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the-times.co.uk
Toy dog raises its mating game
BY NICK NUTTALL
A CHIHUAHUA has been crossed with a labrador in an attempt to develop the perfect dog for the hard of hearing.
The excercise, carried out by a charity whose patron is the Princess Royal, has been condemned by dog lovers, including the British Chihuahua Club, as unnatural.
The mating was made possible only by balancing the male chihuahua on top of two big bags of dog biscuits so that it could reach the labrador bitch.
The six "labrahuahua" puppies, as they have been called, are now nearly five months old and will begin training in two months' time.
Lisa Wigmore, of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, where the puppies were bred, said yesterday that the labrador used in the breeding was a "small, light-boned working dog" and the chihuahua was an "oversized" one. Both the dogs belonged to members of staff at the charity's base in Lewknor, near Oxford, who had been happy for them to be mated, she said.
Hearing dogs are used to alert deaf or the hard of hearing to dangers such as traffic or to let them know that someone is at the front door. "Quite often we need small, good-natured dogs for deaf people and there was a big waiting list for them," Ms Wigmore said.
Diana Fitt-Savage, of Sandringham, Norfolk, secretary of the British Chihuaha Club, said: "It's just unnatural. One vet who heard about it told me: 'It's a wonder they didn't lose the Chihuahua.' "
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