Do you think mutts are healthier than purebreds?

Question

Why do so many people post this myth? If that were true, Americans with our mixed ancestory 'melting pot' of genes should have no cancer, diabetes, arthritis, epilepsy, osteoporosis, etc. & yet we do...and so do mutt dogs!
When I worked for vets, at least it was predictable what health problems a dog may face by breed, and good breeders would screen to eliminate genetic defects from the gene pool. This is the reality: mutts have health problems as much as purebreds - they are just more random & therefore less predictable. That can actually be more of a problem, FYI.

I suppose I am just venting & trying to educate those that keep repeating this myth...I have owned owned mutts & purebreds & loved them all, but I get annoyed when someone asks about getting a specific breed on here & many people chastise them for not 'saving a shelter mutt' & use this myth as an arguement, too. If I like a Boxer's personality, a Beagle/Cocker Spaniel/Labrador Retriever mix is not going to meet my expectations. Everyone should be allowed to chose what breed (or mutt) they want without the critisism.

ADD: They should be allowed to choose mutts already here - NOT breed or buy 'puggles' 'labradoodles', or any other 'designer dog' AKA "mutts for money' - how sleazy & just wrong when mutts are being put down in shelters!

Answer 1

You got that right!

It is ignorance of genetics and the inheritability of traits that perpetuates the myth.

If you take a GSD with the gene for hip dysplasia and breed it to a Lab with the gene for dysplasia and get a GDS/Lab that puppy will most likely carry the gene and quite likely express the gene ie: turn out to be dysplastic.

By the time you get a couple of generations of half this and mixed that, it is hard to tell that maybe the dog is suffering from this or that problem that is usually predominate in one breed of another and showed up in a dog that doesn't look like it is even related to that breed

Answer 2

I agree with you in the regard that mutts can have just as many health problems as purebreds. I do think that they can also be healthier...it just depends on the purebred dog. here's what I think: There are actually two types of purebred dogs...those that come from backyard breeders, puppymills and otherwise irresponsible people who take two 'registered' dogs and let them mate.

And then there are the REAL purebred dogs. These are the dogs that are bred by individuals who do very careful research regarding personality and pedigree to determine which two dogs to breed. These are also individuals that select against genetic defects and faults. These dogs are used in performance and conformation events to prove that they look like they were intended and they can perform the tasks they were intended to do. These 'real' purebred dogs are incredibly healthy as breeders to everything they can to ensure this...not only that but they typically come with a health guarantee and the breeder will take the dog back for any reason at any time. Responsible breeders to NOT inbreed, this is a totally different concept than linebreeding...

Unfortunately, these kinds of purebred dogs are much less common than the backyard, puppymill bred dogs. And it is the backyard, puppymill type pure bred dogs that most people are familiar with and that are the unhealthiest of them all because people only breed them to make money and do not carefully select the dogs with the best temperaments and best health. These are the dogs that are likely inbred!

Because most mutts are left to breed on there own, with no human influences, it's more of a game of chance whether the dog will be healthy, and due to the law of genetics and pressures of survival, most mutts are, in fact, healthy. This doesn't mean, however, that it will never happen that an unhealthy mutt will live long enough to breed with another unhealthy mutt.

As to providing advice in this forum against getting a purebred dog. Personally, I would advise anyone against a purebred dog unless I were sure they were going to invest in buying that dog from the most reputable breeder. However, what is more typical is that someone gets convinced they want a certain breed (based on breed standards etc) and they buy that breed from a backyard breeder or the pet store and they end up with a very unhealthy puppy that exhibits none of the characteristics of the breed. It is these instances which perpetuate the myth of unhealthy purbred dogs. Whenever I advise someone wanting a purebred dog as a I pet, I'm always careful to educate them on the large number of breed rescues however. This way, if someone is convinced of a certain breed, they can still provide a deserving dog a home.

Answer 3

So what do you want to know!?

Because from what I read you have your own opinion already!
And with all of my experience I have never heard anyone say that "mutts are healthier than purebreds", was a FACT!

Nothing in life is that easy!

I think people post this "MYTH" because people look for quick and easy resolutions.
Some breeding programs have been found to cause diseases... But a persons lineage can be traced to conclude the same thing.

Purebreds just have closely monitored bloodlines. Therefore when problems arise they are published quicker.

Answer 4

In the past 23 years of breeding one breed, I have produced 4 with genetic defects.. How do I know? I follow up every puppy..
I never re-mate the pair that produced any inheritable defects..I'm betting that there are few mutts with a similar 'clean' background.
I'm also betting that you can't get an unconditional health guarantee from any source of mutt puppies...
I do have a 7 year old mutt..She is every bit as valuable to me as any of my purebreds, and very healthy...but then, so are my purebreds..

Answer 5

"Purebreed" is just another word for "highly inbred". As far as GENETIC diseases go, mutts are generally healthier. In back-breeding, breeding a dog to another closely related dog, with the purpose of retaining a certain trait, a breeder is also uncovering genetic defects that are normally covered up when interbreeding.

The same thing can happen with humans too, but if the "breeding pool" is even over 500 or so, you can still maintain a healthy genetic makeup. When you start cutting that back even more, as they did in royal dynasties of europe (royal family members only married other royalty, who, in turn, tended to be second or third cousins anyway), you start seeing genetic defects cropping up (hemophilia was a biggy).

Answer 6

We are all going to die of something. If we do not get cancer our heart will fail at some point. Along the way to a death that averages far beyond the average for thirty thousand years ago we are going to get some age related disease.

The only advantage to knowing what disease the animal will succumb to first is knowing what defects are common to the breed because recessive traits cannot be screened out until you know your breeder is a carrier.

Mutts probably live longer than purebred dogs. Purebred dogs are inbred dogs. If they live longer it does not mean they do not eventually die. They are generally healthier. They lived longer.

Large breed dogs die sooner than the more average size dogs. They are larger but not healthier.

Answer 7

You know what, I do think that the mixed breeds can be more healthy then a pure breed. My Mom had a few childhood dogs. One a mixed breed, as was a healthy guy the next one was a pure breed. Not so healthy later on in life. And her other also a mixed breed. He lived a nice long healthy life.

Also my dog was a pure breed. He did live for a long time. But maybe if he was a mixed breed he wouldn't have died the way he did. I now have 2 mixed breeds and they are very healthy and great. They are only about 2 and 3 years. So that could change in time.

But I do think that the mixed breeds are more healthy than the pure breeds.

Answer 8

I can tell you from years of experience that mixes aren't any healthier then a purebred. Purebreds appear to have more health problems simply because there are so many illbred, BYB/mill dogs out there. I can tell you though that mixes get hip/elbow dysplasia, heart disease, thyroid disease, kidney disease,cancers, etc just as often as purebreds do.

Answer 9

Not just"No." but "HEL* NO!!!"

....but then I'm not an ignorant SHEEP-LKE *IDIOT* like most people are.

Funny,they NEVER stop to think (well,they neverTHINK at ALL!)
that the people who are saying such *CRAP* are the ones w/the shi*-pile of MUTTS/MONGRELS to GET RID OF!!!

DUH???

Answer 10

I think you answered your own question.