Letting the Designer Dogs Out

	Puggle

If you have the latest gadget, the hottest car and the best restaurant reservation in town, chances are you also have your eye on this season's trendiest accessory -- the designer dog.

Singer Jessica Simpson totes hers around in a Louis Vuitton bag; actor James Gandolfini has a pint-sized pup, too.

"Any dog that costs upwards of $2000 is going to cause a considerable stir among those who look for trendy things," says Maggie Bonham, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Designer Dogs.

While mixed-breeds have been around forever -- usually the result of random couplings -- breeders are now intentionally producing mixed-breed puppies, marketing them as designer dogs and selling them for thousands of dollars.

These designer dogs are startlingly popular, according to the American Canine Hybrid Club, the designer-dog world's answer to the American Kennel Club.

The club is registering about 500 litters of designer dogs a month, more than double the number of litters it was registering just more than a year ago. ...