Daisy Dog Breed

According to the dog breeder Jennifer Peterson, who claims her mother was the person responsible for cross-breeding a number of purebreds to produce the Daisy Dog, this notable hybrid was conceived to be a "cute, shaggy, non-shedding small breed house-pet with a good personality." It appears that this dog continues to be exactly that. The Daisy Dog has no noble purpose such as herding, hunting or search-and-rescue, but they are adorable, reliable and hypoallergenic. As such, they do make great house pets for families big and small as well as for people who may be seeking a companion to ward off loneliness and / or age. Whether you are adopting your first-ever puppy or have had a lifetime of living with dogs, the Daisy Dog is perhaps the nearly perfect pet!

PROS

• Calm demeanor
• Easy to train
• Loves children
• Long life span
• Sheds minimally
• Minimal barking
• Doesn't slobber
• Low exercise needs
• Friendly personality
• Grooming needs are low
• Little tendency to roam
• Perfect for first-timers
• Tolerance to cold is good
• Amicable with non-canine pets
• Tolerance to heat is moderate
• Excellent for small apartments
• Gets along very well with other dogs
• Great for people and / or households with people who have dog-hair allergies

CONS

• Expensive to buy
• Not a good watchdog
• Obesity can occur easily
• Somewhat sensitive to touch
• Separation anxiety possible
• A lot of potential ailments and diseases
• May require a lot of expensive vet treatments over lifetime

The Daisy Dog is a rather small hybrid dog that can come in a variety of coats due to the three (or possibly more) purebred parents that are (and may) be involved in producing this intriguing dog. What is this intrigue? you ask. It is the secret of this multitudinous mutt's many purebred parents, and without either DNA tests and / or the daughter — Jennifer Peterson — of the original breeder ever announcing what her mother mixed in the 1950s to make the Daisy Dog, the world may never know. Of course, there are many breeders that claim and dog lovers who claim to have the Daisy Dog info and it is but three breeds crossed: the Bichon Frise, the Poodle and the Shih-Tzu.

Daisy Dogs seem to be average in their intelligence; they are not on any of the many "dumbest dogs" lists that can be found easily on the World Wide Web, but they don't appear to be known for being exceptionally sharp, either. They are easy to train, extremely friendly and can adapt quickly to most environments so long as they have their beloved master nearby. They tend to match the mood of those dearest to them, and that may contribute to them appearing, at times, rather intelligent.

As they are great companion dogs with little grooming required, bark very little (if at all) and are extremely happy to be with you all the livelong day (and night), Daisy Dogs are said to be one of the best Toy-sized hybrid house dogs available — which may explain their occasionally high price. In any case, if you get an actual Daisy Dog and not a closely bred mixed breed that merely looks like one, you are practically guaranteed to have one of the most loyal little dogs around.

These mixed breeds don't need much exercise, and they are known to not be rambunctious even after their relatively short daily walk. They aren't lazy, per se, and they usually get a fair amount of their exercise by walking around without getting too far from family members. Due to their size and background, they have little strength and, apparently, less desire to use it.

The Daisy Dog variations are not exactly known — although they could be easily divined with a DNA test. Without such a test, you will probably have to take the word of Daisy Dog-breeder Jennifer Peterson: the number of breeds that comprise a Daisy Dog "is not two breeds, three breeds, or even four breeds despite what you may have heard elsewhere" and that the "ingredients [are] known only by [her.]" Nevertheless, many other breeders and the public in general tend to claim that the Daisy Dog is a hybrid from no fewer (and usually no more) than three purebreds: the Bichon Frise, the Poodle and the Shih-Tzu.

Should you find a breeder with certified Daisy Dogs, the variations are basically the same as any other hybrid except that there are three dogs involved in the cross-breeding. An F1 Daisy Dog comes from crossing the three purebred dogs mentioned above. An F2 comes from breeding two Daisy Dogs with each other. An F1B litter is made when an F1 Daisy Dog is bred back to either a Bichon, Poodle and/or Shih-Tzu. An F3 comes from two F2s being crossed.

Because of the variety of purebred dogs involved in the mix (known and unknown), the coat can vary greatly. It may be curly like a Poodle's, or thick and fluffy like a Bichon Frise, or be long, fine and silky hair like that of the Shih Tzu — the latter of which may influence your Daisy Dog to have a double-coat unless a Maltese Shih Tzu (which has a single coat) was used in breeding. There is also the chance that your hybrid puppy's coat may be a mix of two or more of the three dogs' characteristics. The dog's size will almost always be small and teacup Daisy puppies are often sought after; keep in mind "teacup" very often means more health concerns.

Unlike most hybrids that were bred for being mere fashion accessories (designer dogs) or for a singular purpose (to be hypoallergenic or a significantly smaller version of a large purebred), the Daisy Dog was said to have been bred with the hybrid dog's health always in mind. The original breeders claim to have spent "many years…keeping the best temperament, physical and health traits".

Despite this, there appears to be many health problems that persist with what many recognize as the Daisy Dog: allergies, joint dysplasia, internal and external infections, obesity and related complications, eye and teeth concerns, respiratory ailments and a laundry list of specific canine diseases.

Oddly enough, the typical life span of a Daisy Dog is anywhere from 13 to 17 years — which is a fair bit longer than the average life span of the three dogs from which this remarkable hybrid is produced.