First the pre-amble - for those of you who aren’t into all things dog-able, there’s a ghastly trend recently of combining two pedigree breeds to make something which might have some hybrid vigour (that’s to say, won’t be burdened with the products of a hundred generations of incest) and then giving it a name which is a product of the two - so a labrador x poodle becomes a labradoodle although a cocker spaniel x poodle is not a cockadoodle as you might expect, but spoodle or, worse, a cockapoo. Yes. Really.
Under this system, the classic collie/greyhound hybrid which we know and love as the lurcher would be a grollie or a cound, which is enough to put anyone off…
And it’s worth pointing out that if you cross two separate breeds which each have PRA and hip dysplasia - say collie x standard poodle, you’ll still get a blind, lame dog…
but anyway- this bit of lateral thinking came from the Agility Net site to cheer up your Monday morning:
* Collie Lhaso Apso: Collapso, a dog that folds up for easy transport.
* Spitz Chow Chow: Spitz-Chow, a dog that throws up alot.
* Bloodhound Borzoi: Bloody Bore, a dog that’s not much fun.
* Pointer Setter: Poinsetter, a traditional Christmas pet.
* Kerry Blue Terrier Skye Terrier: Blue Skye, a dog for visionaries.
* Pekingese Lhaso Apso: Peekasso, an abstract dog.
* Labrador Retriever Curly Coated Retriever: Lab Coat Retriever, the choice of research scientists.
* Newfoundland Basset Hound: Newfound Asset Hound, a dog for financial advisers.
* Terrier Bulldog: Terribull, a dog that makes awful mistakes.
* Bloodhound Labrador: Blabrador, a dog that barks incessantly.
* Malamute Pointer: Moot Point, owned by…oh, well, it doesn’t matter anyway.
* Collie Malamute: Commute, a dog that travels to work.
* Deerhound Terrier: Derriere, a dog that’s true to the end.
* Poodle Min Pin: PooPin, a dog for constipated people.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Manda,
My sister and I were just talking about how bizarre and disappointing a trend this is and how it speaks great deals about our modern society and its values. How did we go from being a people who would name breeds the Irish Wolfhound, the Pharaoh Hound, etc to calling our noble companions names such as Labradoodle and Puggle. Has Puggle made it across the Atlantic yet? It’s a cross between Pug and Beagle.
Sadly, yes, the puggle is here, along with the malti-poo, yorki-poo and springador…
the sad thing is, I gather from all my dog training friends, that a hybrid between a good agility poodle and a working cocker is a stunning little agility dog. It just needs a different name. I’m considering ‘agility spaniel’ as an option if I ever breed something that’s less than 100% pure working cocker…
My grandmother had a Shepherd Spitz combo. We called it a Shitz. But luckily, loose bowels were not an issue though, come to think on it, grandma wouldn’t let the dog in the house. Hmmm.
I have just come across a widespread (in agility circles) temptation to call a working cocker a ‘wocker’ which sounds vaguely obscene, and lends itself to all kinds of unfortunate hybrid names… I’m still going for ‘agility spaniel’ if I ever breed anything less than 100% working cocker.
A co-worker was reading the paper the other day and asked me what a “cavoodle” was. I assumed it was a Cavalier spaniel x poodle?
Aside from the terrid (terrible x horrid :p) names, what do you think of the “fashion” of a dog in a handbag? Makes me want to hit someone when I see them with a poor pooch in a bag :/