Dane a doodle pups - very rare in UK . Beautiful none sheding blue merles and black and white harlequins . Mother is a harlequin great dane - father is a black standard poodle .Both are KC reg

my mind boggled at this ad. i suppose the poodle had to stand on a chair?

Like it makes any difference at all that both parents are KC registered!!  Un-believable!

An interesting, and 'to-be-avoided' cross seen advertised in my local Tescos' (of all places) this week - 
Australian Cattle Dog x Staffie pups. £100. Must go before Christmas.

Could that be the next "hard" breed?
I chatted with a dog handler from the British Transport Police a few months ago and he was saying one of his colleagues has an ACD doing very well in the service; apparently more are being used as they are so fast, agile, and definitely not to be trifled with.

> Australian Cattle Dog x Staffie pups. £100. Must go before Christmas.<br /><br />Could that be the next "hard" breed?

They already are here in Aus :(

> They already are here in Aus :(

Really? wow
what is the cross like in terms of temperament, and as a result of (I guess!) only numpties breeding them? Have there been issues with this cross? ACDs are fairly thin on the ground here which is why my ears pricked up seeing that ad.... and they are not a dog for the average owner either.

> Really? wow <br />what is the cross like in terms of temperament, and as a result of (I guess!) only numpties breeding them? Have there been issues with this cross? ACDs are fairly thin on the ground here which is why my ears pricked up seeing that ad.... and they are not a dog for the average owner either.

The majority we have brought into the shelter (either surrendered by a member of public, or as a stray) seem to be fairly high maintenance.  (Sadly there appear to be numpties the world over!).
But, hazarding a guess here, I would say the main reason for that high maintenance is due to lack of knowledge of both breeds and lack of socialisation & training. 
Crossing a working breed with a Stafford... full on temperament-wise from my experience.

ACD's, Kelpies and Stafford's (& Stafford crosses) are the majority of our occupants at any one time :(
For example, on our current 'medium' breeds rescue page, there are 43 dogs featured.
Out of those 43;
12 have been rehomed
17 are SBT or SBT crosses
12 are ACD or ACD crosses
11 are Kelpie crosses
4 are the exact cross mentioned (SBT x ACD)

I question some of the breeds that the staff here have associated with some of the dogs, but for the most part the breeds are correct.

WOW scary, I wouldn't fancy that mix.

Saying that there was a black Pom on one of the websites dearer than the rest because they are so "rare" what a load of rubbish.

crikey that x   is like a red rag to a bull!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good grief !! why on earth would anyone think a ACD X SBT would be a good cross !, I'm amazed about the ACD, as has been said they're not exactly common here, you'd think that anyone who own's one in this country would be more clued up than to allow that cross. I did meet a Border Terrier X SBT a few months ago and he was one of the nicest most mellow dog's I've had the pleasure of meeting, which was a surprise as I'd have thought that cross would have been a handful.
I was chatting to a man yesterday, he had a very striking dog with him, I asked if the dog was a Utonigan ( I'd really peed someone off before by saying what a gorgeous GSD X Husky they had, they insisted it was a rare Utonigan lol , I wasn't getting caught out again ) the owner said " No, I'm not daft enough to fall for that one, he's a mutt pure and simple ", I did laugh, it was so refreshing to speak to someone who knew exactly what they had, a lovely looking, well mannered dog, but not an exotic cross.

> he was one of the nicest most mellow dog's I've had the pleasure of meeting, which was a surprise as I'd have thought that cross would have been a handful.
>

Thing with crosses is that you just don't know do you? You could get the best characteristics of both parents breeds or the worst or a mixture. At least with a pure bred dog you have an idea what to expect with crosses every one of them is a new adventure - and not often in a good way.