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The inventor of the labradoodle came to regret his adorable creation.Getty Images
With its cutesy curls and plaintive eyes, it’s no wonder the labradoodle became America’s second-favorite dog in 2010.
But the man who first invented the breed by crossing a Labrador with a poodle in the ’80s ended up regretting it.
“I opened a Pandora’s box, that’s what I did,” said puppy-breeding manager Wally Conron in 2014. “So many people are just breeding for the money. So many of these dogs have physical problems, and a lot of them are just crazy.”
Originally, Conron’s creation came from a desire to do good. He was fulfilling a request from a couple who needed a pooch that would serve as a guide dog for a blind woman but also be hypoallergenic for her husband.
Once the magic canine was produced, word got out and everyone wanted one. There was just one problem: Labradoodles don’t come out the same way every time. Their coats — and their behavior — are actually unpredictable; some aren’t even hypoallergenic.
Purebreds crossed with other purebreds — better known as designer dogs — have been capturing our affections for the last 20 years. But the real cost of these dogs far exceeds their multi-thousand-dollar price tags, according to “Designer Dogs: An Exposé Inside the Criminal Underworld of Crossbreeding” (Apollo Publishers, out Tuesday) by Madeline Bernstein.
Demand for these dogs has led to a corrupt underground economy that funnels animals through puppy mills, swap meets, Internet sales and retail stores that often buy from disreputable sources.
Bernstein, an animal-welfare expert, calls it the “high price of cute.”
The cost of breeding labradoodles is quaint when you consider teacup dogs. The miniature Yorkies, Pomeranians and Chihuahuas — often seen hitching a ride in the purses of celebrities such as Paris Hilton — are created by breeding runts with runts. But runts are usually the unhealthiest dogs of the litter, and those health problems are passed down. Teacup mothers often die giving birth.
Most legitimate breeders refuse to get into the teacup dog business at all, meaning that most are shipped in from South Korea.
Russian strongman President Vladimir Putin isn’t immune to the charms of designer dogs. At the end of 2016, he received a trio of genetically modified Belgian Malinois pups that had been created to be stronger and fitter than normal dogs, with state-of-the-art-sniffers for detecting drugs and explosives. But his “super war dogs” also proved defective. Despite being cloned from a dog with the right traits at a leading lab in Seoul, they failed training and obedience tests, couldn’t grasp Russian commands (they only understood Korean) and couldn’t adapt to the merciless Siberian cold. Putin banished them to an unglamorous job guarding a prison.
Purebred dogs, of course, have long suffered from health problems, with French bulldogs being one of the most prominent examples. Their increasingly flattened noses make breathing difficult, while their distorted body shapes mean natural mating is now impossible. (Artificial insemination is used instead.) When it’s time to give birth, mother dogs must have C-sections, because French bulldogs’ heads are too large for a natural delivery.
In a bid to stop the madness, Bernstein predictably encourages people to adopt their pets from shelters. But what if you have your heart set on a labradoodle, a goldendoodle, a puggle or a maltipoo? First, Bernstein says, never buy a teacup dog. Then, find a reputable breeder. Responsible breeders don’t sell their dogs over the Internet (although advertising their business online is fine). They shouldn’t ask you to meet in a parking lot (it’s more common than you think). They’ll deal in one or two breeds — not several. There shouldn’t be multiple litters available — you may have to wait for one. You should be allowed and encouraged to look around the breeder’s property. And you should be able to ask for references from past customers. Life can be ruff for a pup on its journey to a forever friend, says Bernstein, so it’s crucial people take their time to find a pet the right way.
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