Madeline Bernstein, pictured with her dog Mocha, has condemned the popularity of so-called designer dogs claiming many come from the 'lurid and criminal world of cross breeding'.
An international animal welfare activist has branded designer dogs such as Labradoodles as 'Frankenstein' animals created by ruthless breeders and criminals.
Madeline Bernstein, head of an animal welfare charity in Los Angeles, has written a book which she says is 'an expose into the lurid and very often criminal world of cross breeding'.
The designer dogs have become incredibly popular because thy have attracted the attention of celebrities such as
Jennifer Aniston,
Tiger Woods and Christie Brinkley.
Supermodel Elle MacPherson was one of the first celebrities with a labradoodle when she bought Bella in 2004.
Graham Norton and Jeremy Clarkson have also owned designer dogs.
Australian dog breeder Wally Conron 'invented' the Labradoodle in the late 1980s, when he crossed a Labrador and a Poodle.
The Labradoodle is a cross between a Labrador and a Poodle
At the time, he was working as the breeding manager for the Royal Guide Dog Association of Australia when he received an unusual request from a woman in Hawaii.
She said she had sight problems but her husband suffered allergies and could not live in a house with a normal guide dog.
As a result, he started experimenting with two prize winning canines.
In an earlier interview with Associated Press, he said: 'I've done a lot of damage. I've created a lot of problems.
'Marvelous thing? My foot. There are a lot of unhealthy and abandoned dogs out there.
'I was very, very careful of what I used, but nobody wanted Labrador crosses. I had a three-to-six-month waiting list, but everyone wanted purebreds. So I had to come up with a gimmick.
We came up with the name "Labradoodle". We told people we had a new dog and all of sudden, people wanted this wonder dog.'
Mr Conron even wrote to the then US President Barack Obama when he was considering buying a Labradoodle as the 'First Pet'.
He said there are 'horrific' puppy farms where unhealthy or unwanted dogs are killed.
He continued:
'Instead of breeding out the problems, they're breeding them in. For every perfect one, you're going to find a lot of crazy ones.'He added: 'You can't walk down the street without seeing a poodle cross of some sort. I just heard about someone who wanted to cross a poodle with a rottweiler. How could anyone do that?
'Not in my wildest dream did I imagine all of this would happen. That's a trend I started.'
The Puggle is a cross between a Beagle and Pug and is another popular designer dog.
Ms Bernstein outlines her concerns about dogs such as Labradoodles in her book '
Designer Dogs: An Exposรฉ: Inside the Criminal Underworld of Crossbreeding'.
She said: 'When I was a kid, the only dog that was an acceptable dog to have as a pet was Lassie and I wanted Lassie too. But my father brought me home a mutt instead. That dog, who we named Lucky, became my soulmate.
'These are the types of things we all experience. We all want the dog in the movies, we all want the dog in a celebrity handbag.
'But these designer dogs are just a big con. They don't provide magic things like hypoallergenic qualities.
'They aren't healthier than normal dogs.
'Everybody who is interested in the welfare of animals and the welfare of designer dogs, needs to know where they come from, how they are being conned and what the real story is underneath.
'After you read this book, I guarantee you go to your local shelter to adopt your next dog.
Speaking to
The Times, she said: 'For the past 20 years it's been out of control. It's a worldwide epidemic. The dogs are being manufactured all over the world and transported here.'
'It drives me nuts that people are paying this kind of money for a dog that is essentially a mutt.'
She added: 'If you want to have the most unique, unusual, one-of-a-kind designer dog just go to the dog shelter. The original designer dog is the shelter dog because no two are identical. And they are already here.'
Reader Comments
Yes, every dog breed besides wolf, cayotee, fox and jackals are genetic abomination apparently. Go figure.
incomprehensible entities creating the 'master race'.....
There are lots of breeds where I would consider the continuation of breeding these physically impaired creatures, nothing short of animal cruelty. Life should'nd be toyed around with like that, then please go and just buy yourself a Furby or something. Animals like that are not cute, they are mutants, suffering for people's thirst for the unnatural.
I know a guy who recently adopted a Spanish Griffin from Portugal. Poor dog had spent his first year in a cage and now the owner can't deal with the dogs problems...duh! People need to stop feeding the bad breeding programmes...vets need to start being responsible...some people should never have pets, but you can't legislate that so no doubt it will carry on.
Having a double-barrelled name doesn't make you posh, having a designer dog doesn't make you posh or different...you probably are just a bit of a twat.
Several months later I was advised that little mama had four pups, three tan females and one male, black and white no less. I still don't know what Papa looked like but I'm guessing he was black and white.
Anyway, never having been a fan of chihuahuas and curious about the breed, I googled 'chihuahua/jack russell'. I was floored to find that that cross was a 'designer' dog. They call them Jack Chis. Apparently, crossing chihuahuas with other breeds like dachshunds even is also en vogue. Who'd a thunk it?
He is an amazing Wee Pup just like my Little Lily. However, all breeds of dog are crossbred. We have interbred dogs for multiple purposes for centuries. For hunting, soft mouths for retrieving, pointing, protection, confirmation, disposition ... oy.
My hat is off to this gentleman who was simply trying to help provide an assistance dog to people in need whose allergies prevent them from having an amazing companion by their side to help and guide them.
After any breed of dog becomes 'designer' or popular for whatever reason (Dalmatians after the movie 101 Dalmatians just one example), you will begin to see 'Rescue Leagues' for those breeds.
There is nothing wrong with choosing a dog according to their breeding. For certain traits and proclivities in order to complement you, your lifestyle and your ability to provide them the best home possible or just because you like them. But to be 'fashionable', 'en-vogue'? I don't get it.
But then again, I'm the proud owner of a Jack Chi, so what do I know?