Multimedia Reporting (Kuhr-Musser)

Wee-Poo sounds like a nonsense word a young child would say. Actually it is a breed of dog. Designer dogs, like the Wee-Poo, are becoming more popular in the United States.

But how does this crossbreeding affect the health and temperament of these new breeds?

David Nottingham, veterinarian at Baldwin Junction Veterinary Clinic, said it is hard to tell about the health of designer dogs because they are relatively new.

Nottingham said that the health of a mutt, which is a mixture of breeds, is usually better than purebred dogs.

The idea of hybrid vitality, or that different gene pools create a healthier animal, seems to be true a lot of the time, Nottingham said.

Christy Jarrett, a veterinarian at Jarrett Small Animal Clinic, agrees with Nottingham.

The mixed breeds, “maybe have fewer health problems,” Jarrett said.

But Lonita Kress, owner of GoldKress Kennels in Lawrence, said that the health of purebreds and hybrids are basically the same. “Every breed has health problems,” she said.

“Even breeding hybrids, you’re going to get the same problems,” Kress said.

Kress breeds only purebreds “I personally don’t believe in” breeding hybrids, Kress said.

Trying to figure out what the health of a hybrid or purebred dog will be can only be determined once the puppy is born, Kress said.

“There is really no guarantee it’s genetics,” Kress said.

John Wilson, owner of Labradoodles by Janda, breeds poodles and Labrador retrievers to produce the labradoodle.

It depends on what breeds are being mixed in determining the health, said Wilson, whose business is located 20 miles east of Wichita, Kansas.

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He gave an example of breeding a dog that had a lot of health problems to one that did not have as many. The hybrid that resulted would have slightly worse overall health because of the bad health of the one parent, he said.

And yet, if a poodle that had a bleeding disorder were bred with a Labrador, which generally does not have the disorder, then the bleeding problem could be lessened to a great extent, Wilson said.

Two different types of dogs bred that had the same lifespan could potentially result in a hybrid that could live one to two years more than the average for each breed, Wilson said.

Shyann Coffey, who grooms dogs at Accent Pet Grooming, said the hybrids health is not necessarily better than another dogs.

The poodle and Labrador hybrid, the labradoodle, gets more ear infections because the ear is longer on the hybrid, Coffey said.

Some health problems for the designer dogs can result from environmental factors.

Katie Foley, operations manager of the Lawrence Humane Society, said they have seen poor health in hybrids, such as Labradoodles, but that is because the animals are often being removed from bad situations.

Backyard breeders, unlicensed breeders, who are operating solely for monetary gain, contribute to the litters of hybrids brought into the shelter, Foley said.

The litters of hybrids produced by the backyard breeders often have health problems because they are not properly bred. A lot the time the dogs are inbred, Foley said.

(Source: American Pet Products Manufacturers Association) Click to Enlarge. This graph shows the rising costs of caring for a pet. This is an important consideration when deciding which type of dog to buy. Designer dogs can sell for as much as $1500. (The figure for 2006 is an estimate)

The temperaments of hybrids may be a different story than the health though.

Anneka Farmer, manager at a PetSmart in Olathe, said several hybrid dogs come in to be groomed. Farmer has not noticed a pronounced difference in the temperament of the hybrid dogs from regular dogs.

“I think that the breeds are similar in attitudes that they are breeding,” Farmer said.

Farmer said even in purebreds their temperaments were not consistently the same.

Coffey said the temperament of hybrid dogs varies more than their purebred counterparts.

It is yet to be determined if the health of hybrid dogs is better than that of other breeds.

In the end though it, “comes down to genetics,” Wilson said.

Some useful links:

Designer dogs overpriced mutts?

What is a backyard breeder?

Which dog is your perfect match?