Is it true that mixed breeds are the fittest, strongest and most intelligent dogs?

Question

aka mutts

Answer 1

Not necessarily. While it is true that mutts of unknown history are less prone to specific health problems than a purebred...this doesn't mean that they don't get these health problems. Mostly it means that you have absolutely no idea what health problems are likely to pop up. Having worked at a vet clinic I have seen just as many mutts with joint issues, kidney/liver issues, congestive heart failure, and cancer as purebreds. And the "designer" mixes (labradoodles, whatever-poos, etc) are just as prone to health problems as they are often a combination of breeds with similar or even identical genetic health issues. Not to mention that a responsible breeder who spends hundreds of dollars doing health clearances on all of their breeding dogs and refuses to breed animals with a history of health issues in their lines are probably not going to be any more likely than random dogs who meet in the street who may or may not be carrying gentically inherited health issues.

Answer 2

But the Catch Is… Not all outbreeding creates heterosity. In fact, in some cases, the opposite can occur. When offspring resulting from crossbreeding are inferior to their parents, outbreeding depression has resulted from the pairing. You may be familiar with a similar term, inbreeding depression, which describes the undesirable results of breeding between closely related individuals. Close inbreeding is more damaging in general than outbreeding or crossbreeding, but both types of breeding can have unpleasant and unwanted results. Outbreeding depression can happen when a crossbreeding causes the loss of desirable recessive traits, or if two individuals who are very physically different are paired and resulting offspring receive incompatible traits from each parent. For example, if a Basset Hound were to be bred to a Mastiff, the resulting puppies could end up with traits predisposing them to serious health problems. If the Basset passed on its long back but the Mastiff passed on long legs and a deep barrel chest, the resulting puppies would be likely to suffer from slipped disks and other serious back problems. Another factor working against the claim that mutts are healthier is a lack of record-keeping. Most mutts don’t come from bloodlines where careful track is kept of the health of every dog in the line. Purebreds may have more known health problems in their background, but sometimes this is only because better records have been kept. So How Can You Choose a Healthy Dog? No dog is guaranteed to be healthy for life. The most conscientious breeder could produce a dog that lives a short and unhappy life due to congenital or hereditary defects, and a shelter dog with no known family history might live 20 healthy years. However, either mutts or purebred dogs can be healthy, happy pets who live long lives. Here are a few tips for maximizing your chances of owning a healthy dog: * If choosing a purebred, choose a breeder who does all possible health testing for the breed, and who will tell you honestly what hereditary defects are present in the lines from which you’re considering purchasing a pup. No line is perfectly healthy, so if a breeder tells you there are no problems whatsoever, walk away. * If adopting a shelter dog, choose a pooch whose temperament, size, activity level, and coat type seem to suit your family. Once you’ve found a dog who’d fit in with your lifestyle, check with the shelter to see if he has any known health problems. If you have a friend who is a vet tech or veterinarian, see if they’ll take a look at the dog before you adopt. After that, it’s a grab bag– but don’t let that discourage you; you’re playing the lottery every time you adopt a pet, no matter where you get it. Any dog can get sick. * Practice good preventive care. Brush your dog’s teeth or feed raw meaty bones for dental hygiene. Make an informed decision about diet and vaccinations. Get annual bloodwork done to nip organ failure in the bud. Take your dog for twice-yearly checkups, whether he needs it or not.

Answer 3

No. It depends on the dog. I had a akita/chow mix with maybe some shep thrown in for good measure and he had severe health issues. Purebred or mix has nothing to do with it. If a purebred dog is bred for health and sound temperment then it can be outstandingly health & smart. Alot of the reason there are unhealthy ill-tempered "purebreds" out there is because of back yard breeders who don't have a clue what their doing, and bad breeders.

This is not to say that mutts are in anyway not healthy or stupid. Far from it (Benji was a mutt!) It depends on the INDIVIDUAL dog, its parents (if they had genetic problems wherether pure or not they can & will pass it onto future generations) and the dogs upbringing.

Answer 4

Not really. The biggest problems with single or even second generation mutts is that they typically come from low quality breeding stock - dogs that should not have been bred. These dogs can have congenital, heritable defects like hip dysplasia, heart problems, thyroid problems, alopecia, etc. Here's the breakdown to make it easier:

Low quality dog is bred in puppy mill
Dog has hip dysplasia but is never tested because puppy mills want to make money, not spend it on testing.
The HD is passed onto the puppies
The puppies go to various pet shops across the country
Undereducated consumer buys puppy
Undereducated irresponsible consumer leaves their dog unaltered
Dog gets pregnant with another low quality dog of another breed
HD is passed on to next generation, plus anything from the sire.

As opposed to:

Breeder breeds two vet checked sound temperament close to standard champion dogs
Puppies with heritable genetic problems or that are non-standard are required to be altered
Puppies that adhere to the standard and are sound possibly can breed.
Such puppies are only sold to a responsible owner who will only breed with other genetically sound dogs of the same breed
Puppies produced will be mostly free of genetic problems
Should any offspring develop something like Hip Dysplasia, the breeder will review the records and possibly alter the breeding pair - stopping the HD transmission.

Greyhounds are a perfect example of the latter "story". They are the only large dog without HD. Why? Because selective breeding has removed it as HD will keep a dog from racing. It's all about racing with many greyhound breeders, so any dog with HD will not be allowed to reproduce, therefore removing it from the gentic pool.

Evolution states that with enough generations however, the dogs will correct themselves and breed out deadly problems. Cats are a great example of this. Mixed breed cats are often the strongest because they've had dozens or hundreds of generations to 'select out' things that will cause death. But dogs are rarely multi-generation mutt, or more than two generations. This is not enough time for serious health ailments to be "selected" out.

Generally the healthiest dogs will be those from responsible breeders. Those who vet check and vet check, breed for temperament, and only breed to improve the breed (not just to make puppies). Of course, there are ALWAYS exceptions to this. . .

Answer 5

"Hybrid vigor" is misleading and it doesn't even apply to dogs. A hybrid is the mix of two different *species*, not breeds. A horse and donkey cross makes a hybrid...a mule. A Clydesdale and Quarter Horse cross does not...just like a Pekingese and Poodle cross doesn't either.

Mixed breeds are affected by health conditions too (which most are 'hidden', carried recessively) and considering I don't know of any mixed breeders who test their dogs, they're at greater risk...you're relying on luck! For example, progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) affects most breeds and is carried recessively. Breed two affected dogs or two carriers (mix or pure) and you'll have affected puppies...period.

Edit: I love all dogs, mix or pure...but there are many unknowns with mixes.

Answer 6

No. Good breeding can produce those traits in pure or mixed breeds. The one advantage of mixed breeds is that a lot of health problems are genetically linked- shar peis have bad skin, german shepherds have bad hips, etc. When you mix breeds, the genes are diluted, and the tendency to develop severe health issues is diminished.

Good breeding and a healthy lifestyle can create amazing dogs in any breed or no breed- you need to look at the whole picture, not just the breeds.

Answer 7

a english mastiff is the strongest.a greyhound is the fastest so i would say no.mutts are mutts nothing more.also mutts have all the health problems of everything they are mixed with so you could say they have worse health than any pure bread dog.

Answer 8

NO, the illusion that they are is created by the fact that no one keeps track of these things with mixed breed dogs, but they do with pure bred dogs.
When OFA keeps a record of every dog that has it's hips tested, but no one ever tests a mixed breed dog, it is only logical that they would have a bunch of pure bred dogs with bad hips on record but no mixed breed dogs with bad hips on record.

Answer 9

In gereral yes, but not always... its called Hybrid Vigor..

Heterosis is a term used in genetics and selective breeding. The term heterosis, also known as hybrid vigor, hybrid vigour, or outbreeding enhancement, describes the increased strength of different characteristics in hybrids; the possibility to obtain a "better" individual by combining the virtues of its parents.


A mixed-breed dogHeterosis is often the opposite process of inbreeding depression, which increases homozygosity. The term often causes controversy, particularly in terms of the selective breeding of domestic animals, because it is sometimes believed that all crossbred plants or animals are better than their parents; this is not necessarily true. Rather, when a hybrid is seen to be superior to its parents, this is known as hybrid vigor. It may also happen that a hybrid inherits such different traits from their parents that make them unfit for survival. This is known as outbreeding depression, typical examples of which are crosses between wild and hatchery fish that have incompatible adaptations. Heterosis can be classified into mid-parent heterosis, in which the hybrid shows increased strength which is greater than the average of both parents, and best-parent heterosis, in which the hybrid's increased strength is greater than that of the strongest parent. Mid-parent heterosis is more common in nature, and it is easier to explain (by mechanism of gene dominance; see below).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Vigor

Answer 10

No it is not true. Mixes have just as many health issues as purebreds...they have hip/elbow dysplasia, eye problems, thyroid issues, cancer, heart issues, etc
They have training issues too just like any other dog.