why do cross breed dogs live longer than purebreeds????

Answer 1

Muts live longer because they are not prone to the same disease as a pure breds. They are not surcum to the steriotype tendancies of a particular breed...even mixed. Muts tend to take the best of both and in doing so are much happier animals....and in my opinion are happier in general. Better attitudes better tempers. Maybe because they need to adapt, not sure but they tend to look at life like every day is their last. Given a good home, they are more protective, more loving and more grateful that a pure breed. NOT sure why. I have raised many different pure breads and Iwill take my muts over the pure breads anyday

Answer 2

I'd recommend going to a shelter and adopting a dog first off. Those dogs have a lot to offer and a lot of love to give and you'd be saving a life. If you feel comfortable adopting a Chihuahua, go for it. Not all Chihuahuas are "yappy"-they really are sweet dogs and live a long time. There are also TONS of them in shelters. I personally find that Dachshunds are great dogs that fit into all of the qualities that you want. The thing with Dachshunds is you can't let them jump or climb a lot and you have to watch out for their backs. Consider a mixed breed too because those are great dogs and lots of dogs are mixed with Chihuahua. There are usually more short haired in shelters, but you can find long haired, so I'm not sure which one you should get there. Good luck finding a long time friend!

Answer 3

Um, they don't.

Many small breeds live larger than giant breeds which may have given you this mistaken impression as many mixes are "poo" dogs. (thispoos and thatpoos)

My purebred dog has many 15 year old relatives and one that made it to 17---and he is NOT from a small breed with an expected lifespan of 15+ years.

My mix died at age 13. He had bad hips and a host of other health problems thanks to the genetic legacy created by crossing a purebred lab and a G shepherd/Doberman mix.

The notion that two dogs randomly mating will produce healthier pups than 2 dogs with health clearances, good temperaments and sound bodies is an incorrect notion.

Answer 4

Purebreds that aren't from a reputable dealer who screens both parents carefully wind up with health problems like joint damage, infections, tumors, so on and so forth that comes from massive inbreeding. Some breeds, like German Shepards suffer chronically from the results of inbreeding and tend towards hip, joint, and blood disorders. Careful breeders don't want to sell you an animal that will have these problems, but you probably have to pay more, so people wind up buying cheap animals from bad dealers.

Also, mixed breed dogs tend towards the small to mid sized range, and smaller dogs tend to live longer than large breed dogs.

Answer 5

Here is where the problem is with your thinking.
When was the last time you have heard of a cross breed dog that has had it's hips certified??? When was the last time you heard of one with CERF certification???? Shall I go on???? Just because health problems in mixbreed dogs go unreported doesn't in any way imply that they don't have health problems, it just means they go unreported so there are no stats to draw from.

QUOTE
"Cross breeds live longer because they have different genes in them example"
That is absolutely not true, every dog of every breed has exactly the same gene locations, otherwise a mixbreed would be sterile like Mules are.

Answer 6

They don't, the oldest dog that I know is a purebred Dachshund that is 18. The oldest dog on record is an Australian Cattle Dog (purebred) that lived to 29 years and 5 months before it was put to sleep.

There is theory that crossing causes "hybrid vigor" but that does not always apply. If there is a mix of breeds that have similar heath problems (like crossing labs and poodles, both of which have joint, eye, and seizure problems) you can actually get a sicker dog.

Also, many of the "designer breeds" are being horribly inbred. BYW: AKC regulates how close of a breeding you can do, if you breed mother/son, father/daughter, or brother/sister the puppies cannot be registered.

Answer 7

It's a matter of genetics. Because they have genetic material from several different kinds of donors, the mutts have a greater variance of immunity to some forms of disease and defects than purebreds (which have a very limited gene pool, needed in order to keep the breed "pure"). For example, if a (hypothetical) virus was developed and focused to kill Chihuahuas -- the pure bred Chi's would be more suceptible to that virus than a half-breed Chi whose non-Chi genes wouldn't be recognized by the virus...

However, other factors figure in to the longevity of dogs: over all care, exercise, diet, safety, etc.

Answer 8

Nicely I'm a boy but I believe on us boys, short hair will be always better. Long hair doesn't CONSTANTLY show a sign of dominance. A person see most other guys with lengthy hair that doesn't look like they will can fight. For example there is a boy in my school with very long blonde hair.

Answer 9

Lifespan isn't as simple as that, so it's not true. Breeders of mixed dogs will tell you about "hybrid vigor", but all dogs are canis lupus and breeding the same species doesn't make a hybrid. A hybrid is the breeding of two different species and they do have problems. Hybrid vigor is a MYTH.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/NoPuppyMillsVA/Poo-dogs___Designer_Mutts/poo-dogs___designer_mutts.html

http://www.westwinddogtraining.com/hybridvigor.pdf (PDF)

Answer 10

Cross breed dogs live longer because they have been bred with defects like heart problems and hip problems in mind. Purebreeds like golden retriever have hip displasia, which cannot be avoided. The kennel clubs bred the dogs for show, not health. But the mongrel has the Least health problems, hence live longer. They may look plain but they are found to be more affectionate and stronger than purebreeds. Crossbreeds are a good option too.

Answer 11

Where do you get your info? I know of lots of chihuahuas that have lived to be over 20, some over 25. Smaller dogs live longer than large ones.