Designer Breeds: Best of Both? New Study Says No

“I’ll take a highly trainable, low-shedding lapdog, hold the heart disease and anxiety!”

Something I always found amusing was when people would point to their expensive crossbreed and say smugly that their puppy was “the best of both” with the implication being that this Labradoodle (that cost twice as much as either of the parent breeds) was somehow guaranteed to have the reduced allergen load, high intelligence, and longevity of a Poodle, the trainability, loyalty, and affection of a Labrador, without the pesky Poodle ear and eye issues or those dysplastic Labrador hips. Unfortunately, without creating these puppies in a laboratory petri dish using gene splicing, you are just as likely to end up with a dog that has terrible hips, failing eyesight, and chronically itchy ears. Despite this, the Labradoodle, Cavoodle (or Cavapoo), and anything else with an ‘oodley-poo’ suffix have increased in popularity over the years, and generally speaking, tend to be relatively robust creatures. However, new research into these so-called ‘designer dogs’ has discovered that whilst their physical attributes are generally sound, their behavior and temperament leave much to be desired.

It seems that dog breeders can’t catch a break. Ostracized for intensive inbreeding to create more and more exaggerated features, and now cross-breeding is proving to be problematic as well. In a recent study published by the Public Library of Science journal, PLOS One, researchers compared undesirable behaviors observed in certain ‘designer’ dogs with their purebred progenitor breeds, with some rather surprising results.1 The study, based in the UK’s Royal Veterinary College, was designed to evaluate claims that designer breeds are reported to exhibit desirable behavioral traits such as being highly trainable and good with children. Using a Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), the scores between the three most common designer-crossbreeds in the UK – Cockapoo, Labradoodle, and Cavapoo – were compared to those of the purebred Cocker Spaniel, Labrador Retriever, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (CKCS), and Poodle, with over 9,000 responses included in the final analysis.

What Is A Designer Dog?

Image Credit: Steven B Gold, Shutterstock

Apart from the higher price tag, a ‘designer’ breed differs from a typical crossbreed, mutt, or mongrel in that it is the deliberate pairing of two or more pure breeds in an attempt to create a specific desired result. Of course, all purebreds were at some point in their history crossbreeds and designer dogs until they weren’t!

The ‘oodles’ and ‘poos’ have typically been created with the aim of creating a ‘hypoallergenic Labrador’ or a low-shedding spaniel. Some ‘designer’ breeds are simply clever name hybridizations that allow breeders to charge more for them, and others, like Jugs or Puggles (Pug x Jack Russell Terrier or Beagle), are bred with the goal of creating a less brachycephalic, and therefore healthier, version of the flat-faced Pug.

How Do You Compare Behavior?

The physical health of the dogs included in the study had been previously evaluated, with relatively few differences identified between the three designer-crossbreeds compared to their progenitor breeds.2,3 It was also heartening to learn that 79% of the study population were insured.

Of course, behavior, temperament, and trainability are highly variable and subjective characteristics, and not something that can be compared as objectively as hip conformation or ocular health, but the study design attempted to incorporate and account for as many of these variables as possible, with the increasingly popular Cockapoo proving to be the most behaviorally problematic of the three designer breeds.

Compared to the Poodles and Cocker Spaniels included in the study, Cockapoos scored significantly higher (i.e., exhibited more undesirable behavior) in these C-BARQ comparisons:

owner-directed aggression
stranger-directed aggression
dog-directed aggression
dog rivalry
stranger-directed fear
dog-directed fear
non-social fear
separation-related problems
excitability
trainability

By comparison, Labradoodles were found to show less undesirable behavior when compared to the Poodle in

owner-directed aggression
dog-directed aggression
dog rivalry
stranger-directed fear
dog-directed fear
separation-related problems

but were more likely than the Labrador to exhibit dog rivalry, non-social fear, separation-related problems, excitability, and trainability.

The Cavapoo was something of a mixed bag, showing a higher incidence of undesirable behaviors for non-social fear, dog-directed fear, and trainability than the Poodle, as well as significantly more undesirable behaviors in terms of owner-directed aggression, stranger-directed aggression, dog-directed aggression, stranger-directed fear, non-social fear, dog-directed fear, separation-related problems, and excitability than the CKCS. The Cavapoo did, however, score significantly higher than the parent CKCS in terms of trainability, perhaps thanks to those clever Poodle genetics!

What Does It All Mean?

We know that you cannot accurately predict the behavior or temperament of a dog based purely on their breeding and genetics; however, those factors do play a major role in determining how, when, or why some dogs tend towards certain instincts and reactions. We know that dogs bred for herding are more likely to chase other animals than those that have been selected for companionship. We understand why the Husky wants to drag you along behind them while the Beagle is stopping every two minutes to sniff anything and everything. But we also know that we cannot account for, or predict precisely, which traits may be inadvertently included when we try to manipulate breeds based on just one or two characteristics.

In the 17th century, when King Charles II became besotted with breeding the amiable little spaniels that would eventually bear his name, little did he know that, alongside an affectionate and loving temperament, the dogs he was breeding were plagued by heart disease. Just as those who created the loyal and obedient Labrador Retriever 500 years ago from the St. John's Water Dog of Newfoundland were unlikely to have realised that they had created a breed with a high incidence of hip dysplasia. Unfortunately, the same mistakes are still being made today, with genetics being combined based on certain traits without full appreciation of the impact of those decisions.

The results of this study demonstrate just how important it is to thoroughly research and explore any breed or crossbreed when choosing a dog, and to ensure that they have the opportunity to view and meet both parents and assess their behavior before impulsively purchasing a puppy. Whilst our understanding of genetic traits is far greater than that of the people responsible for creating most of the dog breeds we know today, they are not like menu items that can be ordered according to personal preference – “I’ll take a highly trainable, low-shedding lapdog, hold the heart disease and anxiety!”

Of course, if you are concerned about how your puppy might turn out, the obvious solution is to adopt a dog from an animal shelter – far fewer surprises. Whilst a designer cross might not necessarily be the best of both worlds, a “Heinz 57” might give you the sort of ‘hybrid vigor’ you’re after.