How come? *mutts vs. purebred*?

Question

Why does it seem like purebreds are soooo much harder to breed than mutts? I hear people talking about medical bills when it comes to birthing baby purebreds, but I have a few friends who have had accidents with their dogs and wound up with perfectly healthy mutt litters. Shouldn't the expensive purebreds birth easier than an untracable mutt, I mean, if they're soooo much better.

*I'm not for breeding mutts, I'm not for breeding purebreds, I'm for breeding pets, and the only perk to purebreds is you know what you'll get, and you almost know there will be problems with the birth, at least that's what everyone trying to justify $1000+ puppies seems to think. Prove me wrong, but don't put me down for asking a question. I'm not a breeder, nor do I want to be, and if I did, I wouldn't post it on here because there are so many pricks about. But explain why a small breed mutt births more *8pups* and easier than a small purebred who needs c-sections and has a max of 4 pups?*

I beleive in mutts, and shelters are awesome. But this time around, I want the dog I end up with to be exactly what I want, and first off I'm not going to get an intact small breed puppy at a shelter in the area I live in, or even in most neighboring cities.
On a note of proving myself wrong on shelters never having small breeds, there was a Chinese Crested at one shelter, and she was gorgeous, but not a puppy and not intact. Also she only had hair on her head and feet. I'm in the market for a dog that had the potential to double as a pompom.
As for my desire for a dog that is unaltered? Why fix what is not broken, and if shelter dogs make the best pets, wouldn't two make awesome and wonderful pups, assuming the dam and sire had a clean bill of health in all aspects? I don't want to breed, but how would you feel if we started "fixing" the men and women of China? They'r overpopulated over there. Does that make it right?
Just a little something to chew on, take it or leave it.

As a final note while picking a best answer, when looking for a dog to show, by all means sacrifice funtion for form and get a pup bred from perfect standards. Perfect purebreds are only good in one place, and that is in shows. The rest of us should have healthier puppies availible to us and not be ridiculed for thinking that an "imperfect" pup will do just fine as a family pet. Besides, not every pup borne of champion lineage goes on to be a show dog, and many wind up in the hands of people who only want a pet but must pay a big price for reasons they don't much care about.
We should breed for healthy dogs, not perfect dogs in shape and size. At least, there should be true pet quality purebreds availible for prices that don't include things that the buyer couldn't care less about *weather or not the mother/father were champions in anything*

Answer 1

I think that serious purebred breeders are more willing to spend the money. If my girl has a stuck puppy, I'm not going to take any chances, she's off to the vet. If a puppy is not doing well, I'm not going to "wait and see" or "let nature take it's course". We check and test our girls before breeding, we give them special food and care.

You just don't hear about all the mutts that had a litter "under the shed" and the pups and/or mother died because nobody really cared. You don't hear about the pets that died of complications because their owners had left them alone to whelp. You don't hear about the puppies and dams that didn't make it because their owner was too cheap to take them to the vet at the first sign of trouble.

Of course, the other reason is just plain Murphy's Law. It's a common joke among breeders that if you have carefully planned a breeding, and gone to lots of trouble and expense, either your bi tch won't take or she'll have one puppy. But let her be bred accidentally to the wrong dog, she'll have 15 pups every time......

Answer 2

It is not that breeding purebreds is "hard", it is that breeding purebred RIGHT is costly and time comsuming. Making sure the parents are healthy and excellent examples of the breed costs money and takes time. Making sure you are breeding the right bit ch to the right dog can be costly. Many times, they both live on opposite sides of the country!!! My dog have no problem with the birth. Some breeds do because of their conformation. You will find it hard to come up with a Bulldog that whelps naturally, due to their LARGE head size. Therefore, they need c-sections. Any many times they need to be artificailly bred too....and that costs money also. Bulldogs do not usually have large litters, so the price in a puppy is reflective of the costs incurred. That is just the way it is.
If I do all the health clearances on my dogs,feed good food, get good vet care, get titles on the dogs, test the puppies for temperment, and all the other things GOOD breeders do...the puppies will cost something. Also, a "higher" price for a puppy weeds out some of the people that get the puppy for the wrong reasons and makes screening people easier.
You may have a few friends that had "healthy litter", but does anyone know about the health down the road??? Like the age when hip dysplasia and luxating patells set in????? Probably not. So you cannot say that these puppies are healthier at all. So far, after 5 litters..I have had NO dogs with problems. So it is not a "given" at all. That is a MYTH. And ease of giving birth is pretty breed dependent. Most breeds give birth just fine!!! And I have actually known several MUTT litter that had to be delivered by c-section!!!!

They spay and neuter shelter dogs so more they don't end up being puppy machines for total idiots. Why breed dogs whose backgrounds cannot be checked. Just because a dog is an "awsome shelter dog" does not make it a good breeding prospect. Clearly, you know NOTHING about breeding. And there are situations where human birth control or sterilization would be a good idea. However, MOST people have cantrol. Animals are driven by instinct and will reproduce with any thing of their species. They have no judgement in that area. In China, when told couples could only have 1 child or face jail...most all managed to do that. It is self control.

Answer 3

Mutts Vs Purebred

Answer 4

Purebreds as been bred sometimes back to sublings or son to mother or father to dauhter. There is more chance of gentic defects to show up becasue the gene pool is small. Mutts have a wider gene pool it is less likely for the defects to come out. I have had both mutts and purebreds with the expection of my pit all of the purebreds as had something wrong. The purebreds I have had were all bred from show stock so I do not think it is any better than someone breeding just to get puppies. I would never pay $1000 for any dog no matter what it was. I work for a vet that gave away his purbred blue ticks becasue he wanted people to have dogs. I know breeders that will give two or three puppies to families who could not afford them, why, they are doing it for the love of thier breed and want people to have pets.

Answer 5

Some PB's structure is extreme, (especially brachiocephalic breeds), in comparison to a generic mutt.

My breed rarely needs a section, and many other PB's are the same way, and I will sell a pup for considerably less then $1000, if its the right home.

PB's will always cost more in medical bills, because many breeders pay stud fees, show costs, do health testing, check ups for the dam and then also the pups...

Most mutt breeders do no such things. How many mutts do you know that had hips/elbows/eyes/hearing/heart/brucellosis checks?

ANYONE can throw a couple dogs together with no thought or planning, hope for the best, and get lucky. But some of us put endless hours into planning, breeding, and caring for a litter. We take PRIDE in healthy, typey dogs with the proper temperment.


Bullypup - "I am not a fan of AKC bred dogs because they are never breeding for temperament"

NEVER??? This is plain and simply NOT TRUE! Sure, there are breeders who don't care about temperment, just as some don't care about physical soundness. But there are ALSO breeders that do! It just might take a little EFFORT to find them.

Answer 6

I have been breeding Jack Russels for 6 years I have not yet had a birth problem. I have had 1 still born pup and 3 that have died with in the next day. that is out of 22 pups. one Jack had a litter of 8 and they were all fine, but Jacks are good whelpers so rarely have problems not lick say a bull dog. Pure breds and mutts have places in my life mutts make great family dogs but should never be called a breed eg designer dogs --spoodles puggles. designer dog sare a way for people to make a buck out ogf mongrels1! Purebreds have bring lots of joy to people that spend time to show them and breed and nuture them. They are walking history. Pure breds have certain traits to make choosing them for the job easier.

Answer 7

Well usually with 'mutts' the hereditary genes give them a more capable reproductive tract. Meaning if a female gives birth she'd maybe have a better chance at breeding if she were a 'mutt'. Purbreeds have more trouble since they have a particular body structure that can tend to give them problems. Take Pure Bred bulldogs, Females can only have about 3-4 puppy's if lucky. Usually 1 or 2 won't survive because the labor is to long and dangerous for the puppy's to live. If the bulldog was maybe mixed with a bigger breed most likely the breeding would tend to be better. <- But that's just my example. XD
Simply genetics, and body structures....

Answer 8

It's genetics pure and simple... in order to keep physical conformity in purebreds they are basically constantly inbred to members of their own line. Anytime there is inbreeding there will be problems... this is why it is illegal to marry within your family including cousins... offspring would have much higher chances of mental retardation and other physical problems. This is true in any species. It is always better to open the genetic pool than close it.

Personally I am not a fan of AKC bred dogs because they are never breeding for temperament, simply for physical conformity with all the problems that accompany it. Prime example is the English Bulldog that used to be a stocky, yet agile and athletic dog... but now the breed is frought with overweight, snarfling, hip dysplasia and breathing problems not to mention temperament problems too.

When I look for a dog, I always first look at shelters because there are simply too many good dogs out there that need homes and especially if you get an adult they will also have been temperament tested (if you go to a good shelter/rescue organization). But if I am going to go to a breeder, I would look for a breeder that is not breeding to make money, but a breeder that is breeding to improve the breed temperament-wise and physically.

Answer 9

Not all purebred dogs have problems whelping and not all mixes have easy whelping.
Believe me just as many mixes have whelping issues as purebreds do..they are just as prone to emergency c-sections, mastitis, etc.
A mix also doesn't tend to have any more pups per litter then a purebred does. Small dogs of any breed/mix average @ 4-6 pups per litter while large/giant breeds/mixes average 8- 10 per litter.

Purebreds bred by RESPONSIBLE breeders are bred for health, temperament, longevity as well as breed standard. In other words they are bred for the entire package not just bits & pieces.

Answer 10

Ha Ha Ha I love your question! Its true. And for some reason, purebreds get into accidents more often. They will run out into the road and get killed not long after you got them paid off. Mutts that you get free, seem to stay out of trouble and live longer.