Peter Purves: Trendy crossbreed dogs are ‘mentally confused’
NEARLY 50 years ago Peter Purves was charged with taking care of Blue Peter’s very first pet – a dog called Petra.
Despite his bond with the Border Collie and German Shepherd cross – which died in 1977 – Purves is not impressed with latest wave of mixed breeds.
He said the likes of Labradoodles and Cockapoos are unpredictable and mentally confused ‘because they have mixed genes’.
The popularity of cross breeds has exploded over the past decade, led by celebrities such as Rita Ora, who has a Maltipoo (cross between a Maltese and poodle) Elle Macpherson, who has a Labradoodle (Labrador and poodle), and Richard Hammond, who owns a puggle (pug and a beagle).
But Purves, 78, a commentator at Crufts, said: ‘I’m not a great fan of some of the crosses.
‘Dogs have different natural instincts. Some cross breeds can be quite extraordinary and they don’t look like anything you’d expect, in those circumstances one should worry.
‘If you have a hound, hounds are either scent hounds or sight hounds and you cross those, say with a spaniel, (they have) totally different instincts.
‘There is an unpredictability in the behaviour pattern (of) what those dogs will do. The dogs themselves, in their heads may be confused because they have mixed genes that aren’t from the same line. That’s the big problem.’
Purves, a commentator at Crufts, claims that a pedigree breed is still the best choice for families because owners have a better idea of what they are getting.
He added: ‘There’s no such thing really as a Labradoodle, because they come in all shapes and sizes, they don’t reproduce the same kind of dog every time.’