Dogged by bad health - demand for labradoodles, cavoodles, pugaliers leads to backyard breeders

Siobhan Sheppard was distressed to learn her $675 designer dog, a cocker spaniel-golden retriever cross, carried a genetic kidney condition that has cost a small fortune to treat.

Having spent more than $3000 on “spanatriever” Stella Bella in less than a year, Ms Sheppard has now been told she might have to have her beloved pet put down.

She is among a number of disgruntled animal lovers for whom buying a designer dog has turned out to be a financial and emotional disaster.

Demand for labradoodles, cavoodles, pugaliers and other crossbreeds is said by some to have led to backyard breeders setting up and producing genetically imperfect animals.

Melbourne University small-animal specialist vet Steven Holloway said designer dogs could be more susceptible to genetic faults.

"Somebody in their back yard decides they are going to be a little puppy manufacturer on their property and they just don’t care about it”, Prof Holloway said.

"They have got a fairly narrow gene pool in that they have probably only got a couple of dogs they are breeding to each other."

Impaired vision, hip dysplasia and heart murmurs were among the genetic problems emergin. Dogs Victoria chief executive officer Elizabeth White said.

State government legislation will soon make it an offence to knowingly sell a dog with an inherited disease.

From: The Herald Sun