog hybrids; they were originally bred in Australia in the late 1980s to be guide dogs who did not shed and were hypoallergenic.

Because of their hypoallergenic qualities, poodles are very a popular crossbreed, and have generated at least 11 different hybrids, including the newer goldendoodles (golden retrievers and poodles) and poochons (poodles and bichon frises), as well as the much older cockapoo (cocker spaniels and poodles) and peekapoo (Pekingeses and poodles), both of which date back to the 1950s, but are still popular today.

But not with everyone.

"Not all these dogs are hypoallergenic," says Daisy Okas, spokeswoman for the New York-based American Kennel Club, which does not register mixed breed canines.

"People are trying to market these dogs as nonshedding, but in many cases it's a false claim." She cites 15 purebreds, among them the Chinese crested, the Portuguese water dog, and the schnauzer, as suitable for allergy sufferers, and says that mixing the poodle with another breed does not guarantee its lack of allergens.

"It's a trend," she says, "that we caution people against. People are selling mixed-breed dogs at purebred prices.

"Why pay $1,000 for a mixed breed?"

Because they can, and, "they're awfully cute," says Stacy Fetyko of Brick, who is at Russo's to buy a puggle. Amy Szumel, Toms River, agrees. She also is at Russo's with her daughter Erika to buy what will be her first puppy; in the past she has adopted older dogs from shelters. But since their current dog, a black Labrador, is 10, they thought it time to bring a new dog home.

The puppies' designer dog status doesn't matter to any of them.

"We just love how they look," Amy Szumel says.

For the most part, Russo admits that people are always looking for what's trendy and new. So, what happens when today's designer dog goes the way of most trends?

"You wouldn't believe how many of them end up in shelters once the charm of them wears off," she says. "That's why I screen my buyers so carefully, and I always tell them if they want to give them up, then I have first rights to them," she says.

But she feels that the positives far outweigh the negatives. "Beagles are typically high strung, but when paired with pugs, which are naturally mellow and just want to be loved, it's a great mix," says Russo, who admits that her own beagle is atypically mellow, making the match even better. This, combined with the health benefits of most hybrids, means that she will definitely breed the two parents again.

And whether the puggle will have the staying power of the cockapoo, or go the way of the Pet Rock will remain to be seen.

"We keep thinking these designer dogs are just a fad, but year after year goes by, and they're still popular," says Garner.

http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...601300399/1006

[Ritz459]

*GAG* runs to toliet and throws up


OMG....I don't even want to point out everything wrong in that article...Sure, let's spend 1,600$ on a Puggle because they are so cute when there are tons of Pug/Beagle mixes and other mutts in shelters that are awfully cute that are on their deathbed.

Beagles aren't high strung either...they are hounds. Sure they need exercise and playtime, but they can be couch potatoes too...if you want a low strung dog, get a low strung dog. Don't be mixing breeds. And yes, a Beagle with hip problems and a Pug with hip problems is most definitally a healthy dog made to produce healthy puppies! Hybird vigor my ***.

[shandoggy1]

Hold on let me go spend $800 on a MUTT because they are the "it" breed in dogs. *Takes a hammer and hits self on head* I could pay $800 from a reputable breeder for either a purebred beagle or pug. People are just crazy! I love mixed breeds and I own a GSD cross (rescued) and though I think they are a cute mix I would rather go adopt one out of a shelter because there are many "uggle & oodle" breeds in there and I would never pay for one from a so called breeder. *SIGH* designer dogs give me a brake There is nothing designer about a dog being bred to line the pockets of ignorant people. Ladies, stick to designer pocketbooks and shoes as they don't breath and don't need to be taken care of

[Cassiepeia]

Good gods. I can't believe someone who has previously been rescuing older dogs from shelters as pets then goes and gives money to someone who is part of the reason there are so many animals in shelters. *sigh*

Can we make it mandatory that anyone even 'thinking' of buying a dog needs to go to 'Why designer mutts, byb & puppymill dogs are are bad' classes? Idiots...the world is full of idiots.

Cass.

[mulroony]

Cass - That is part of the job of the media. If dateline, 20/20, etc can stop people from getting into the water b/c of fear of shark attacks I am pretty sure they could present a viable arguement as to why there is not need for these new "designer breeds". But what do they do?? Go and try to convience people that chips cause cancer, and every other little stupid blurb that comes up b/c why would they use their tremendous influence to make a difference... (Now I am ranting, but I really hate those shows)