I wrote a story for last week’s Saturday paper about how to choose a breed of dog. I was inspired to do this because our new president is in the middle of making a decision about what type of dog he wants for his girls.
One of the breeds that he mentioned isn’t even a breed - a Labradoodle. That’s a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle.
OK folks, that’s not a breed. That is a mutt. I’ll say it again. A cross between a poodle and a Labrador retriever or a golden retriever (called a goldendoodle) is not a breed. It is a mutt.
And those mutts are demanding high prices. I only went to one web site, which was a ‘breeder’ in the Central Valley. The website didn’t say where the breeder lived, just in the Central Valley. The puppies on that web site, puppies that were crosses between Labs and poodles, started at $1,095.
That’s right. $1,095 for a mutt. I refuse to say that these dogs are a breed. They are mutts.
In fact, I found a picture of one of the puppies that had a price tag of more than $2,000, that looks exactly like a dog my friend owns. And where did she get her dog? He was thrown away in a dumpster when he was just a puppy.
I have nothing against legitimate breeders, breeders who are doing their research and preserving a breed of dog. But a breeder who won’t even disclose what town they are in? Kinda sounds like maybe a puppy mill, only this is a puppy mill that is breeding mutts.
If you want a cross-bred dog, don’t go pay $1,000, or more, for one. Instead, go to the local animal shelter, and there you will find a lot of nice dogs, dogs that are also mutts. But these mutts are a heck of a lot cheaper, less than $100, and that gets the dog its shots, wormed and spayed or neutered.
I am all for mutts. I have owned quiet a few of them. But there is no way that a mutt, even one that is called a Labradoodle or a goldendoodle, is worth more than a dog at the animal shelter.
Because, like I said, they are mutts.
