I like dogs. Actually I love dogs. I love it when I come home and they have not a care in the world except to tell me how much the love me. I love it that no matter how late it is or how early in the morning, dogs are always in a good mood. Since I like dogs so much I have ended up getting four. Yes you read that correctly, I have four dogs. A common claim of fact that I have heard for years is that pure breed dogs are better because they are smarter, healthier, better tempered and the list will go on. In the last 5 years or so I have heard the exact opposite. So there has to be some kind of fact information for each. Which is true? Why was one claim made if it was not true? I guess I will find out.
I read a few different websites and seem to find the same information on a couple and conflicting information on another. I looked at the purpose of the third website and it was geared toward selling pure breed dogs so I gathered that it was probably biased. Here is the rundown of what I found. In a purebred dog you get a better idea what you are getting into. Many of their genes are "fixed," as in "no options." Size, temperament, color, shape, behavior, and lifespan are all much more known factors in a purebred dog rather than in a non purebred. When you see a purebred puppy, you have a pretty good idea of what he will look like as an adult. If you want a certain size dog, or a certain type of coat (short, silky, non-shedding), you can choose a purebred who has those characteristics. Be prepared for variations within a breed. In many breeds there are different types, which look very different from each other. You can't look at a few photos of a breed and assume that all members of the breed look like that. With some breeds, you have to know what type you want. The breeder matters. Only skilled breeders with some knowledge of genetics can predict how one dog's genes will combine with another dog's genes, and thus, what the puppies should turn out to look like.If you really want your dog to look a certain way, you have to search for breeders who have proven they can consistently produce such dogs. I also found that Purebreds are prone to health problems. Over 300 genetic health defects have been documented in dogs, and in many purebreds, the incidence of defects is extremely high. Reasons for this include:A limited and closed gene pool. Most breeds were built on relatively few founding dogs, so the same sets of genes have been reproduced over and over since the breed began. Another reason is the breeding of dogs to a detailed standard of appearance. Show breeders seek to produce dogs who match a written Standard of Conformation (for example, eyes a certain shape). To get these details right, show breeders limit the gene pool even more by rejecting breeding stock who might be healthy and good-tempered, but who can't "deliver" in eye shape. Also, breeding the same champion dogs over and over. This floods the breed not only with the same sets of good genes, but also with the same sets of bad genes. Another point about purebreds are the price. Purebred dogs are expensive: $500, $800, $1000! In some breeds, certain health disorders are a virtual epidemic and you are taking a much greater risk if you acquire a dog whose parents weren't officially tested and declared free of these specific disorders. In other breeds, the risk is much less.
Mix breed or “mut” dogs are not necessarily a mix of purebreds. The phrase "My dog's a Shepherd-Husky," is only true if the dog is the offspring of a purebred German Shepherd and a purebred Siberian Husky. Most are not. They are mixes of dogs… just dogs. I know I thought that my dog Kemper was a Lab and Australian Shepard mix until tonight. I guess I didn’t really think about the fact that her parents were street dogs. Lesson learned that even if you THINK you see some recognizable breed in a non-purebred dog... Your probably wrong. There are only so many different ways a dog can look, just like people, so many dogs will look like a lab, or Shepard or any other “purebred”. The extremes of temperament and behavior often seen in purebreds are less common in non-purebreds. Because their temperament and behavior is more middle-of-the-road and less strongly "programmed," non-purebreds tend to be more flexible. They often adjust more easily to a greater variety of households and living conditions. So…. Is my dog healthier if it is a purebred or not? Most non-purebreds have good genetic diversity, i.e. their genes are unrelated and include a little of this and a little of that, which tends to promote 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.
I read a few different websites and seem to find the same information on a couple and conflicting information on another. I looked at the purpose of the third website and it was geared toward selling pure breed dogs so I gathered that it was probably biased. Here is the rundown of what I found. In a purebred dog you get a better idea what you are getting into. Many of their genes are "fixed," as in "no options." Size, temperament, color, shape, behavior, and lifespan are all much more known factors in a purebred dog rather than in a non purebred. When you see a purebred puppy, you have a pretty good idea of what he will look like as an adult. If you want a certain size dog, or a certain type of coat (short, silky, non-shedding), you can choose a purebred who has those characteristics. Be prepared for variations within a breed. In many breeds there are different types, which look very different from each other. You can't look at a few photos of a breed and assume that all members of the breed look like that. With some breeds, you have to know what type you want. The breeder matters. Only skilled breeders with some knowledge of genetics can predict how one dog's genes will combine with another dog's genes, and thus, what the puppies should turn out to look like.If you really want your dog to look a certain way, you have to search for breeders who have proven they can consistently produce such dogs. I also found that Purebreds are prone to health problems. Over 300 genetic health defects have been documented in dogs, and in many purebreds, the incidence of defects is extremely high. Reasons for this include:A limited and closed gene pool. Most breeds were built on relatively few founding dogs, so the same sets of genes have been reproduced over and over since the breed began. Another reason is the breeding of dogs to a detailed standard of appearance. Show breeders seek to produce dogs who match a written Standard of Conformation (for example, eyes a certain shape). To get these details right, show breeders limit the gene pool even more by rejecting breeding stock who might be healthy and good-tempered, but who can't "deliver" in eye shape. Also, breeding the same champion dogs over and over. This floods the breed not only with the same sets of good genes, but also with the same sets of bad genes. Another point about purebreds are the price. Purebred dogs are expensive: $500, $800, $1000! In some breeds, certain health disorders are a virtual epidemic and you are taking a much greater risk if you acquire a dog whose parents weren't officially tested and declared free of these specific disorders. In other breeds, the risk is much less.
Mix breed or “mut” dogs are not necessarily a mix of purebreds. The phrase "My dog's a Shepherd-Husky," is only true if the dog is the offspring of a purebred German Shepherd and a purebred Siberian Husky. Most are not. They are mixes of dogs… just dogs. I know I thought that my dog Kemper was a Lab and Australian Shepard mix until tonight. I guess I didn’t really think about the fact that her parents were street dogs. Lesson learned that even if you THINK you see some recognizable breed in a non-purebred dog... Your probably wrong. There are only so many different ways a dog can look, just like people, so many dogs will look like a lab, or Shepard or any other “purebred”. The extremes of temperament and behavior often seen in purebreds are less common in non-purebreds. Because their temperament and behavior is more middle-of-the-road and less strongly "programmed," non-purebreds tend to be more flexible. They often adjust more easily to a greater variety of households and living conditions. So…. Is my dog healthier if it is a purebred or not? Most non-purebreds have good genetic diversity, i.e. their genes are unrelated and include a little of this and a little of that, which tends to promote 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.
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