Benny to Star on CBS News, Maybe

In keeping with my plan for Benny Bix Ochman Labradoodle to become gainfully employed, Benny is likely to be interviewed tomorrow morning in Central Park for a CBS News story on the doodle dog craze. I'll report from the scene.

Benny's fanclub is certain to grow! His paw print will be worth money some day soon. :)

While Bennie Bix is adorable, and your bond with him is clear and wonderful, please - if you are interviewed, don't make the general, and generally erroneous, statement that Lab/Poodle mixes give the "best of both worlds."

In some cases (basic genetics says 25% of the pups produced), you do get a non-shedding dog with the temperament of a lab and the coat of a poodle. And in 50% of the progeny, you can get any kind of mix of the properties you're seeking. And the last 25% might get you the temperament of the poodle (which, IMHO, isn't bad at all if you choose a poodle from a responsible breeder who selects for temperament as well as health), and the shedding nature of the lab.

Genetics are more complex than that, and neither coat nor temperament are necessarily simple dominant genes, but if you have a poodle parent with, say, sebaceous adenitis (a skin condition), and a lab parent with, for example, hip dysplasia, and both of them were not chosen for good temperament, then you could get a labradoodle with intolerable skin and hip problems and a tendency to be nasty. These problems are not always immediately evident, and some can occur well after the breeding that produced the pup you bring home, so seeing the parents isn't always helpful though I personally recommend it.

OR, if you find a breeder who is very careful about the parents, including health tests and screenings (check http://www.offa.org and http://www.vmdb.org/cerf.html for starters), and knows the health status of the grandparents and great grandparents on both sides, you may find a puppy that will have a better chance at having good health and appropriate temperament - and that makes life so much better for both of you!

I have no problem with non-purebred dogs, but am worried at the misleading comments seen in the press about them (I have this straight from the source: labradoodles, puggles, schnoodles, etc. will not be recognized by the AKC, as they are a first-generation mix by definition). If you want to enjoy your life with a mixed breed dog, your local shelter is a great place to start your search.

Intentional crossbreeds do not always provide what their marketing would have you believe, though you may sometimes be lucky and get a Bennie Bix to love!

Terri Grodner
Secretary, Ladies Kennel Association of America, member of various breed rescue clubs, and Canine Good Citizen evaluator (welcoming all dogs of any parentage as long as they're well behaved).

terri: having met many first generation labradoodles and golden doodles, i'm sure you are right. i did my homework, big-time, before I got benny. he comes from a responsible breeder, and he's 6th generation labradoodle to labradoodle.

i met both parents and all the puppies. what i have is a non-shedding dog with the temperament of a clown and a the heart of a lab. i'm besotted. but he's the exception among the many i've met.

i had a dreadful experience with a dog i got from CACC before I got Benny. They didn't think it necessary to mention that he'd been in three shelters before theirs.

he was way too much for me to handle, even with the help of behaviorists and trainers. happily, he's living with a family in rhode island now, and all is well for him.

benny wasm reward, i guess, for saving that dog from a certain death.
BL

donna: he really does have a fan club: everyone he meets. walking down any block with benny takes forever because he has so many friends who all have to get kisses from him and tell me how much he's grown since yeserday. I should have named him Will Rogers.

I lucked out bigtime when this puppy came into my life. I know Sammy is smiling up in doggie heaven.
BL