Any idea? Does the name give any clues
Could it be something dental? Cavity prevention?
Or may it is a member of a group of giant robots, the leader or the cavachons?
No, neither of these things, its a type of dog. A first generation cross between this:
And this:
And it potentially looks like this:
All together ............... awwwwwwww
The idea of first generation crosses sort of makes sense and baffles me at the same time. Hybrid or designer dogs! The first one was the labradoodle the idea was "to combine the low-shedding coat of the Poodle with the gentleness and trainability of the Labrador, and to provide a guide dog suitable for people with allergies to fur and dander". Of course the random nature of genetics means that not all labradoodles have the poodle coat. That's just the way it goes in the genetic lottery.
Because poodles don't shed and come in small and large they have been crossed with lots of other breeds to try to get non-shedding dogs:
Goldendoodles - Golden retriever + Standard poodle
Spoodles - Springer spaniel + poodle
Cockerpoos - Cocker Spaniel + Poodle
Cavapoos - King Charles Cavalier Spaniel + Miniature Poodle
Lhasapoo/ Shihpoo - Lhasa Apso or Shih Tzu + Miniature Poodle
Bichonpoos - Bichon Frise cross Miniature Poodle
I very much wish they would not use the poo part of poodle, it's just silly.
The Bichon Frise is also a non/low shedding dog, it has a really soft wool coat so another ideal dog for crossing. This gives us:
Cavachon - Cavalier King Charles + Bichon Frise
Wechon - West Highland Terrier + Bichon Frise
Shichon - Shih Tzu + Bichon Frise
And I'm sure the list goes on and on.
All the breeders claim low shedding. Many claim a healthy dog.
My bafflement comes in when you see the prices. These mixed breed dogs sell for at least as much as pure breed, kennel club registered pedigree dogs. Some breeders charge extra because they don't shed. In that case buy a poodle or a bichon frise, they don't shed either!
Many breeders will give you the 5 generation pedigree for your mixed breed dog. Just like you'd get for a pedigree pup, not sure I get it.
And here they lose me completely, many claim these crosses are more healthy than their pure bred parents. Pedigree dogs get pedigree problems. Years of breeding to get the desired type has led to genetic problems in all breeds that I can think of. So breeding too different breeds could give you healthier pups or in the genetic lottery your pup could get the genetic problems from both parents.
In addition some of the hybrids are badly thought out. Take the Pugalier, cross between the cavalier and pug. Both breeds have short noses and to some extent protruding eyes, so guess what the Pugalier will have, breathing and eye issues - tick. Both breeds have neurological issues suspected to be genetic, lets put money on the pugalier having something similar. Cavaliers have bad hearts, definitely genetic, mix that with dodgy pug breathing and the mix doesn't sound good.
So where do my mixed feelings about mixed breeds lead. Many are really cute dogs. Many don't shed, yeah for allergic dog lovers and yeah for less vacuuming. Big boo for the price, no way can I see the logic behind the high costs. And my advice. If you buy a pedigree dog look it up and read about the pedigree problems, they cab be heartbreaking and budget breaking. If you buy a designer hybrid dog look up both breeds and prepare yourself for the possibility of the pedigree issues from either parent.
And here for fun are my favourite mixed bred names:
Bolonoodle
Chilier
Ewokian
Hug
Poogle
Schweenie
Snorkie
Go on have a guess what they are, my Cavaliers may award prizes!
Mrs M
:0)
