Designer dogs are latest rage

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Hybrids are hot; not the ones on four wheels, but the hybrids with four legs and a tail.What do you get when you take a Lab and mix it with a poodle? A Labradoodle, of course, and despite their high price tag, designer dogs are all the rage.

It's the newest trend in the canine world and Central Florida is right in the middle of it. Marcia Mobley, a Labradoodle breeder, said there's a lot of reasons the dogs are the hottest designer breed going.

"Oh, the personality. You've got the loyalty of the Lab and the intelligence of the poodle. And they don't shed," she said.

Mobley is one of the only Labradoodle breeders in the state. In fact, her dogs are found all over the country.

"California, New York, Bangor, Maine," she said, listing off places her dogs now live.

People are willing to pay big bucks to get one.

"Well, they start at $1,100 to $1,800," she said.

"Don't you think that's a lot for a dog?" WESH 2's Bill Shafer asked her.

"No, not for a Labradoodle," she said.

Jake White, of the Orlando Humane Society, disagrees.

"All you need is $65 for the adoption fee and you can have any of our designer dogs," he said.

And, you can save a life. You see, "designer dog" is basically another word for mutt, and nobody has more of them than your local Humane Society.

White said some of their dogs right now include a "Leopard," a Lab-shepard mix, or a "Shoddy," a shepard-rottweiler mix.

Or you can be the first on your block to own a Jackrabbit, a Jack Russell and rat terrier mix.

As amusing as the names are, White does have concerns.

"We always worry when it comes to trends. When '101 Dalmatians' came out, we had nothing but Dalmatians here. We're going to wind up with a lot of backyard breeders who are going to turn their overflow animals in to us," he said.

"Don't you feel like Dr. Frankenstein here?" Shafer asked Mobley. "You're messing with Mother Nature."

"No, what we're doing is creating a nice, healthy dog that doesn't shed," she said.

As more and more breeders get involved the question is: Will the demand keep up? Only then will it be known if the doodle will be the designer dog of choice in the years to come.

There's no doubt that mixed breeds like yorkie-poos, cock-a-poos, schnoodles and golden-doodles do make good pets, but don't forget about all those "designer dogs" also at your local Humane Society waiting for adoption.

Reference: www.wesh.com

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