My brother is thinking of buying a labradoddle puppy, but has been quoted £900 pounds surely, that is just silly for a cross breed, or am I the silly one? are they really worth this money.

No, they're worth nothing like that amount of money! They're a crossbreed, like any other. You have no idea which of their parents they are likely to take after. The whole litter may grow up all looking different, and with different characteristics. Some will moult, others won't. Some will have long curly coats, some will have short wavy ones.

They are worth no more than any other crossbreed - about £150-£200 maximum.

thats what I thought, the dealer is making alsorts of promises though, re colours etc, by bro just cant seem to see that they are a cross bred and nothing more, lovable I'm sure , I think he should just go to a rescue centre.

As the saying goes, "A fool and his money are soon parted".

£900!!!!!!!!!! blimey

A specifically bred crossbreed (as in not an accident) like a lurcher/longdog would go for between £50 and £200........... in fact i havent heard of people paying much more than that for lurchers from proven working lines, with impeccable breeding, so why on EARTH would a lab x poodle be worth more?

They dont cost more to produce than any other pup?

Thats just GREED.

Em

I think the breeder is having a laugh. . . .at your brother's expense!

£900 is more than double what you would pay for a pedigree puppy in either of the parent breeds!!

Hi JG :)  (Nice to see you still here)

I picked up my copy of HEAT magazine this week and they have a column called *so into it*  and *so over it* .  In the *so into it* column they were hyping up labradoodles and reported that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston have their names down for a pup Heat magazine is a hugely read magazine and a lot of people follow these kind of celebs, so I can imagine a lot of Brad and Jen Wannabees putting their names down too!!!! :(

Ali

Hi Ali! (No you can't keep me away!)

So, all the brain-dead sheep without an original thought between them will decide they must have one too. And what happens when they are no longer trendy? Remember what happened to thousands of terrapins when Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles went out of fashion? They were no longer 'cool' and were dumped.

I hope I'm wrong, but I see history repeating itself.

Its sad :(

Its like the new movie 'Garfield'  (fantastic movie by the way :D )  I took my youngest to see it the other day, when we got out he said to me can we get a fat cat like garfield :o  Can you imagine the thousands of kids who will be wanting a fat ginger kitten now :( 

Luckily you have enough sense not to give in to his whim.
:)

Have you pointed out to your brother that he could buy a KC registered pedigree puppy, in either of the parent breeds, from extremely well-bred stock, for less than that sum?

i have and I think he might be coming o his senses, just spoken to him again, And he had realised that he can get a very nice labrador with excellent history and fully tracable background and good reputation kennel, for a lot less. I thiknk it was "a fool and his money easily parted that did it. " Thanks for all your help

that is way to much for a cross we sell standard poodles for 500 minatures for 450 that is almost double the price i cant belive someone would do that if he sels then i will be amazed if someone buys one of them at that price
fiona

well  according to the breeder he has a waiting list, someone is making a tremendous amount of money ripping people off. Think he is in the north somewhere.

It is frightening how many gullible people there are around. And how many conmen there are just waiting to rip them off.

Even more flabagasted, looked at a few sites, and this seems to be the price for them , and not from just one breeder, there is lots. Someones is paying the price somewhere. Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, as the saying goes, "There's one born every minute"!

...there sure is....I dropped some of my work into the offices today to be informed that one of the managers was off, taking a 5 hour car journey to Scotland, to collect one of these for a suprise present for his son...at a cost of £550. :rolleyes:

whereabouts in scotland? just out of nosey-ness! :-) I would like to visit and find out what it is thats SO special about these dogs that they command such high prices! :-)

There are many other similar looking breeds such as the Lagotto, Poodle, Spanish Water Dog, Portugese Water Dog etc.  What is it that attracted him to the breed ? 

With the above ones you have a general idea of what they would look like and how their coat would be, with a Labradoodle you would not know which breed they are going to follow early on.

theres loads down here & they are gorgeous! they are popular & breeders have HUGE waiting lists so can charge whatever! i know just over a year ago the going rate was around £500.
would i pay that for one?no,id prefer a s poodle. what would i pay for a collie that was bred from dream obedience lines? as much i could afford!!!

its basic supply & demand isnt it? my friend got a labordoodle X ft field spaniel,& there was 42 people on the waiting list.

saying all that they are lovely dogs & ive seen alot,i really like them,but if ANY breeder looks only interested in making money then "arlarm bells",but then that applys to any breed!

Michelled, your friend cannot have a LabradoodleXField Spaniel. What she has is a Poodle, Labrador, Field Spaniel mix! in other words a mongrel.

There is no way of knowing which side of the cross a puppy will take after so all the adverts saying does not moult will be wrong 50% of the time. The advantage of a pedigree dog is that at least you have a pretty good idea what the final dog will look like.
Your statement, "its basic supply & demand isnt it?" could be reworded to read "Its basic license to print money isnt it?"

What the gullible don't realise is that they could get a "One off special" from the local rescue for a fraction of the price.

John

What also concerns me is that they are putting together breeds with similar genetic disorders that produce puppies that look like one or the other or neither just to make money

In this area it's labs or goldens & Standard poodles & the all breed rescues are cursing the puppy farners that produce them

This is true Moonmaiden. I also wonder about heredity testing. It's just possible that if the sire and dam really are pedigree then they may have been tested but there again, they may not even be pedigree. The usual claim to fame is "Hybrid Vigour" but this will only work with first crosses. The minute you start mating Lab Poodle crosses to Lab Poodle cross then Hybrid Vigour no longer applies and of course the person has then stepped outside the health schemes. And of course, you cannot establish a breed without eventually mating cross to cross.

Again, because these puppies cannot be registered there is no check on over breeding. The person can breed every season until the bitch dies and the neither the KC, the puppy buyer or anyone else would know.

Regards, John 

For years I've hankered after a Lagotto, and have spoken at length to breeders and met adult dogs. Sadly they seem to be yappers and diggers, so wouldn't do for me I'm afraid. :( Back to the drawing board!

In the case of Labradoodles, it doesn't help that the Times ran an article recently hyping them.  It was a single column comment in the 'Times 2' section, but imagine how many people would have read it. 

Obviously if they get a mention in a peper like that they must be worth the money...

I met a pair of labradoodles last year, 3rd generation (so they said) they were as ugly as a dog gets and the coat was appalling, neither curly and crisp like a poodle or like a labradors.  Both had a very strong 'doggy' smell.  I was informed by the very enthusiastic breeders that they don't breed true yet but there was a breeding programme ( which they seemed to have no idea of how to go about ;) ) and that the KC are "definately going to start registering them next year"  I was almost convinced - NOT!!  OH! - and they don't need hip scoring - hybrid vigour and all that :rolleyes:  Never heard such a load of TOSH in all my life, certainly wouldn't give money for one.

As for hybrid vigour, my last dog was an afghan-terrier cross (the terrier had some whippet too) who we took in because his owners didn't want him. he was like a small afghan - gorgeous :D  he was also the most expensive 'free' dog ever.  He was allergic to just about everything and cost me an absolute fortune at the vets - I paid for the new operating sugery ;)   All the other dogs in my family have been pedigree (some rescue) and, all together, have not cost as much to keep healthy as he did

My M-i-L used to have a first-cross labrador/GSD. This bitch had the most shocking HD I've ever seen. So much for 'hybrid vigour'!

john i was only stating what he was crossed with!

i dont agree with selling ANY dog for that amount of money,the thing is they are so popular people will pay it.

if you like that sort of thing,they are a nice cross.
all breeds were first crosses once,
people would be mad to buy a really expensive puppy if the parents werent health checked,

the ones down here are all similar,ive seen pictures of their funday/getogether,fantastic,this is a breeder who does care.some might be on the money making bandwagon but not all of them. what we need is some owners /breeders on here to say why they love the breed,but you would all scare them off!!!!

What breed thought we were talking crossing and mongrels? And I would be surprised if there is a dog owner on this forum who have not had a cross breed from rescue or rescued a cross breed, of course, we know all about them and their problems so it is not surprising that we try to stop the practice, we would like people to have fit healthy dogs that grow up to be what they expect and in that way less will finish up in rescue or PTS.

Believe it or not we care about dogs and those who are buying them, there is no other reason for us to spend our time replying to people on the board. Yes, all dogs were crossed at one time long ago, but that was done by people who understand what they are doing, more important it was for a particular purpose, not as now, just to make money to sell something different to the gullible and help fill the rescue centres with dogs that few people want because of the problems they have.

any unscrupulas breeder will jump onto the back OF any popular breed or cross to make money,
i just think you are tarring all labordoodle breeders with the same brush & thats just not on! the one here is a fantastic lady ,does not charge inflated prices & has background in other breeds,& offers few support  to her puppies.

i love my collies & wouldnt have anything else,

but to be honest i can totally see why someone would want one (labdo) if they like that sort of thing.

>> any unscrupulas breeder will jump onto the back OF any popular breed or cross to make money <<

Yes, that is what we are saying only those who are looking to make money would produce cross breeds deliberately, in other words an unscrupulous breeder or if not unscrupulous then stupid. Ask yourself why would you want to breed together 2 breeds that are in themselves delightful breeds, what is the purpose? If you can tell me why, then I may join you in their support but as thing are there is no reason except to produce dogs for the rescue centres and fill the breeders bank account.

PS I am not talking of those who cross terriers or hounds for sporting or vermin purposes, as if there is a reason, apart from making money or getting a designer dog, by my book that is fine.

why dont you ask a breeder of them or a owner of them?? im sure they will be able to answer you!

Because they can sell them of lots of lovely money.

I posted a topic a while back titled 'Is It Any Wonder?' or some such, as had read various articles extolling the virtues of Labradoodles in both general and 'canine press' (using the term loosely).  Almost went and bought one myself, they sounded so trouble free ;) - no moulting, trained instantly, the best family pet you could wish for.

Unfortunately, the moulting issue is a serious one if people have sourced these dogs for that reason, as obviously puppies will differ in which parent's coat they inherit.

And as for the training ........ having experience of pet owners training Poodles and Labradors from a training class I assisted in years ago, I'm sure they're a little more work than that ........... particularly some of the Standard Poodles, who I'm sure are lovely in the right hands but certainly seemed to come under the DMITO label discussed on the board yesterday (Dog More Intelligent Than Owner). :D

Marina

I saw an ad in shooting times not so long ago advertising labradoodles.  It said they had working POTENTIAL!  Looks like they are trying to put them into the working gundog market :-s

Helen

That sounds possible. After all, poodles were originally waterdogs. It would be nice to see them in the gundog group.
:)

my friends goes beating & picking up. dead keen & good.

Potential.....................

A good marketing ploy, let's see where have I seen that before ...........? :D

Few humans realise their full potential let alone animals......................

exactly Tohme.  The lab may work but it doesn't sound like the poodle will work.  They obviously don't have the personal experience of a labradoodle working to the gun. 

Helen

Helen, you may find this article of interest.
:)

Thanks jeangenie but I do know that poodles used to be gundogs and what they were used for. 

Would be interesting to know how many are used for their original job now though.  Have to say I've never seen any being worked and I come into contact with a LOT of working gundogs.

Helen

I think there are some in the US that are worked. I remember seeing pics of them on a website, but can I find it now ...?

(It was that typo that made me think you may be unaware of a poodle's true role. Sorry. :o )

too late to edit this and have noticed a typing error.

I meant to say:

doesn't sound like the poodle IS WORKED rather than will work. 

Not disputing the fact about poodles working, in fact any breed of dog can work.

Helen

Work from home and only pop into offices once a week...so will get back to you on that one...anyway, they've called the pup Bartlet??