"Designer breed" = mutt for which one is being charged too much money, usually bred by someone who doesn't care about the quality or health of the pups.

That's why the "ugh."

But what someone else labels a "designer breed" is sometimes just an accidental breeding, not an intentional money-maker.

Could my big brother's dog be labeled a designer breed, if someone pretended they wanted a "vanilla husky" so intentionally bred a yellow Lab with a husky? Sure, but Nilla is just Nilla, the former pound pup with goofy ears.