The Cava-Poo-Chon is bred to retain it’s puppy face into adulthood.
Photo via dailymail.co.uk
An article in today’s Daily Mail focuses on a new dog breed that, its creators say, offers the best features of its foundation breeds. The Cava-Poo-Chon—a “triple cross” of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a Miniature Poodle, and a Bichon Frise—was bred by Linda and Steve Rogers of Timshell Farm in Pine, Arizona, with the help of a geneticist. The Rogers’s claim that this new breed, which is not recognized by the AKC, offers a remarkable set of qualities:
- Happy, friendly dispositions;
- High intelligence;
- Lower-shedding coats;
- Strong health and longevity from triple-cross hybrid vigor; and
- The “Teddy Bear” look (wide face, shorter nose, large eyes, and round heads)
According to the Daily Mail article, this means that the dog is long-lived, doesn’t yap, is good for people with allergies, and, most importantly, maintains its “puppy face” throughout its adulthood. In fact, the article is titled “Is this the cutest dog in the world? The adorable new breed that never stops looking like a puppy.”
As you might imagine, not all dog lovers are pleased by the whole concept of a “designer” breed, and the article offers dueling quotes from folks who think such breeding practices create “gimmick” dogs, and those who say their new dog is everything they ever wanted.
What do you think?
So how do the opponents think we got today’s breeds, if there wasn’t cross-breeding in their history??? The bigger question is, do we really need another dog breed??? To me, it sounds like someone is trying to make a name for themselves.
Frankly, I’ll stick with Maltese. They have puppy faces all their lives, have low-allergy fur, are long lived, act like puppies all their lives, and have proven to be quite intelligent. Yes. They can be barkers, but good training has a lot to do with correcting that, in any breed, new or old.
Just the concept of having a “designer dog breed” sounds so ridiculous to me. Personally, I would not be willing to spend an outrageous amount of money on a pup that someone claims is so much “better”.