is it time to stop breeding dogs to be a specific breed?

Question

they live shorter lives with various physical problems and generally arent as intelligent as mixed bred dogs,there seems something cruel in this,especially as most of us dont use them for anything else than pets

can i just say its called yahoo questions,the point is to ask people opinions and find out facts you didnt know,im not in power and cant make it happen so calm down and stop being so rude in your answers,disagree strongly as much as you want but some of the things i just read here are plain insulting,sorry to have a different view but at least id say mine to your face,not behind a keyboard.

Answer 1

Someone with the AKC is having a nightmare about this conversation right now. The problem is that people want those cute little carry around in your purse dogs.. white and fluffy.. but to get those dogs you also breed in the neurotic, nippy, illness factor. Then when their dog comes down with a terrible disease at 5 they blame the vet or whatever.. they dont realize all pure breed dogs have pure breed problems. I have both kinds and the pure breeds cost a lot more in health care.

Everyone in this country knows about puppy mills but they dont care about the suffering they just want what they want. I personally know of a rescuer that bought a 600 chihuahua when asked why she would buy a dog her reply was "I saved enough I can buy what I want now." With attitudes like that no wonder 1000s of dogs are killed each day a high percentage of them being pure breeds.

Keep on the good fight

Answer 2

Actually, this is not true. Well bred pedigree dogs live as long a life as the average mixed breed type - the only reason that there is a popular misconception about this is that owners of pedigree dogs are more likely to take their pet to the vet and of course, many breeds have developed hereditary problems.
This means that pedigree dogs are more often presented with problems than mixed breeds. You just don't get as many mongrels presented at private practices.
Also, specific breeds are far more reliably intelligent than mixed breeds and that is why specific breeds and bred crosses are targeted for assistance work such as guide dogs for the blind/police dogs/search and rescue/drugs tracking etc etc.
There is still a place for specific breeds in this day and age, but it should never be at the cost of the animal's health and well being.

Answer 3

This is a silly questions.. Since when are mutts healthier and smarter than purebreds?? If you are considering puppymill dogs and backyard bred dogs in this, maybe.. But a well bred purebred of any breed is a far smarter, healther, superior dog than any mixed breed dog.. For one you know exactly what you are getting, health, temperament, size, breed characteristics, energy levels, coat, colour and everything else.. Very predictable.. A mixed breed dog? Not only could they have a far wider variety of health problems, but you have no clue how big they will be, what they will act like, what sort of temperament they will have.. or anything else about them other than the fact that they are a dog.

What difference does it make if most purebreds are pets.. At least people know what kid of pet they will get.. And regardless of what people will tell you, show litters are not full of all show quality puppies there is always pets in the litter.. just like the working litter, there are always the pets in the litter.

People who breed purebreds, health test before they breed.. People who breed mutts do no health testing before they decide or accidentally produce a litter of mutts.. People who produce mutts do not take back their puppies if someone has a problem.. Purebred breeders generally take back all of their dogs if they can't be kept, actually most insist upon it and put it in the purchase agreement.

Is it cruel to try and produce a better quality dog that can actually do a job, can actually do more than be a companion dog if that's what someone wants ?? How is that cruel???

What is cruel is breeding mixed breed dogs of unknown background, to produce more mutts that no one wants.. Cruel is breeding these dogs without regard for health, or temperament or anything else..

Why is it that ALL mixed breed dog owners all insist on knowing what purebred dog was used to make up their mix?? If the mix is so great then why do you need to know what the mix is made up of?? How can a mixed breed dog be healthier when alot of the time they are mixed of 2 purebred dogs?? Using your logic that is...

Want to know what you are buying, get a purebred... Like to gamble?? Then buy yourself a mixed breed dog..
I'll tell you right now.. My dogs are all purebred and they are a whole lot smarter than most people I have met.. Wouldn't do the stupid things that people do.

Answer 4

You are a very misguided individual with thoughts on this subject that sound like those of PETA freaks. Responsible breeding does not cut a dogs life short nor do pure bred dogs lak intelligence. There is NOTHING cruel about responsible breeding of pure bred dogs. Female dogs that are healthy can produce 2 to 4 litters in their life just fine.
You have obviously been reading material on the subject written by special interest groups whose goals are to do nothing but try to control other people and force their beliefs onto others.
Do you think it is cruel for a human to have more then 2 to 3 kids? A dog is only pregnant for 63 days and 8 weeks later their pups are off into new homes. I fail to see the cruelty in responsible breeding.

Answer 5

I agree that puppy farms should be stopped -- poor dogs. I think a lot of breeds are thriving, but the "vanity" breeds really suffer. As long as people are too cheap to pay for a well-cared-for puppy, and look for an image rather than a playmate, bad breeding practices will continue.

Personally, I think mutts are the way to go. We have four completely mixed breeds at home -- the two who were raised by us are well adjusted, wonderful dogs. The one who we picked up in the road is a bit neurotic, but still very sweet. The one who came to us as an adult has a real sly streak to him. It just goes to show that dogs have many different personalities, and owe a lot of their personality to environment, not just breeding.

But do we really want to see a black market in dachshunds? Maybe the breeders should be better regulated. The consumers should DEFINITELY be better educated!

Answer 6

not true that mixes are smarter and healthier!

Many purebreds are high on the intelligence scale. Standard poodles are very intelligent dogs. Many purebred dogs do live very long lives.

A purebred dog that comes from a reputable breeder who does health testing has a better chance at being healthy than a mutt. A mixed breed has the odds of getting health issues that all of its breeds are prone to.

I like knowing what to expect out of my purebred.. I can get a dog and know what its energy level will be like, what its temperment should be like, what type of instincts it will likely carry. With a mix, you get surprised.

Answer 7

Oh man, where to start, where to start. LOL

First off, mixed breeds are not overall any more or less smarter than purebreds. They are not healthier in any way either.

For those of us that do use dogs for something other than pets, as I do, the mere fact that you are this mis-informed is rather disconcerting.

As a basic primer, currently there are problems with dogs in general having more health problems, and getting cancer than I have ever seen before.

Answer 8

I don't know where you got your information, but mixed breeds have just as many health problems as pure breeds. In the dog world, there's no such thing as hybrid vigor.
In order to make a hybrid, you have to breed inter-species...Dog to wolf, dog to fox, dog to coyote. THAT creates hybrid vigor.
Mixing a Labrador and a Poodle did not make a smarter healthier dog. Both dogs are geniuses by nature as it is. And if you don't do geneting testing on your breeding stock, you can still get genetic disorders in your puppies. Conciencious breeders of pure breeds are breeding to iliminate these problems anyway, without destroying the purity if the true breed. That's why there even are genetic tests, so you can know if a dog is a carrier of something and if so, not breed it.

As for intelligence, all dogs are pretty darn smart. But the ones that get labeled as stupid are the stubborn ones. Not all dogs are so readily obedient and submissive to humans. They are like children, and need specialized individual training. I had a deaf Dalmatian that I trained using hand signals....And everybody thinks that breed is dumb even if they can hear! They're NOT!

And one of the many good things about pure breeds is you know what you're going to get. When I sell my Great Pyrenees puppies, I can show people the sire and the dam and they know what kind of puppy theirs will grow up to be.
With a mix such as a Labradoodle for example (I'm not picking on them, that's just what came to mind first) you don't know if it's going to be mostly like a Poodle, mostly like a Labrador, or a good blend of each. Or a BAD blend of each. When you pass on good traits, you also open the door to pass one bad ones as well.

Answer 9

It is not true that mixed breeds are healthier than purebreds. Any dog, mixed or purebred can have any number of health problems. My breed is chihuahua and they often live to be 20+ yr old. My chihuahua seldom need to see the vet. Usually it is once a year for their checkup and boosters. And by the way all my dogs are pets first, some of them are breeders, but some are fixed. My vet is well paid by my husband and myself. The best way to keep a dog healthy is preventative measures..

Answer 10

Responsible breeders are careful about bringing in fresh DNA into the gene pool from unrelated, or very distantly related dogs.

Or you can do like I do and always adopt mutts. My Rescue is a Golden Retriever x Shepherd mix. He is stronger, smarter, more compact, more independent, more interactive. And he has no allergies, stomach problems, skin problems, arthritis, or tumors.... But we'll have to wait for 5 - 10 years to see if he lives longer ...

Having said that, I think that I am lucky. I recommend to most people that they pay for a quality dog of known heritage, because a mutt can just as easily have epilepsy, cancer, and then succomb to a simple flea bite allergy...

Answer 11

I am on a support list for owners of dogs with a cronic health problem (considered probably herititatary) the #1 breed in numbers- the mixed breed....