A New Trend in Dog and Cat Breeding

A lot of people like to breed dogs and most of the time it is for the huge amounts of money they can make from it. In my own opinion, I think it is ridiculous because there are so many dogs, purebred or not, that are in desperate need of a home. Most recently I became aware of a new trend in dog breeding that I think is even more ridiculous. People are taking breeds like Beagles and breeding them with Chihuahuas and that makes a new breed called a Cheagle. They are actually selling them as if they are purebred dogs. People are spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on these new rare breeds. Celebrities are even buying them. I understand that money is important and we all need it but an animal's life and welfare is even more important. So instead of spending thousands of dollars on the new breeds, why not go to an animal shelter and give a good home to an innocent homeless dog? Don't get me wrong I do believe that all dogs, even the new rare breeds, need a home too but I think the ones in the animal shelters should come first. After all there are so many that have been in a shelter for a long time and they desperately need a home before they are put down because the shelter gets too full.

These new breeds are called "Designer Breeds" or "Hybrid Breeds." Many people are paying the same amount or more on them as if they are purebred. My husband's cousin has a designer dog that is now called a Cheagle. I saw it a few weeks ago and it is so small and really cute. She didn't say how much she paid for it but I'm sure whatever it was, it was too much. Anyway I would like to talk about a few that I have heard about and some I haven't heard about but have found on the Internet.

Buggs:

I have never heard of this breed nor have I ever seen one before. It is a cross between a Boston Terrier and a Pug. You can definitely see the Pug features, especially in the face. The only way I see Boston Terrier features in this breed is by looking at a picture of a Boston Terrier puppy. The Boston Terrier puppy is small and this dog is small also. You can see pictures of all of the dogs I am talking about in the website I have provided in the additional resources section and decide for yourself if you see any Boston Terrier features in this dog.

Pomapoo:

This designer dog breed is a cross between a Pomeranian and a Toy Poodle. In the picture I mostly see the Toy Poodles features but to me it doesn't really look like either one. It is very adorable though.

Yorkipoo:

This is a cross between a Yorkie and a Poodle. I see mostly Poodle in this breed but you can actually see features of both. I would love to have one of these!

Cheagle:

This is a cross between a Chihuahua and a Beagle. I never even heard of them until I saw my husbands cousins Cheagle puppy. She is only 8 weeks old and one of the smallest dogs I have ever seen. I think she looks more like a Chihuahua than a Beagle but the pictures I found online have a few where you can see both features really good. Some you can see the Beagles features more in the face and there is a picture where they are play fighting and when they show their teeth and growl you can definitely see the Chihuahuas features. They are absolutely adorable but kind of a weird combination.

Cadoodle:

This one is a Collie and Poodle mixed, another weird combination in my opinion. You can definitely see both breeds' features in this breed also. There are so many Poodles mixed with other breeds.

Cheeks:

This one is a cross between a Chihuahua and a Pekingese. What a weird name and weird combination if you ask me. There are some of these that you can mostly see the Chihuahua features and some where you can mostly see the Pekingese.

Chimation:

Now I have seen it all with this breed. This is a cross between a Chihuahua and a Dalmatian. I thought the Cheeks were weird but this is even stranger. I love Dalmatians and Chihuahuas but in my opinion breeding these two together is going a bit too far. They are very cute though and they don't look as weird as I thought they would. Make sure when reading this article to go to the website I provided and look at all the pictures and read up on these hybrid breeds.

Labradoodle:

I'm sure you can guess what this one is. Labrador Retriever and Poodle mixed. A friend of mine on Mylot said her family used to breed these dogs. I see more Poodle features in this breed than Lab.

Poogle:

This is a Beagle and a Poodle mixed. These are very adorable and I see more Poodle features than Beagle features in this breed. In fact if I hadn't already known it had Beagle in it I would have never guessed.

I do think these dogs are very adorable but in my opinion I do not think people should be making these new breeds just to sell them. We have an over population of dogs as it is and not enough homes for these innocent creatures to go to. Many dogs get put down all the time when they shouldn't have to. As much as I would love to have a hybrid dog I would much rather go to the animal shelter and give a home to one of the dogs there. I wish I could take all of them in but sadly I can't. It really bothers me to know that the animal shelters are getting so over crowded that they are forced to put down some of the dogs. If people could find it in their hearts to adopt at least one of the dogs that are currently in the shelter that would make things so much better. Sadly they would rather pay out hundreds and thousands of dollars to own a hybrid breed instead.

There are also new breeds under development and also a list of extinct breeds that are no longer purebreds. You can find the full list on the website I have provided in the additional resources.

I have also found an interesting piece of information online about a woman who has come up with a new breed of dog-like-cat she calls the puppykat. It is not a dog but rather a cat that acts like a dog. I find this very strange and interesting. This was developed by a woman name Dawn Houston from Lake Elsinore, California. She came across this new breed when she rescued two wild cats that mated and the offspring came out to be puppy like cats. They acted like dogs in every way. They are more playful and social. They come when called and are very curious like a dog. They also have physical traits similar to a dog such as their folded ears and shorter tails.

These Puppykats have become very popular for those animal lovers who want their pets to have certain traits that are more commonly found in dogs. Three years ago she started selling them full time. Although most people are buying these puppykats off of her not everyone is happy about what she is doing. She has gotten quite a few emails and letters from people criticizing her for developing this breed and harming the cats she has used for this. They think this is dangerous to the cat breeds she has used which are Scottish Manx and Polydactyl breeds. She already has them registered with the Rare and Exotic Feline Registry and says she knows what she is doing. She says she is being very careful and taking great care not to over breed her cats and making individual cats have too many litters.

She has already sold more than forty of them for over $275 and $675 and plans to continue to raise and breed more. She plans to make enough money to fund future rescue efforts for responsible breeding education programs and plans to get lax breeding regulations changed.

The PETA researcher, People for Ethical Treatment of animals, Dan Paden, said that he has gotten over 100 complaints that Dawn Houston is contributing to the overpopulation of cats and I would have to agree with that. He has tried contacting her asking her to stop the breeding of these cats and has also urged her to donate her money to the spaying and neutering programs. I would have to very much 100 % agree with him on that one also. There is an overpopulation of cats just like dogs and with these people breeding all of these different ones it is just making things worse. I'm sure a lot of people will agree with that also.

Houston says the people accusing her of over breeding don't know what they are talking about and that every puppykat she breeds is spayed and neutered before she sells them. She says there will always be people who prefer to buy an animal from a breeder rather than adopting from the animal shelter. That is the problem though. People would rather buy from a breeder than adopt from the shelter and the reason I think this is so they can breed them and make money from it. All people think about anymore is money and no one ever thinks about the welfare of an animal except for those of us who actually care. I say this woman needs to stop breeding these cats but the way I see it is she is only thinking about the money also. Sure she says she's doing it to raise money to fund the rescue efforts and that might very well be true but cats and dogs wouldn't need rescued if there weren't too many of them.

You can see the picture of the puppykat and read the full story on the website I have provided in the additional resources section. I am very curious to find out what anyone else thinks about these new hybrid breeds of dogs and the new puppykat. Please let me know what any of you think.