Let's talk about Doodles!

[DogGoneGood]

Not the scribbly kind on a sheet of paper, but the "non shedding", four legged, barking kind!

It's a topic I can't get enough of, as it is of extreme interest for me.

It boggles my mind that people think just because the parents were purebred, registered dogs that the puppies are too... yes, if both parents are the SAME BREED; no if they're not!

A while back, while trying to find the answers to some question on what makes a new breed, I asked the Canadian Kennel Club what their vew on the subject was... their reply was:

We do not have specific information with respect to your second question, but the following information may be informative to you.

The CKC, as the primary registry body for purebred dogs in Canada, and like all other livestock registries in this country, is simply adherent to the federal statute known as the Animal Pedigree Act that falls under the auspices of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Our mandate under this Act is to register purebred dogs, maintain pedigree records, and sanction official Canadian Kennel Club shows and trials and other events.

New breeds may be added to list of recognized breeds; however, each new breed must first meet the conditions of approved Club policy for the “Recognition of New Breeds” and the provisions of the Act. The policy in question is attached for your review.

The policy attached has a lot of info that doesn't answer my question: basically who has what say in it and what needs to be done to apply to have a dog recognized by the CKC... one little part of it struck me as interesting though:

c) a copy of a three (3) generation pedigree for a dog of that breed from a CKC recognized kennel club or an association incorporated under the Animal Pedigree Act other than the CKC;

So, according to the CKC it takes a lot of hoop jumping to recognize a new breed, and you also have to have a pedigree that's for three generations. So is that all it takes? Three generations?

In humans a generation can be around 20-25 years, but in dogs it is basically each litter. (You can see an example of a 5 generation pedigree HERE).

So, theoretically, it could take only 2 years of breeding to create a new breed by the CKC standards (however, this doesn't guarantee the new breed will be recognized).

Ethically, how long does it take to create a new breed? Is it right for so many different breeders to be working towards the same goal (how can this possibly create a new breed)? What kind of standards need to be met to do so?

I have yet to find the answers to these questions...

I would appreciate everyone else's thoughts on the matter though ;D

I think I'm going to do some more research on the subject, and see if I can find some information from breeders (both ethical, purebred breeders and "doodle" breeders).

[charmingnancy]

We've talked about "designer breeds" before... Debate: Designer Dogs

You can read what I had to say about that, and I still feel the same, maybe stronger now that I've done so much research for the Breed Standards for this forum. It took some purebreds hundreds of years to be developed, and I have a respect for that. What I don't respect is people trying to make new "breeds" by combining two purebreds that have long breeding histories, and calling them a "new" breed.

[DogGoneGood]

Oh that's right, we did! Doy! I guess I really AM running out of discussion ideas LOL!

Well, I've e-mailed several Labrador, Poodle, and Labradoodle breeders as well as breed clubs and will probably seek out some more people to pick their brains... I've gotten a few replies, and so far my findings are pretty interesting

I'm going to write an article once I get enough info, so you'll have to look out for it. There's actually a lot more to this whole Doodle thing than I think most average people, even dog enthusiasts, think. At least, as far as how long they've been around, different strains, etc.

I'm not saying I've changed my opinion on the subject, just that I think there's a lot of unanswered questions about Doodles and thus a lot of average people not directly involved with them are forming opinions based on hearsay... so that's why I'm going to write this article. To try and clear up some of those misconceptions (on both sides of the coin) and answer those questions.