Designer dogs dominate Australia’s list of most popular hounds

IT’s official. Designer dogs are in. Find out which dogs are all the rage in Townsville.

Groodle owners Carmel Finnegan with Roughy and Anne Mitchell with Spark. Picture: Evan Morgan

Designer dogs are in.

A survey by Pet Insurance Australia has revealed that 10 of the 20 most popular dogs are crossbred — including the “oodle” pooches such as labradoodles, spoodles and groodles.

Local groodles Spark and Roughy, both 3, are a pair of hounds basking in the designer dog spotlight.

MORE NEWS>>>

• Man sends teen girl 548 text messages demanding sexual photos, videos

• Horn v Tszyu set to pull more fans than Tyson Fury rematch against Deontay Wilder

• Ingham Police find DNA match in mysterious death case

“I just wanted a level-headed dog with a calm disposition,” Spark’s owner Anne Mitchell said.

“He’s been a perfect fit for our family and people are just drawn to him.

“We’re very lucky that we decided to choose him.

“He’s brought plenty of joy to our family and to many other people.”

Groodles are a hybrid of a golden retriever and a poodle, and have grown in popularity in the past five years.

Roughy’s owner, Carmel Finnegan, said it was love at first sight when she and husband Nick adopted their four-legged son.

“Anne found Spark and we loved him, so six months later we got Roughy,” she said.

“Groodles are great companions. You can take them anywhere, and one of the great things about them is that they’re non-shedding. There’s a great mix of calm, intuition and playfulness about them.”

Also in the top 20 were more traditional breeds such as german shepherds, border collies and labradors.

Pet Insurance Australia’s Nadia Crighton said the popularity of designer dogs reflected an international trend.

“These designer breeds have certainly taken off over the past 10 years and are proving very popular with pet owners around the globe,” she said.

“That is no surprise considering their lovely natures and beautiful looks.”

Originally published as Designer dogs dominate Australia’s list of most popular hounds