Animal crosses.

. Don't children just love lavatorial humour! They are funny, I have to admit!

Oh mine definitely do AshTree Anything that mentions a bum, willy or poo always results in fits of giggles.

On the subject of dog crosses, I wish someone would explain to me why a Golden Retriever crossed with a poodle is called a Golden Doodle (my brother has one). Where does the first 'D' in Doodle come from? Surely it's a Golden Roodle?

I am quite disappointed that a cocker/poodle cross is a cockapoo rather than a cockadoodle.

Someone my sister knows has a Pugahuahua (pug and chihuahua)

I have also heard of YorkiPoos and Sprockers !

Not so many years ago these dogs would have been called mongrels. Now they give them a fancy name and charge large amounts of money for them.

Yes indeed ginny - as the owner of two doodles, and someone who has fostered these lovely dogs I'm used to the breed snobbery that inevitably arises whenever they're mentioned. Or seen!

But Doodles are usually first generation crosses.

The old mongrel was also known as a Heinz 57 (so many different breeds involved), and we once owned a lovely 'Bitza' (a bits of this and a bits of that breed).

We have had some wonderful 'mongrels' and 'bitzas' in the family too. At the moment we have a Labrador and a Labrador/retriever. Next door there are two cockerpoos. They are very 'yappy' is this common with these dogs ?

Yes Anya, I agree. Our last rescue dog was a true mongrel, adorable and such an easy dog to train, despite his awful experiences before he came to live with us at about 18 months of age.

My cockapoo is a first cross, mother a show type spaniel dad a middle sized poodle. The result is a rather highly strung dog who has needed more training than any dog I ever shared my life with previously. He has the poodle intelligence, the spaniel love of being glued to his family and loves agility to the extent he'll take himself round the course (just as well, I can't keep up) He is much loved, fortunately. The labradoodle is 5th generation doodle, her ancestors were standard poodles and working labs. She is a typical doodle, sees every walk as a hunting expedition, is fast, agile and like other doodles, matured later than lots of other dogs. I learned a huge amount from her about how to help your dog not follow it's instincts on the hunting from

x post there ginny - hand on heart, my cockapoo has been more of a challenge than any rescue/foster I've shared my life with. He loved the sound of his own voice but because they're bright, was relatively easy to teach "quiet". He does like to please - always a bonus. My love of doodle dogs has been mentioned before, but I honestly don't see them as easy dogs. The fact they're usually so pretty, alongside the myth about them being easy to train, always good natured, never shedding etc doesn't help. I fostered one standard doodle type, rejected at 13 months `'she got too big and she sheds, they aren't supposed to". Oh dear!

I suspect that the dogs next door are not being trained particularly well even though they are obviously loved. Shame, because people can judge a whole breed on just one or two dogs that they come into contact with.

Our two dogs came from a rescue centre when they were around 18 months old and are now 12. they were fairly easy to train. They have been and are the most loving, gentle and loyal dogs although both have their own personalities. Jet (male ) very laid back and if honest a little lazy and likes to have his own space. Sasha ( female) likes company and will follow us around and lie down next to us. She hates thunder and whistles. Both are very wary of men in hats. I wish they could tell us about their early days.