Sport Mixes

To me, sport mixes make sense.
Back in the day, people needed/wanted dogs to herd, to guard etc.. so that's what dogs were bred for.
It only makes sense that since people have changed..what they need dogs for has changed. There is a need..the market meets that.

Many people don't NEED herding dogs anymore, they simply get herding bred dogs for herding trails.
So how is getting an agility bred dog for trails any less respectable?

As long as breeding is done responsibly (health testing etc..) and homes are available just in case for the pups that don't turn out to be sport prospects (low drive etc.).. then whatever, live and let live.
Even though I would never personally go out and get one

why is breeding for sport better than breeding for pets?

all byb crappy practices aside, if you health test and cgc dogs but only breed for pet market , why is that bad?

is companion ship not a good enough reason to breed? especially with the way "some" rescues are hell to get a dog from and the pound dogs are not for everyone. especially the pound around here , if it is not a pit x or a hunting x it is not at the pound.

forgive me but not everyone wants a pit , no matter how many rainbows shoot out there butts.

wow this kinda turned into a rant , but this has been running through my mind everytime a thread like this turns up.
why are just companion dogs looked down on?

Who's looking down on companion dogs?

Of course there are good breeders out there who breed dogs for the primary purpose of being super amazing housepets. Still a purpose-bred dogs for a particular market. And that's fine provided the breeder is also doing the basics like relevant health and temperament testing, being honest about what sort of dog she produces and trying to make the best matches, and standing by the pups for their lifetimes.

The point is that not everyone's idea of what sort of dog they want to spend their life with is the same. My idea of The Perfect Dog For Me does not invalidate someone else's, nor vice versa.

Omg...we sell these too... have you noticed the lamb meal and rice is chicken based as well?! And the same color? It irritates me to no end when I put them away haha.

Not looking down on companion dogs at all here! If a dog is bred for a purpose (yes companionship is a purpose), they fill that purpose and are bred responsibly (health tested, etc) I have no problem with it!

There are responsibly bred doodles out there that are bred just to be pets. That's awesome, I say they need to spread the word on BYB's and get more doodle breeders to follow in their paths.

LOL! I find the Lamb ones to look greyier (awesome word, right?) than the others, but I'm sure I ring people out wrong all the time with that one when they buy from the bulk bins.

They are ALL chicken based. :spam:

^ this.

Also, I think most quality breeders (in working, sport, show and other specializations) end up with quite a few puppies in the litter that make amazing pets so many people do wonder why it's necessary to have breeders breeding solely for that purpose. (although I will agree, the market for these pet pups is there)

Personally, as long as it's done responsibly (health testing, pedigrees, temperament testing, etc..) and there is a market/available good homes for the pups..I see no issue.

it does kind of concern me that there is no set guideline to what makes a breeding worthy companion dog.. the definition isn't set in stone (as drive standards, show standards etc.. are for working/sport/whatever.. dogs) so I do worry how breeders make the decisions as to which dog to breed and how do they know what "good companion" means to their clients but that once again, fits into the being a good breeder regardless of market, thing. and not being affected by kennel blindness, which is a problem regardless as to what KIND of breeder.

I, personally, prefer breeders that do more. To me, being a generally good companion to the breeder is a GIVEN for any dog they are living with lol and I NEED to see PROOF of that in terms of being a therapy dog, obedience trails, rally etc.. then just taking a breeders word for it.

Because all they're creating is mutts...which shelters are full of.

So, you're trying to tell me that these "breeders" will only place these dogs with an owner that does sports? What a load of crap...there are poor, unsuspecting families out there that these "breeders" are selling pups to that end up with a crazy, high energy, driven dog that they can't handle.
The dog then ends up in a shelter.

It's ridiculous to try to compare these sport mix breeders with reputable pure breed breeders.

Becuase they're breeding mutts and charging an arm and a leg for them.

Shelters, around here anyway, also have quite a lot of purebreds. Your point?

Unless your whole issue is that mutts are automatically and without exception inferior to purebreds. To which I say, emphatically, bologna.

Oh so if they give the little mutts away, regardless of the cost of health testing and proving out the parents (competing in performance events, by the way? NOT cheap) then it's more acceptable?

Nope, that is not my point at all.
Mutts are not inferior to purebreds.
BUT-there are hundred of thousands of mutts sitting in shelters.....and these breeders are purposely breeding mutts and selling them for big bucks.
I find that ridiculous.

Nope, it's unacceptable that they're breeding them in the first place.

Shelters are full of purebred dogs too. Most people looking for performance dogs are looking for a type and temperament. Knowing that a dog is say, a borderjack, versus a random mix you're more likely to get a dog you want/need. If I wanted to get a serious sportdog I would not chance it on a mystery mutt from the shelter.

Okay so twice now the issue has been that they are breeding them and charging big bucks/an arm and a leg for them and now you are saying the price is irrelevant.

And you're sorta kinda totally missing the point that the people who buy dogs for a very specific purpose like sports are not buying the dog because he's a mutt or a purebred but because they are going to invest years and a great time of money into this dog and want to stack the odds in the favor for getting the type of dog they are looking for...a dog whose health is likely to be good, whose body is up to the physical rigors of the sport, and who's mind is most likely the kind that needs, wants, and loves the sort of partnership that excelling requires.

Because working with a dog who loves what he's doing as much as you do and who can physically excel at the same time is the height of joy for many serious competitors.

Most dogs in most shelters are not going to love being in this sort of house, and these people are not going to enjoy your everyday companion dog.

And this is a very, very small niche in the pet owner market. There's a reason that decent "sport mix" breeders can be counted on one or two hands. Not like these dogs are being produced hand over fist.

But when you mix two different breeds of dogs together....NO, you still dont know what you are getting. You cant just pick Oh I want the drive of this breed and the speed of this breed, etc. It would take generations of picking and breeding for certain attributes to get that stable.

The cards will be more stacked in your favor. Chances are if you bred a Border Collie and JRT you'd have a high energy dog, vs going with a Border Collie and mystery dog from a shelter.

Mutts with known background, health, ability and temperment. The stacked odds of sounds body able to hold up to sport work (and keep them intact to aid in that) and breeder support. Sorry, can't find that always in a shelter.

Again, there is a void and did are filling it. Most people aren't right for a BC, a lab, a Mal and they still end up in the wrong homes. That doesn't mean the breed is wrong and they shouldn't be breed.

Do you have an issue with hunting mixes or herding mixes?

So what about all the pups in the litter that dont have speed, or drive, or energy. The ones where the mix did not produce a good sport dog? Then you have a bunch of mutts taking up more homes (or getting dumped into shelters).

And I LOVE mutts, but no, not ok to breed them purposely in my book. I know sports are fun, but we are not talking livelihood here. There are PLENTY of dogs that are already great at sports and there is no reason the breeds already highly involved couldnt be streamlined more towards that aspect. These mixes are all over the place, meaning its not as if some people are working towards a common goal and standard/purpose.