"...he's a chiweenie."

[Trilt]

I work at a Taco Bell during breaks (amazingly flexible schedule...) and occasionally people come through the drive through with dogs.

A woman came through today with a very young, pretty cute puppy on her lap. Sizing him up, I guessed, "Long haired chihuahua mix?"

She looks disgusted and replies, "No. He's a chiweenie." I figured that with that sort of look, I just wouldn't pursue it anymore and finished off her order... but I sat and puzzled over the name. I figured he had to be some sort of designer dog, with the "chi-" as chihuahua. I just couldn't figure out what the other breed could be. No breed with "-eenie" was showing up in my head.

Getting home, google tells me: weenie dog + chihuaha. Of course I wouldn't think dachshund with -eenie. ;p


Does anybody else have any entertaining mixed breed stories? I've seen people around here get very defensive over their labradoodles, puggles and whatnot... so hard to resist the urge to tell them to just go to a shelter.

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[CatVet2Be]

Today we saw a "Party Pom". Not sure how that's different from a regular pom, maybe she just demands a little something extra in the water bowl? 🙄

I also find it hilarious when someone with a DSH comes in swearing they have an exotic something or another. My favorite was the lady with the black DSH who swore it was a Bombay because it looked exactly like the ones in Cat Fancy. Because most neighborhoods have purebred cats running around rather than your regular "mutt" cat.

Oh, and Calico is not a breed!

 

[aprilm]

There's nothing that irritates me more than people buying "designer" breeds. Those people are the reason there are so many puppy mills around. If they'd just go to a shelter and adopt a dog that needs a home, these puppy mills would gradually go out of business.

UGH.

 

[Poochlover11]

Last summer when I was working at a kennel a lady called up to reserve a spot for her dog. She said it was a husky. The lady comes in bringing a full blown golden retreiver. 😕 I believe I remember her saying that the parents were both huskies. I find that hard to believe 🙄

 

[Trilt]

Was he multi-coloured? Maybe "parti," not "party"?

Color
All colors, patterns, and variations there-of are allowed and must be judged on an equal basis. Patterns: Black and Tan - tan or rust sharply defined, appearing above each eye and on muzzle, throat, and forechest, on all legs and feet and below the tail. The richer the tan the more desirable; Brindle - the base color is gold, red, or orange-brindled with strong black cross stripes; Parti-color - is white with any other color distributed in patches with a white blaze preferred on the head. Classifications: The Open Classes at specialty shows may be divided by color as follows: Open Red, Orange, Cream, and Sable; Open Black, Brown, and Blue; Open Any Other Color, Pattern, or Variation.

Though if she actually wrote "party," that's hilarious. Bring on the sparkles.

 

[KittyRex]

My favorite is when one lady, bringing in a black DSH to the clinic for the first time, listed its breed as "Panther" on the new client intake form 🙄 .... Another client brought in a "Purebred Tuxedo Cat" the other day 😕

I find the marketing and breeding of "designer dogs" pretty ridiculous most of the time, but I have to admit, last week we neutered a Boston/Chihuahua and I found him irresistably cute.

(I have a soft spot for chihuahuas, if it isn't obvious)

 

[sumstorm]

I visited a shelter in the Northeast (I think it was massachusetts?) that started labeling all thier dogs with 'exotic' names. It was pretty great...the names were intentionally comical, and had descriptions of the dog's personality, likes, dislikes, etc under the name. They also had a * behind each name, and at the bottom: *designer breed names are fictional and we are happy to change the name to one preferred by the adoptive family.

The entire thing was pretty cute. They had huskahunds (husky/coonhound) and coonadore (coonhound/labradore) and chi-whoppers (any small dog with a big attitude) and my favorite, malti-terriers (also called multi-terriers, we know mom was a terrier!)

They actually had improvements in adoptions, they aren't sure if it was because of the names or just because of the humorous nature rather than the 'save the dogs' seriousness of the rescue prior to the name changes.

 

[sumstorm]

oh, we have the cutest 'bogle' that comes in. boston-beagle (he was not intentional, apparently the boston's, which was a show dog, owner was hospitalized unexpectedly due to a severe car wreck and the person who ended up watching a few of her dogs had a neighbor with an intact beagle...and didn't recognize that the dog was in heat. )

 

[aspiringDVM]

The other day I made the mistake of asking if the huge, 90 lb, fluffy, floppy-eared, long-tailed, tri-color dog I met on a farm was a Bernese Mountain dog mix. Apparently it was a purebred Australian shepherd with a pedigree that practically traced back to the first wolf. Er, oops.
On the humorous side, I knew a lady with a "pomuahuah" (chihuahua pomeranian mix, and she used the name facetiously) that was absolutely adorable.

 

[CatVet2Be]

Was he multi-coloured? Maybe "parti," not "party"?



Though if she actually wrote "party," that's hilarious. Bring on the sparkles.

She was black and white and it really said "party". Needless to say it was the butt of a lot of jokes for the rest of the afternoon.

 

[Kat0303]

(I have a soft spot for chihuahuas, if it isn't obvious)

I was going to ask if that picture on your avatar is your chi. I laugh out loud every time I see that picture. I have 2 chihuahuas, 1 long-haired and 1 short. NEVER thought I'd be a chihuahua person but then I got one, and I fell in love with the breed.

 

[KittyRex]

I was going to ask if that picture on your avatar is your chi. I laugh out loud every time I see that picture. I have 2 chihuahuas, 1 long-haired and 1 short. NEVER thought I'd be a chihuahua person but then I got one, and I fell in love with the breed.

Same here... NEVER would have imagined I'd be such a huge fan of chihuahuas . My last dog was a pit bull and all my previous canine buddies have been sheepdogs.

But all it took was one doe-eyed shivery look from this sad little sickly lame & underweight chi who came into the shelter while I was volunteering one day.... I was a goner. My avatar is actually a different dog but it could very well be him (same color and he's also a total clown). your avatar cracks me up too... I love how your cat is not even phased .

 

[OHlivia]

Party pom probably meant parti (as before mentioned). My old boss in PetSmart grooming shows poms and has a parti one. He's ADORABLE, but the judges are really biased toward that color, so he never wins. 🙁

Designer dogs are totally ridiculous. I don't understand why people insist on spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on an mutt (that was likely bred irresponsibly in someone's backyard or a puppy mill) that is no more "valuable" (if you can even measure a pet in monetary value) than a dog from a shelter. I'd take my complete mystery dog from the shelter over a cockapoo or labradoodle any day. 😛 I love mystery dogs, they have so much character.

I've worked at PetSmart grooming since high school, and we get some...shall we say, interesting people in there. There have been SO MANY times when people have come in with a labradoodle and totally freak out when we enter them in the computer as either a standard poodle mix or a golden retriever mix (for pricing) since the computer only has AKC breeds in it. We actually had someone say "My [insert really high number here]-dollar labroadoodle is NOT a standard poodle mix!" Um...isn't that the point?..that its a lab, and a standard poodle? Lol.

 

[canis13]

On the humorous side, I knew a lady with a "pomuahuah" (chihuahua pomeranian mix, and she used the name facetiously) that was absolutely adorable.

I've always heard "pom-chi" but "pomihuahua" is pretty good.

 

[ReadyBeVet]

I just don't understand the facination with "designer dogs." Afterall, aren't all of the dogs at the shelter some sort of mix. I love the idea of using designer names at the shelter to help with adoption rates! Great idea!

We had a client that went through the roof when I entered her dog as a Bishon mix instead of a "Cavachon" Cavalier x Bishon. It was cute as a button but not worth all of the medical problems that it has or the hefty price tag!!👎

 

[turnbackhelly]

My favorite is the people who tell me over the phone, "I have a PUREBRED labradoodle/goldendoodle/etc." Sometimes I want to say, "Really? DO you?"

 

[katryn]

We had a client who was determined to become the first Puggle breeder in our area. So she bought two 1st gen Puggles. We spent about 30 minutes explaining mendelian genetics when the puppies came out all Pugs and Beagles and only one even slightly resembling a Puggle. Absolutely hilarious!

 

[starlene45]

My favorite is the people who tell me over the phone, "I have a PUREBRED labradoodle/goldendoodle/etc." Sometimes I want to say, "Really? DO you?"

Yeah we had a "6th generation purebred labradoodle" come in to the hospital a while ago.... Owned by labradoodle breeders, obviously!!! Looked like a little brown spaniel, actually! I couldn't believe how small she was, most of the labradoodles we see are BIG dogs. So yeah, esp the "goldendoodle" and "labradoodle" people are getting really poncy about it being a breed, and not just a cross... Since you can just breed one labradoodle to another and get a purebred labradoodle! (geeeez )

And, goofy shelter names = awesome idea.

 

[Trilt]

We had a client who was determined to become the first Puggle breeder in our area. So she bought two 1st gen Puggles. We spent about 30 minutes explaining mendelian genetics when the puppies came out all Pugs and Beagles and only one even slightly resembling a Puggle. Absolutely hilarious!

It vaguely pains me that someone breeding doesn't know high school biology genetics...

 

[EqSci]

The poodle crosses are nothing but pure money-making schemes. I've heard people back up the breeders by saying that they're such a good cross because you get the non shedding coat of the poodle mixed with an excellent family dog/retriever! Ummm.... that's a poodle. Period. You don't need the labrador to get the retriever part or good family dog part. In fact, I don't think there's anything in a labrador you can't get from a pure poodle.

I often get asked if my poodle is a labradoodle, because I don't have him clipped with the poms. Drives me nuts. Not that I'm snobby about him being 'pure', just that I don't want to be lumped in with the puppy mill supporters!!

Here's a question. How often do all of you say something (explain about designer breeds and puppy mills) to people when the subject comes up? I have told many of my friends and peers about it, but often I keep my mouth shut with strangers because it's just easier. At the same time, I feel guilty when I don't speak up. I feel like because I'm educated about the subject, it's my responsibilty to educate others. After all, 90% of the problem with puppy mills is public ignorance. Has anyone found any good ways to educate in a light manner without offending people?

 

[sumstorm]

I do not object to the DEVELOPMENT of new breeds for a specific purpose (otherwise there wouldn't be any breeds now...that is the point of breeding, to fullfill a purpose) but the designer crosses without a purpose, drives me nuts.

Labradoodles actually did start out with a purpose... at least in Australia. They were using some pretty sound lines of labradores crossed with poodles in an attempt to get the temperment/qualities they liked in the labs with a non-shedding coats. But they never even suggested that the early generations would have non-shedding coats. From a talk I attended when I was over there, the concerns about poodles were things like high stature, less bulky mass (skinny), prone to greater vocalization, and....interestingly 'too smart' and 'became bored easily.'

I actually think the program may have been discontinued.

Also remember that there are breeds in the AKC where foundation out crossing is allowed to improve the genetics of the current breed.

I am NOT defending random breed crosses without a purpose, or the misleading selling of 'cure all' first generation designer crosses. Just pointing out that cross breeding and such does have some value for the establishment and improvement of breeds.

 

[aspiringDVM]

Good one today: lady comes in with a shi tzu poodle cross. Use a little imagination to figure out what she called it (in all seriousness, in front of her two small children no less)

 

[CatVet2Be]

I think whoever thought it would be a good idea to breed poodles and lab, was was a sadist. Why you would cross one of the biggest water loving breeds with the one with the hairiest ears is beyond me. Also has anyone else noticed the "doodles" are typically idiots? I'm not sure if it's the "breed" or the type of people that pay for them but these dogs drive me nuts at work. They're spazzy, don't listen well, constantly jump on you, it's like a furball with ADD!

If I'm trying to be diplomatic but still feel the need to say something I might mention they aren't recognized by the AKC or that you might not know exactly what you're getting because there's too much variation that can happen when you mix two established breeds. Or I might joke that in that case I have a German Labweiler.

 

[badcats]

I think whoever thought it would be a good idea to breed poodles and lab, was was a sadist. Why you would cross one of the biggest water loving breeds with the one with the hairiest ears is beyond me.

I thought both breeds were water dogs? Poodles were originally a duck/water retriever in France or so I believe...

I get it if someone wants to ADOPT a poodle cross because it might not trigger allergies, but I don't believe it is ethical to breed "designer dogs" so you can take advantage of a trend or make a quick buck. Breeding should only be done by people who have a knowledge of the breed and breed standards, and as has been said before basic mendelian genetics.

 

[katryn]

It vaguely pains me that someone breeding doesn't know high school biology genetics...

It pains me even more that she herself was breeding.....


To weigh in on the current subject matter....I don't find myself much disputing the people who own "purebred" mixes, but I am very inclined to educate people who ask if we know any breeders of said mixes. I also love agrivating clients by putting their poodle somethings in the system as mix, poodle. It's so fun to smile at people and say, "I'm very sorry ma'am but poodle mix is the closest thing we have in the computer system. We can enter it as a retriever mix instead..."

The idea of a non-shedding something-other-than-a-poodle is a really nice one for people who don't necessarily like the look of poodles, but I have seen way to many poodle somethings that shed like crazy. I don't feel like the crossing is achieving its intended purpose.

 

[CatVet2Be]

I thought both breeds were water dogs? Poodles were originally a duck/water retriever in France or so I believe...

I hadn't heard that poodles were water dogs, it just seems like ear hair + water wouldn't be the best combination.

 

[EqSci]

The idea of a non-shedding something-other-than-a-poodle is a really nice one for people who don't necessarily like the look of poodles, but I have seen way to many poodle somethings that shed like crazy. I don't feel like the crossing is achieving its intended purpose.

But poodles look like any other dog if they aren't clipped funny. If people don't like the curls, cross-breeding doesn't do anything because you are hoping to HAVE the poodle coat. ??

I heard that as well, that you never know what you're going to get as far as the coat goes... most of the time it ends up being a thick, wavy, shedding coat.

 

[EqSci]

I hadn't heard that poodles were water dogs, it just seems like ear hair + water wouldn't be the best combination.

They are. Trust me, they are. 😉 And actually I would guess the hair helps keep water from going in the ears.

 

[LVT2DVM]

We had a client who was determined to become the first Puggle breeder in our area. So she bought two 1st gen Puggles. We spent about 30 minutes explaining mendelian genetics when the puppies came out all Pugs and Beagles and only one even slightly resembling a Puggle. Absolutely hilarious!

Ahhh! Just like the "breeder" who just couldnt understand why her white female and chocolate male standard poodles produced a litter of all BLACK puppies. She was so mad. LOL

 

[karmapple]

As an adamant lover of poodles, the whole poodle mix craze annoys me. I make my co-workers laugh, because every time an -oodle or -poo comes in, I roll my eyes and say to them, "You can't improve upon perfection." 🙂

Also, yes, poodles are water retrievers. The word "poodle" comes from the German word pudel - meaning "to splash in water." That's the whole point of the show clip.

 

[sumstorm]

My father had an amazing standard silver poodle that was an NFC. I barely have any memory of him, I was so young when he passed away. Apparently though, when my dad first took him out, he was loudly ridiculed, but had huge offers for the dog in the first year of competition. He also did well in obedience/utility and performed in 'real' environments as well as trials. I would love to have a standard poodle.... but I get sick of grooming.

 

[TSUJC]

I just don't understand the facination with "designer dogs." Afterall, aren't all of the dogs at the shelter some sort of mix. I love the idea of using designer names at the shelter to help with adoption rates! Great idea!

I know! I can't imagine paying hundreds of dollars for a mutt!

 

[kayakman28]

It pains me even more that she herself was breeding.....

 

[EqSci]

I would love to have a standard poodle.... but I get sick of grooming.

Ah yes, but the trade off is no shedding! I gladly whip out the clippers every 6-8 weeks for a few hours in exchange for never cleaning up hair. 👍

 

[karmapple]

Ah yes, but the trade off is no shedding! I gladly whip out the clippers every 6-8 weeks for a few hours in exchange for never cleaning up hair. 👍

Exactly! I second this! 👍

(Although I didn't plan this very well, since I also have dogs that shed, so I end up doing alot of grooming and vacuuming....)

 

[Trilt]

We had a person with a nice attitude, today. She comes through with a really friendly, small fluffy dog, and I ask the breed... Response? "Oh, she's a mutt. They thought she was a "morkie" at the shelter." My raised eyebrow provided "a maltese/yorkie mix" in explanation.

She got a little cup of chicken from me. ;P Oh, the things my managers put up with.

 

[1Vista1Grey]

What do you get when you cross a bulldog and a shi tzu?

BULLSH*I*T!!

 

[1Vista1Grey]

oh! C'mon! No one thinks thats funny?

 

[twelvetigers]

I'm laughing on the inside. 🙂

 

[Truth74]

I hear Maltepoo, Shihpoo, lhasapoo, pekapoo, chipoo and all of the others quite a bit. It just makes me smile and mark off poodle mix in the record. When I'm not swamped, I may even put a side note saying, the owner said dog is ..., but otherwise its going in as poodle mix.

 

[OHlivia]

What do you get when you cross a bulldog and a shi tzu?

BULLSH*I*T!!

I googled bulldog/shih tzu mixes because I was curious about what it would look like, and some forum came up where people were talking about them, and someone said "The bulldog and shih tzu mix is for real. I have one." As if it were a unicorn or something that was just a legend. It made me smile a little bit.

 

[CatVet2Be]

"The bulldog and shih tzu mix is for real. I have one." As if it were a unicorn or something that was just a legend. It made me smile a little bit.

Does it poop marshmellows or rainbows? 😀

 

[twelvetigers]

Today's post on Dr. Dolittler is on this subject (designer breeds, not marshmallow poop).

 

[DVMDream]

I actually found a website with a list of "designer dog breeds". I just can't believe how people can actually believe that these dogs are "pure breds".
Here is the website:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/hybriddogs.htm

 

[Crazy Hippos]

Hehe, I have a chiweenie (that's what she said). 😛
I heard it is also called a "doxie-chi."