Purebred vs. Mixed Breeds
- Thread starter BudgetsDad
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I am against mixing breeds because most people do it irresponsibly - they take two breeds, mix them together, say "Oh these puppies are cute", make up a stupid "breed" name for them, and then sell them to other idiots for thousands of dollars.
I am not against mixed breed dogs - I have two of my own and they are such amazing dogs - but it is irresponsible to breed mutts. I also have a purebred dog and she is awesome as well.
I am not against mixed breed dogs - I have two of my own and they are such amazing dogs - but it is irresponsible to breed mutts. I also have a purebred dog and she is awesome as well.
i love mixed breeds, they are simply unique dogs.
what i do not agree with is breeding mixed breeds on purpose, or being irresponsible enought o let breeding "accidents" happen.
it's one thing to know what you are looking for in a dog and going through petfinder or visiting shelters/rescues to find what you want. thre are great dogs out there who aren't purebred but are just as deserving of a good home and life.
breeding mixes as "designer breeds", which seems to be all the rage these days, is irresponsible business only done to make huge profits at the expense of the animals. most of these come from puppy mills and back yard breeders, which is the worst aspect of this despicable business.
what i do not agree with is breeding mixed breeds on purpose, or being irresponsible enought o let breeding "accidents" happen.
it's one thing to know what you are looking for in a dog and going through petfinder or visiting shelters/rescues to find what you want. thre are great dogs out there who aren't purebred but are just as deserving of a good home and life.
breeding mixes as "designer breeds", which seems to be all the rage these days, is irresponsible business only done to make huge profits at the expense of the animals. most of these come from puppy mills and back yard breeders, which is the worst aspect of this despicable business.
it is correct that breeds as we know them today are the result of breeding different selected dogs to each other, but you aren't aware of one huge difference:
in the past, when people wanted to create a new breed, they had a purpose in mind and selectively bred only the best suited, healthiest individuals with the desired traits for the purpose. it takes many generations of development for a breed to "breed true", which means consistently producing dogs that are very, very similar in appearance, character traits, temperament, working ability and so on.
that's not the same like taking lab A and breeding it to poodle B to create "labradoodle" C, or breeding pug X to beagle Y to create "puggle" Z. this is strictly breeding hybrids, it has nothing whatsoever to do with developing a new breed.
in the past, when people wanted to create a new breed, they had a purpose in mind and selectively bred only the best suited, healthiest individuals with the desired traits for the purpose. it takes many generations of development for a breed to "breed true", which means consistently producing dogs that are very, very similar in appearance, character traits, temperament, working ability and so on.
that's not the same like taking lab A and breeding it to poodle B to create "labradoodle" C, or breeding pug X to beagle Y to create "puggle" Z. this is strictly breeding hybrids, it has nothing whatsoever to do with developing a new breed.
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I find this topic fascinating, so I hope you don't mind me pursuing it. So far, the only thing I can see that people can object to are the backyard breeders and puppy mills and similar situations. These of course exists for purebred and mixed breeds.
So if someone were to mix two breeds, and he/she did so responsibly and took proper care of the pups, is he/she still doing something wrong?
So if someone were to mix two breeds, and he/she did so responsibly and took proper care of the pups, is he/she still doing something wrong?
we are talking dogs here, not people.
show me where people are specifically bred to be sold or given away to people for one purpose or another and we have a debate.
dogs are bred, they don't get married. they are bred for no other purpose than to produce offspring, for whatever reason. why would you encourage anyone to purposely breed anything than healthy animals, as free of genetic defects as possible, and predictable in their temperament and needs in regards to care and training?
show me where people are specifically bred to be sold or given away to people for one purpose or another and we have a debate.
dogs are bred, they don't get married. they are bred for no other purpose than to produce offspring, for whatever reason. why would you encourage anyone to purposely breed anything than healthy animals, as free of genetic defects as possible, and predictable in their temperament and needs in regards to care and training?
I dont think anyone here (to my knowledge) has anything against mixed breed dogs, quite a few including myself have a mixed breed. I think most of us here are against intentionally mixing breeds though. if you seriously beilieve that by mixing a bloodhound with the more athletic border collie will eventually after several dozen generations, produce the best search and rescue breed the world has ever seen; and you are willing to take the amount of time, spend the amount of money, and get the number of people to help you that would be required for such an undertaking to succeed...awesome!! go for it. but most if not all of the intentional mixes today (labradoodles, alsatian shepalutes, cackapoos, etc) were a sadly succesfull attempt by a person or persons to convince others that they had created a new breed that everybody would want. they did it to make money and most have no concern for the dogs they are breeding and producing, and even less concern for all the other dogs in the world. they are feeding on the ignorance of the world, knowing that if they call it NEW or RARE then tons of people will be willing to pay large amounts for them. they arent breeding based on health or temperament and they arent placing puppies in homes based on interviews, background checks and contracts. they are placing them in the homes of anyone ignorant enough to beleive they are worth the price, hypoallergenic, superior in this way or that.
I love mixed breeds, often they are healthier than a purebred (though if you go through a good breeder and do your research you can get a very healthy purebred) and no 2 mixed breeds look alike. thats one thing I dont get...I have heard a lot of people say they want a labradoodle or maltoodle or whatever because they are different, they dont look like the Smiths lab or the Stephens rottweilers or little Sallies family german shepherd. that alone is not a justifiable reason to get a dog or pick a breed. besides, as I said no 2 mixed breeds look the same, maybe similar but less similar than 2 labs or 2 german shepherds.
you want a mixed breed? your local shelter has a bunch!
I love mixed breeds, often they are healthier than a purebred (though if you go through a good breeder and do your research you can get a very healthy purebred) and no 2 mixed breeds look alike. thats one thing I dont get...I have heard a lot of people say they want a labradoodle or maltoodle or whatever because they are different, they dont look like the Smiths lab or the Stephens rottweilers or little Sallies family german shepherd. that alone is not a justifiable reason to get a dog or pick a breed. besides, as I said no 2 mixed breeds look the same, maybe similar but less similar than 2 labs or 2 german shepherds.
you want a mixed breed? your local shelter has a bunch!
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Mordy said:
we are talking dogs here, not people.
show me where people are specifically bred to be sold or given away to people for one purpose or another and we have a debate.
dogs are bred, they don't get married. they are bred for no other purpose than to produce offspring, for whatever reason. why would you encourage anyone to purposely breed anything than healthy animals, as free of genetic defects as possible, and predictable in their temperament and needs in regards to care and training?
show me where people are specifically bred to be sold or given away to people for one purpose or another and we have a debate.
dogs are bred, they don't get married. they are bred for no other purpose than to produce offspring, for whatever reason. why would you encourage anyone to purposely breed anything than healthy animals, as free of genetic defects as possible, and predictable in their temperament and needs in regards to care and training?
Is there any scientific evidence that mixing breeds produces dogs of lower genetic quality that purebreds? In my mind that would really be the only valid reason to oppose mixing.
mixed breeds from poor quality breeding stock have the same chances to develop genetic defects as purebred dogs from poor quality breeding stock. you just have the added difficulty of not being able to predict the outcome like in a purebred dog.
the difference lies with the breeder and his or her breeding ethics. a responsible, ethical breeder will do all the necessary research and testing that is required to make sure the next generation of dogs will be as healthy as they can possibly be. making a profit from selling these puppies isn't the goal, preserving and possibly improving the breed is.
i don't know of any breeders of any of these new fad crossbreeds who go through all that trouble and spend all the money for health screening. they just take two dogs that somewhat fit the scheme, let them breed to produce puppies and sell them at grossly inflated prices to make a profit. they will sell a puppy to anyone who has enough money and will not make the commitment an ethical breeder makes - to take backthe dog at any point in time in case the new owner can't or doesn't want to keep it anymore.
if there were a breeder who actually cared about responsible, ethical breeding, he certainly wouldn't produce F1 hybrids for a mass market. he'd either dedicate his time and resources to preserve and improve an existing breed, or to actually develop a new breed for a purpose, that will breed true at some point in the future.
the difference lies with the breeder and his or her breeding ethics. a responsible, ethical breeder will do all the necessary research and testing that is required to make sure the next generation of dogs will be as healthy as they can possibly be. making a profit from selling these puppies isn't the goal, preserving and possibly improving the breed is.
i don't know of any breeders of any of these new fad crossbreeds who go through all that trouble and spend all the money for health screening. they just take two dogs that somewhat fit the scheme, let them breed to produce puppies and sell them at grossly inflated prices to make a profit. they will sell a puppy to anyone who has enough money and will not make the commitment an ethical breeder makes - to take backthe dog at any point in time in case the new owner can't or doesn't want to keep it anymore.
if there were a breeder who actually cared about responsible, ethical breeding, he certainly wouldn't produce F1 hybrids for a mass market. he'd either dedicate his time and resources to preserve and improve an existing breed, or to actually develop a new breed for a purpose, that will breed true at some point in the future.