How do you define these?

Question

How would you define the following words:
1) Mongrel
2) Mutt
3) Purebred
4) Crossbreed

No two of the listed words mean the same thing. My proof? The ASPCA Complete Guide to Dogs. The ASPCA is the authority in knowledge on pets and how to care for them, as I'm sure you already know.

Also, what is a Heinz-57? Just wondering.
10 points for the one who
1) Defines the four listed words
AND
2) Tells me what a Heinz-57 is.

Future answerers, forget the Heinz-57 part; right after I posted it my sister said, "A Heinz-57 is a mixed breed." Figures. That always happens, I post something and she answers even though I ask her beforehand.

I'm sorry, but mutt, crossbreed, and mongrel are not the same things. The real answers will be given once the best answer is selected.

Answer 1

Pretty sure that most people interchange the first two but here goes:

Mongrel: A dog that is born in the streets and has no clear ancestry

Mutt: A dog that has characteristics of more than one breed where it is no clear who the parents are.

Purebred: A dog where the parents are of the same "breed" and have a recognised ancestry that can be traced back several generations.

Crossbreed: A crossbreed is when two "purebrad" parents are crossed. The dog is clearly known to be a cross between two breeds.

As for the other part of your question - here is a link to Wikipedia that talks about it. I am not American so I have to go by a web search here :o)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_57

It appears that Heinz-57 is ketchup/catsup/tomatoe sauce

Answer 2

Mutt and mongrel mean the same thing.... a dog with mixed parentage (more than 2 breeds).
It's total geneitc make up (what breeds were involved) is usually unknown.
It makes no difference where the dog was born.

However some people simply use the word "mutt" (slang) to refer to any dog, regardless of it's breed - although this is probably not the correct use of this word.

Purebred - a specific, recognised breed of dog. It must have a "pure" ancestry (ie all the same breed) going back several generations.
"Purebred" does not necessarily mean KC registered - the term has no legal definition, so it is easy to lie about. A KC registered dog will have papers certifying it. A "purebred" dog may come with a pedigree showing its ancestry, but does not have to have certification.

A crossbreed is a dog bred from two "purebred" parents of different breeds.
All these new "designer dogs", such as labradoodles, puggles and cockerpoos and crossbreeds.
Their parentage must be known for them to be called genuine crossbreeds - otherwise they may be mongrels that just happen to look like certain breeds.

Heinz 57 is another name for a mongrel.
It comes from Heinz sauce - which used to be made from 57 different ingrediants. Hence, people call dogs who are a total mish-mash of various types of dog Heinz 57s.
I believe it is also related to the fact Heinz did not divulge its full ingrediants list, it was kept secret. Like with a mongrel you do not actually know what you are getting.


According to the Oxford English Dictionary:

Mutt = "a dog, especially a mongrel"
Mongrel = "a dog of no definable breed"

The other 3 terms are not listed.

Answer 3

1) Mongrel is a mix of breeds exceeding two. They usually have parents with two breeds each or more!

2) Mutt is usually a term used for unwanted dogs, usually referring to a mongrel.

3) Purebred is a dog that has two parents that are both 100% of the same type of dog, ie, a purebred chihuahua would have a mother and a father that were both 100% chihuahua. They always have papers to prove it (from reputable breeders!).

4) Crossbreed is a dog with two different breeds of dog in it, (any more is a mongrel).

A Heinz 57 is a nicer way of referring to a mongrel! It basically means that there is at least three different breeds of dog in it.
Heinz 57 is a term that comes from the food products made by Heinz, claiming to have 57 different varieties in their range!

I hope this helps!

Answer 4

Mongrel - so many different breeds combined who knows what it is.
Mutt - More than 2 breeds mixed but you can still pretty much tell at least some of what it's mixed with.
Purebred- 1 breed of dog.
Cross breed - 2 breeds mixed.

Heinz-57 is slang for mongrel.

You should'nt put too much store into what the ASPCA has written. They may mean well but I've found most of these people really have very little knowledge about dogs other than that they need food, water, shelter and shade ,vet care and a clean environment to live in.They could care less about a dogs exercise requirements or it's being mentally stimulated.
They have not evolved enough yet to realize that ignoring those 2 requirements is also inhumane and inexcusable.

Answer 5

A Heinz-57 refers to a dog with so many different breeds in its background that you can't really tell what's there. If you said Heinz 57 Varieties you would get the picture, and have the sense of where that came from. That was, and may still be, one of the Heinz company's trademarks.

A mongrel is a scruffy sort of mixed breed dog, a mutt is a general term for a mixed breed, a purebred is one who pedigree certifies that it's ancestry is all one breed, back to the foundation stock of that breed, and a crossbreed would refer to two different lines of purebreds being bred together. That is, if you breed two purebreds that are only distantly related, or unrelated, it's a crossbreeding. If you breed two dogs with a common direct ancestor back only a generation or two, that's a linebreeding.

Answer 6

Mongrels and mutts are essentially the same thing.

These definitions are just in reference to dogs, btw:

A mongrel means a dog with unknown or mixed origin.

A mutt is the same thing; a dog with unknown or mixed origin. However, there is a negative or inferior connotation with this word (though some people use it as a term of endearment with their dogs). The term was derived from the term "muttonhead" used to describe a stupid person.

A purebred is a dog who comes from generations of dogs of one recognized breed. A purebred is true breeding; that is, if you cross one purebred dog with another purebred dog of the same breed, you will always get puppies of that same breed (ie, two purebred Dachshunds will not produce a litter of Lhasa Apso puppies)

A crossbreed is a dog produced by crossing two dogs of different breeds. Most of the "designer dogs" you see out there are F1 generation crossbreeds. That is, both of their parents are purebreds. I'll take the "Labradoodle" as an example. The only way they could become a true breed is if you crossed the F1 generation Labradoodles with each other, then crossed the F2 generaton, etc. until you began getting enough consistency in the litters to create a breed standard.

(Oh, and Heinz-57 is just a term used to describe a dog with an unknown origin who looks like they have lots of different breeds in their background)

Answer 7

I don't put the ASPCA, the HSUS, or PeTA in any category near "authority" on animal care. I certainly don't think they've written any dictionaries. They are different groups, two of which obviously have the same agenda of eliminating all forms of animal ownership. The third seems to not be willing to ante up to their own agenda. Mongrel and mutt are the exact same thing. A cross bred is almost the same as a mutt and a mongrel. A pure bred is a dog that has a documented pedigree showing it is of pure, single-breed parentage. A Heinz-57 ia a mutt is a mongrel. As for points, I really am not worried about them, thanks.

Answer 8

This is how I see it - and I may be wrong in some peoples view:

A mongrel and a mutt are one in the same, the type of breeds can't be determined just by looking at them, thus why we usually call them a mongrel or mutt..

A purebred is a dog which you can say is 100% a type of breed by looking at them, but you don't have the papers to prove it - having papers make it a pedigree...

A cross breed is a dog where you can tell it is definitely a cross between say Cattle Dog and Kelpie, and it is advertised for sale this way by the seller or owner...

A Heinz-57 is where there are too many breeds of dogs in the animal to actually tell what it is - a type of mongrel or mutt you could say..

Although the ASPCA claim to be the authority for knowledge on pets, you can only use the information as a guide in helping you navigate your way through choosing the right pet for you. Speak to other breed owners and investigate through other means to get a full picture of information.

Answer 9

Mongrel: 1: an individual resulting from the interbreeding of diverse breeds or strains; especially : one of unknown ancestry
2: a cross between types of persons or things
mutt (mt)
n. Informal

Mutt: 1. A mongrel dog.
Noun 1. mutt - an inferior dog or one of mixed breed

Crossbreed:to cross (two varieties or breeds) within the same species
intransitive verb
: to engage in or undergo hybridization

Purebred: bred from members of a recognized breed, strain, or kind without outbreeding over many generations

These are the definitions from merriam-webster.com, however the first three are basically the same thing because they all are just words for mixed breed dogs, whether it is two or more breeds is besides the point.

Answer 10

I agree with esoteri about the four definitions.
Heinz 57 refers to an advertising slogan by the Heinz company many years back 'Heinz 57 varieties', and it is used in UK as a jokey way of saying that a dog has very, very mixed ancestry.