Is the Irish Toy Collie
a "Designer Breed"?
Absolutely Not!
"Designer Breeds" are actually not "breeds" at all.
They are mixed breeds. Each one has parents that represent at least two distinctly different breeds, and exhist only as a "first generation cross", not as a "breed" that will dependably reproduce offspring of similar type, personality and temperament when bred to another of it's "kind". Many times those breeds represent basically contradictive "types" of dogs, as well,
and it is difficult to know with a puppy what
"type" as far such things as size, coat, personality, and temperament you will get as an adult.
A "designer mix", for example that has one
herding breed and one hunting breed parent
may, at maturity, depelop the instinct to protect your cat, or may, at maturity, develop the
instinct to kill your cat. You won't know until
the dog is mature, the same as with any mix
breed. Typically, "designer breeds" are products of puppy mills where a large number of different breeds of dogs are kept. Since the AKC has instituted DNA testing to prove the parentage of puppies from "questionable" litters, and has also begun inspecting paperwork from "kennels" that produce a large number of puppies, many of
these puppy mills have opted out of breeding AKC registered dogs , and are now producing mixed breeds that they call "designer breeds" instead. They also have created their own "registries" for these dogs that typically have no regulation process whatsoever. They merely collect fees and provide "registration papers"
to make the puppies appear somehow "authentic" to prospective buyers. There are no breed standards for these mixed breed "designer dogs"; no breed clubs designed to protect them from genetic problems or rescue concerns; no shows to encourage the conformation evaluation of those used or inteneded for breeding; and no way of reliably determining even that they truly ARE the mix of the particular breeds they are said to represent as "cross bred" dogs.
The Irish Toy Collie is a young breed in it's development, but a true breed nonetheless. Other "young breeds" you may be aware of include the Alaskan Klee Kai and the Shiloh Shepherd.
These are distinct breeds that have been developed to represent their own breed standard,
have their own breed club, and most notably, reliably produce puppies of the same breed when bred together. Another feature you may note when making an initial determiniation as to whether a breed is a "true" breed or merely a so called "designer" mixed breed is that the founders of new breeds do NOT typically combine the
breed names of the dogs used in creating a new breed as a way of defining it. Any name that ends in "oodle", or "poo", for example, strongly evidences a mixed breed dog who had a Poodle parent -- or at least -- this is thedetermination of the owner or breeder. Whether such a dog actually does come from the parentage suggested is simply not provable. Even if it does, it is still a mixed breed dog, and does not represent an actual "breed", despite a "cute name" and high
level marketing techniques.
Is The ITC A Good Breed
Choice For Children?
Typical of herding breeds, the ITC has a natural
affinity for young and helpless creatures that makes them traditionally fond of children. That said, however, this IS a small dog and one that could be injured by the unthinking and unintentional acts of a young child. A very well behaved two
year old, for example, simply does not have the
maturity and experience to understand that "helping
himself up" by putting his entire weight on a small
dog and "pushing off" could severly injure that dog,
or in the least, cause the dog a fair amount of pain.
This is the type of thing that has resulted in small
breeds developing a reputation for becoming
"snappy" or intolerant of small children. It is simply a matter of the dog learning to defend himself.
Ideally, the rule of thumb encouraged by knowledgable breeders of purebred dogs is
"The smaller the child -- the bigger the dog should
be". A Newfoundland, for example, is well big enough to sustain the weight of a small child without even much notice -- nevermind injury!
While an Irish Toy Collie will fit in happily with a family where well disciplined and properly supervised children are present, any such family
making application to own an ITC should expect a caring breeder to be most judicious in evaluationg
the environment before agreeing to placement.
Since This Is A Fairly New Breed,
How Long Would I Have To Wait
If I Wanted To Add An ITC Puppy
To My Family?
ITCI encourages breeders to let us know when they have litters bred or available puppies. We
are happy to pass along inquiries to those breeders.
I Read The Code Of Ethics And See That ITC Breeders Place Their Puppies Only In Homes That Agree To Feed Fresh Food (or "Raw Diet")
And Give Minimal Vaccinations. Why Can't I Raise My Puppy As I See Fit?
The short answer to that is that you can .
You can get "a puppy" from one of a number of sources and feed him whatever you like and vaccinate him as often as your vet deems lucritive.
In developing THIS breed, however, we have worked hard to create a dog that represents not just a standand in size, body and head type, coat type, personality and temperament. We have also dedicated our efforts to produce a breed that represents the optimum in intrinsic health and longevity. In seeking the most qualified homes for these puppies, we deem it reasonable to seek out families and individuals who fully respect those
efforts, and thus the integrity of the health and well being of the individual dogs they seek to bring into their homes.
