The Truth About Mixed Breed Dogs
By Michele Welton. Copyright © 2000-2010
Mixed breed dogs tend toward the "moderate"
The extremes of temperament and behavior often seen in purebreds are less common in mixed breeds. Now, it is certainly possible for non-purebreds to be "very" energetic or "very" independent or "very" prone to chasing things. But so many purebreds were specifically BRED to have those temperaments and behaviors because they aided the breed's performance of his work (herding, hunting, guarding, sledding, etc.). Whereas in mixed breeds, extreme temperaments and behaviors are by happenstance rather than deliberate design.
Because their temperament and behavior is more middle-of-the-road and less strongly "programmed," mixed breeds tend to be more flexible. They often adjust more easily to a greater variety of households and living conditions.
Potential negative: If you want a dog with specific skills, such as herding sheep, or finding pheasants, or hunting rabbits, or guarding goats, or to compete in some specialized canine event such as schutzhund, a mixed breed is not the way to go. These are the areas where purebreds (and some specific crossbreeds) are at their very best.
Mixed breed dogs tend to be healthier
Most mixed breed dogs have good genetic diversity, i.e. their genes are unrelated and include a little of this and a little of that, which promotes overall health and vigor.
Because their genes are usually unrelated, the chances are good that the parents of a mixed breed puppy did not both have the same defective genes. It is the pairing up of the same defective genes that causes some of the worst health problems in dogs.
When left to her own devices, Mother Nature tends to make dogs moderately sized, with natural builds. In mixed breeds, you seldom find faces as short as a Pug, or bodies as long as a Dachshund or as barrel-shaped as a Bulldog, or weighing 3 pounds or 150 pounds. This is a GOOD thing, because these physical features are deformities associated with increased health problems.
Potential negative: For some inherited health problems, there are medical tests that can be done before breeding two dogs together, to make sure they don't have that particular health problem. Unfortunately, it is almost unheard of for a mixed breed dog to have even one parent who has been tested for any inherited health problem. With a mixed breed dog, you have to put your faith in his genetic diversity, rather than in medical testing.
Potential negative: Some mixed breed dogs are blends of purebreds that share similar health problems. This means the same defective gene could come over from both parents and pair up in their puppies. For example, a mixed breed puppy with Cocker Spaniel, Poodle, and Bichon Frise genes could inherit hip problems, knee problems, eye diseases, chronic ear infections, etc. -- because all of those breeds are prone to the same problems.
Mixed breed dogs are inexpensive
Many people are reluctant to spend $500 or $1000 or $1500 for a purebred dog. You can get a mixed breed dog at the animal shelter or from a classified ad in the newspaper for $50 to $100, sometimes even less.
Mixed breed dogs are unpredictable
Now, I don't mean they're unpredictable as DOGS, as though you can't tell what they're going to DO from day to day! No, no! What I mean is that you cannot look at a mixed breed puppy and predict what he will grow up to look like and act like.
Even if you THINK you see some recognizable dog breed in a mixed breed dog...you might be mistaken. There are only so many ways that canine parts CAN look. A dog doesn't have to "get" his curled tail or prick ears or golden color from some purebred. A non-purebred is entitled to the same basic canine genes and canine characteristics as a purebred is.
Even if a dog really IS a mix of purebred dogs...you can't accurately guess which ones. Genes can combine in ways that LOOK like a particular breed -- but isn't. In mixed breed dogs, what you see on the outside often doesn't reflect the true genes on the inside.
In other words, the old saying, "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck," simply doesn't hold true for mixed breed dogs.
Even if someone TELLS you which dog breeds are in there...they're often just guessing. Animal shelters and humane societies do this all the time. "Lab mix", "Terrier mix", "Husky mix". In most cases, they're mitakenly assuming that every dog MUST be a mix of some purebred, that just because a dog has some body part (size, head, color) that LOOKS like a purebred, he must BE part purebred, and that they have enough experience with all breeds to know which breeds that must be!
Even if you know FOR SURE which breeds are in him...you don't know whether those dogs were "typical" of their breed. Many purebred dogs don't look or act typical for their breed. Many Doberman Pinschers love everyone, and many Golden Retrievers are aggressive. Some Chihuahuas weigh 15 pounds. Atypical dogs can pass atypical genes on to their puppies, so just because a mixed breed puppy may have purebreds in his ancestry doesn't mean you know what those individual dogs were like, and therefore which genes they had available to pass on to their puppies.
Even if you know FOR SURE that the parents had typical genes for their breed...many of those genes will be conflicting. You don't know which of those genes will "trump" the others, or whether they will blend together to form some intermediate result.
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, "A mixed breed puppy is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
To sum up, a mixed breed dog can be a fine choice...
- if you're willing to accept whatever characteristics he grows up to have -- or if you adopt an adult so you can see what he already looks like and acts like.
- if you're willing to put your faith in his genetic diversity to help protect him against health problems, since neither of his parents was medically tested for them.
- if you don't want to pay a high purchase price.
- and if you like the idea of saving a life that no one else may want.
Everything you need to know about mixed breed dogs
 "Read this book BEFORE you get a dog. Don't make the mistakes other puppy buyers have made, or you might end up with an unhealthy, bad-tempered pet."
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In my book, How To Buy a Good Dog, I'll show you how to find a good mixed breed dog and how to determine whether he might make a good family pet.
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Read about purebred dogs.
Read about crossbred dogs.
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Copyright © 2000-2010 by Michele Welton. All rights reserved.
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