We’ve been thinking about getting a dog for a while. Recently we very nearly got a dog that we’d offered to look after for a few months (as the owner was downsizing and going travelling) but this ‘fell through’.

We researched dogs.  We looked at rescue dogs. A large part of me is panged with guilt for not going down this route – but eventually we decided on the idea of getting a puppy, and a puppy from a known lineage and stock chosen for perfect match suitability to our family and lifestyle. Hopefully. We’ve just put a deposit down for a chocolate Springador (aka Labradinger) – pictured above – this is a photo of the actual litter which we’ll choose our pup. These are a cross between Labradors and Springer Spaniels. All the research we’ve done seems to suggest that she will tick all the boxes of what we’re after in a dog.

It’s funny though – paying a fair chunk of cash for what is arguably a mongrel. Some of the KC pure breed circles scoff at and scorn the idea of hybrid dogs – or ‘designer dogs’ as they are often called. There’s the Labradoodle – part Labrador, part Poodle – the temperament of a labradore that doesn’t shed hair. That’s just one example…  This great article  presents the argument of a cross breed – mainly from a working dog perspective and has some top new dog breed names, like the Hoobledoodledo,  spoodles and toodles, cockerpoos and even cockerdoodledoos.

The advantages seem to be that best of both worlds.  We’ve got 6 weeks or so to wait until we can take her but we’re pretty excited about the prospect of a new family member coming our way.