The designer/hybrid breeds of Cavoodle, Groodle, and Labradoodle have made the top 10 Most Popular Dog Breeds in 2025 list named by Pet Insurance Australia, however Dogs SA the administrative body for pure breed canine affairs in South Australia warns pet owners to beware.
Dogs SA President Brian Parker says that lists of breeds that include non-recognised breeds like the ‘doodles’ encourages the pet industry to purchase puppies from unregistered breeders and charge outrageous prices for cross breeds.
“For the price of some of these designer breeds, essentially cross breeds, can be more than three times the cost of a pure bred, champion lineage, registered puppy.”
Brian also commented on the list saying that it is created by the data collected from dog’s owners that are insured. Therefore it’s likely they are homed in certain more affluent suburbs and from particular demographics so doesn’t give a realistic look at the true reflection of popular breeds in South Australia.
“This data is reported from owner supplied information with many owners saying for example French Bulldog or Maltese Terrier when they are more likely to be cross breeds.”
“What we can derive from our registered breeder data that it is extremely unlikely that we have anywhere near the number of pure bred French Bulldogs in South Australia for them to be come second on the list, and with only a handful or Maltese Terrier breeders, these dogs are more likely to be Maltese x Shih Tzus.”
The full list in order of Pet Insurers Australia’s most loved dogs in our state are:
- Cavoodle
- French Bulldog
- Border Collie
- Golden Retriever
- Groodle
- Maltese
- Miniature Dachshund
- Labradoodle
- Labrador
- German Shepherd
Nadia Crighton from Pet Insurance Australia says “from the ever-popular Cavoodle suggests a preference for intelligent, allergy-friendly companions and is a growing fascination with doodle breeds right across Australia.”
However, there are three main things that buyers of designer breeds like ‘doodles’ should be aware of says Dogs SA President Brian.
a) When purchasing a puppy from a neighbourhood breeder or a boutique reseller, pet owners do not know what they’ll end up getting. Sometimes the seller doesn’t even know where the puppies have come from.
b) Owners often buy a puppy without knowing whether the necessary health tests and checks have been done on both breeding parents and the pups. This can lead to serious health issues down the track. There’s a common myth that owning a designer breed will avoid inherited health problems seen in purebreds, but in reality, hybrid breeding can actually increase the risk of issues from both parent breeds.
c) Without knowing a puppy’s breeding lineage or meeting its parents, you have no way of predicting its future temperament – which can be risky. A dog’s personality isn’t just shaped by how it’s raised; genetics play a huge role. Not knowing what kind of temperament your new furry mate might develop can be dangerous, especially for families with young kids or other pets.
“In SA right now we have approximately 150 different pure breeds registered out of the 220 Australia wide,” said Brian.
If you and your family are looking into adding a furry new friend and are looking at what breed might suit your personal circumstances, lifestyle and home Dogs SA encourages you to attend on of their all breeds dog shows – held most weekends at David Roche Park, Kilburn where the facilities can cater for up to 1,200 dogs and exhibitors.
On any one day you can get up close and pat over 100 breeds and meet their owners and ask questions to registered breeders.
There’s a canteen where you can get coffee and lunch, so make a family day of it and refrain from saying “how much is that designer doggie in the window.”
Or even better… “Adopt, don’t shop!”
WHERE: Dogs SA. David Roche Park, Lot 73 Cromwell Road, Kilburn
FOR MORE INFO: www.dogssa.com.au
More News
