A question of breeding

here are more than 200 breeds of dog recognised by the New Zealand Kennel Club and, chances are, most people could not name half of them.

But in today's fast-moving world, which so readily embraces the new and the unusual, it is probably inevitable that pet owners are looking for something different and are prepared to pay.

Even in Otago, pups, which unlike their purebred parents will never see a show ring or command a stud fee, are being sold for $1000 and more.

All over the world, breeders are deliberately mixing two distinct bloodlines together, sometimesto produce a particular trait, but often because the results are cute and attractive and highly marketable.

Among the first recognised "designer dogs" was the labradoodle, a Labrador retriever-standard poodle mix bred in Australia in 1989 by breeder Wally Conron.

He was trying to combine the low-shed coat of the poodle with the gentleness and trainability of the labrador to produce a guide dog for blind people allergic to fur.

The labradoodle took off and is now bred in many countries. MORE>>