Dog Ownership 101 - May/June 2016
Dog Ownership 101 teaches dog owners how to properly groom and provide for their pets. Learn the tricks the best dog owners already know!
Dog Ownership 101 teaches dog owners how to properly groom and provide for their pets. Learn the tricks the best dog owners already know!
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
WHAT ARE DESIGNER DOGS?<br />
1 Designer dogs have become quite<br />
popular as many celebrities own these<br />
dogs and give them cute names. People buy<br />
these pets for various reasons, such as a dog’s<br />
odd appearance or a dog’s reputation as being<br />
easy on an allergy sufferer. You have to wonder<br />
why someone would dish out thousands on<br />
a dog that they could get for free at the dog<br />
pound. The animals found at the shelters are<br />
mixed breeds meaning that their births were<br />
not planned. A designer dog, when handled<br />
with care and responsibility can be bred for<br />
their specific characteristics like their looks or<br />
temperament. They have seen a huge rise in<br />
popularity, but not without a price.<br />
WHY ARE DESIGNER DOGS SO<br />
2 POPULAR?<br />
Since there are so many designer dogs<br />
available, an owner can probably find the exact<br />
dog for their needs. There are those who think<br />
that puppies from two different breeds result<br />
in more pep since there is genetic diversity and<br />
that they won’t be apt to get purebred inherited<br />
diseases such as epilepsy, hip dysplasia and<br />
problems with their teeth. Naturally, that theory<br />
is applicable to any mixed breed and isn’t only<br />
true with regard to hybrid or designer dogs.<br />
But no one can guarantee, despite best efforts,<br />
what a pup will be like. There’s a lot of chance<br />
involved in breeding dogs because you can’t<br />
completely know what traits will be inherited in<br />
terms of looks and temperament. Actually, there<br />
are times when the puppies get the negative<br />
characteristics of both their parents.<br />
WHY ARE DESIGNER DOGS SO<br />
3 EXPENSIVE?<br />
Designer dogs cost a lot, causing many<br />
people to hesitate. They may be priced the<br />
same as purebred dogs, meaning thousands<br />
of dollars, especially if the breed is one that’s<br />
fashionable at the moment. It can be true<br />
that hybrids are more vigorous but that’s not<br />
guaranteed. No one knows if one dog is going<br />
to be healthier than another or healthier than<br />
the parents of the purebred. Lots of folks say<br />
that the creation of designer dogs is leaving<br />
more abandoned dogs and dogs in shelters<br />
around the nation because they are seen as<br />
undesirable or hard to sell.<br />
ARE BREEDERS SHADY WHEN IT<br />
4 COMES TO DESIGNER DOGS?<br />
There are those who wonder if the<br />
designer dog trend will result in shady breeding<br />
practices because breeders just want to make<br />
money and won’t be worried about the health<br />
DOG ownership <strong>101</strong> | MAY / JUNE <strong>2016</strong><br />
39
Change language