Bagels and Labradoodles and Schnoodles (Designer "Doodle Dogs")

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   "Bagel" was such a good word...

--Barry "Kwasi" Popik
("Kwasi" means born on Sunday; "Kofi" means born on Friday.  I'm a quasi-Popik.  Crazy.)


http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/South/01/22/doodle.dogs.reut/index.html

Designer mutts cost big bucks
Thursday, January 22, 2004 Posted: 1813 GMT ( 2:13 AM HKT)

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Labradoodle
Labrador and poodle
Schnoodle
schnauzer and poodle
Goldendoodle
golden retriever and poodle
Cockapoo
cocker spaniel and poodle
Yorkipoo
Yorkshire terrier and poodle
Dorgi
dachshund and corgi
Bagel
basset hound and beagle


WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Move over chocolate lab, the labradoodle has arrived. Why walk a corgi when you can have a dorgi? Or coddle a poodle when you can cuddle a yorkipoo?

Mutts, by any other name, are all the rage.

Mixed-breed dogs, once the domain of U.S. animal shelters, are being sought by an increasing number of Americans looking for special pooches. Intentionally bred and cutely named, today's special-order mixes have newfound status -- and a purebred price tag.

"When there were a bunch of them around and a lot of them were in the shelter, you'd call them mutts," said Stephen Zawistowski, science advisor at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, about the popular mixes that used to accidentally appear.

Sought-after mixes, some of which can fetch up to $4,000, are the labradoodle, a cross between the Labrador and the poodle; the schnoodle, a schnauzer-poodle mix; the goldendoodle, a golden retriever-poodle mix; the cockapoo, a cocker spaniel-poodle match; and the yorkipoo, a cross between a Yorkshire terrier and a poodle.

Even Britain's Queen Elizabeth is in on the mixing trend. She has owned more than 30 Welsh corgis since she was 18 years old and has bred several dorgis -- dachshund/corgi mixes.

The bagel, a mix between a basset hound and a beagle, is typically found in shelters.

"Right now, there is a stronger interest in crosses than in registered breeds," said breeder Jennifer Connell of Breezy Hill Kennel in Hartsburg, Missouri.

'Doodle' dogs' popularity stems from the combination of the poodle's non-shedding, allergy-friendly coat with the intelligence, temperament and size of Labradors, golden retrievers, schnauzers and Yorkshire terriers.

(...)