Trendy designer dogs often have the same issues as pure breeds. The'doodle' industry earns over $1 billion a year. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Designer crossbreed dogs are increasingly popular pets . Much of the rising interest is tied to claims that these mixed pooches possess more desirable aspects than many purebreeds or mutts.

Poodle crossbreeds have grown overwhelmingly popular, sparking controversy in dog parks and kennel clubs alike. The features of doodles such as Peaches (above), a goldendoodle, have become the canine equivalent of Instagram face. Meet the Breeds, the American Kennel Club's annual showcase of purebred dogs, took place over two eye-wateringly cold days in early February at the Javits Center, in Manhattan. About a hundred and fifty of the two hundred and five varieties recognized as official breeds by the A.K.C., the long-standing authority in the U.S. dog world, were in attendance for the public to ogle, fondle, and coo "So cute!" to, including the basset fauve de Bretagne, a hunting hound from France that's one of three newly recognized breeds recently allowed into the purebred pantheon. Some of the dogs had competed in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show earlier in the week, and past champions had their ribbons on display. In spite of the frigid weather, pavilions hosting the more popular breeds--the pug, the Doberman pinscher, the Great Dane, the St. Bernard--were packed. Lesser-known varieties, such as the saluki, the Löwchen, and the Lapponian herder, drew sparser crowds. There were exhibition spaces for each breed, and on the back walls were three adjectives supposedly describing that particular type of dog's temperament. There is, in fact, no evidence that temperament is consistent within a breed, but the idea is deeply rooted in dogdom. I stopped to caress the velvety ear leather of a pharaoh hound ("Friendly, Smart, Noble"), a sprinting breed once used to hunt rabbits in Malta; accept kisses from a Portuguese water dog, bred to assist with retrieving tackle ("Affectionate, Adventurous, Athletic"); and have my photograph taken with a Leonberger, a German breed from the town of Leonberg, in southwest Germany ("Friendly, Gentle, Playful"). No one was supposed to be openly selling dogs, but, if you asked, the breeders would share their information. Excluding what are known as companion dogs, like the Leonberger, most of the animals at the show were designed for a purpose that is no longer required of them. In Great Britain, foxhounds are legally barred from chasing foxes. Consider the fate of the otterhound, an ancient variety with a noble heritage which was once used in the U.K. to hunt river otters, which were prized for their thick fur and disliked by wealthy landowners because they ate fish in their stocked ponds.

With their fluffy coats and teddy bear-like faces, crossbreeds like Cockapoos and Goldendoodles have become a favourite with dog lovers and celebrities. But while these breeds are now some of the most popular in the UK, vets have warned that poor breeding to meet the'current craze' could lead to a surge in unexpected health and behavioural issues. Lack of regard for health during the breeding process could result in an increase in debilitating conditions such as hip dysplasia, genetic eye disease and Addison's disease in Labradoodles in the future, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) warns. Behavioural issues could also increase, including aggression and biting. 'Sadly, designer dogs often do not come from "designer" breeding programmes but are farmed indiscriminately to meet the current craze for breed-crosses with catchy names such as Frug and Jackalier,' said Dr Dan O'Neill, Associate Professor in Companion Animal Epidemiology at the RVC.

One of the most coveted and recognizable dogs, the labradoodle, may actually be a'monster,' says the breed's progenitor. According to Wally Conron, an Australia native who was the first person to breed the labradoodle - a cross between a poodle and a labrador - the dog opened up a'Pandora's Box.' 'I bred the labradoodle for a blind lady whose husband was allergic to dog hair,' Conron told Australia Broadcast Network. 'She wanted to know if we could come up with a dog that she could use as a guide dog and her husband wouldn't be allergic to.' The issue, says Conron, who was working for the Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia at the time, wasn't in finding a breed less harsh on one's allergies, it was finding one that was hypoallergenic and had the right temperament. Poodles, though they met the shedding criteria, didn't quite have the same friendliness factor as labradors, so Conron decided to mix the two.

I don't fear artificial intelligence, I fear people who fear artificial intelligence. A psychologist stares at his patient -- a balding, middle-aged foreman with a cigarette in his hand, and a curl of smoke around him like a halo on an acid trip. The psychologist holds up an inkblot, an ambiguous, black splatter on a white flashcard, and asks his patient what he sees. The thinking is his patient, not willing or otherwise able to express his feelings, his thoughts, his motivations, might inadvertently reveal some piece of his inner self while describing the ambiguous. The foreman doesn't see a nondescript swiggle, or stain.