Pure bred or Mutt?

When one goes to get a dog, do you go for a purebred or a mutt?   Do you buy from someone or go to a shelter?  These are very important questions to answer before you ever consider adding a companion to your home.  Dogs of any variety or NOT fair weather animals.  They are meant to be kept for their lifetime, not tossed away at the first sign of trouble.   Thus there are many questions to consider when thinking about getting a pet, of any kind (fish, gerbil, cat, dog, ferret) .

It is my belief, based upon all the information I have ever read or seen and all the self education I have, that ALL modern day dogs are mixed breeds in one way or another.  Science tells us that the DNA and or genetics of a common dog come from the grey wolf which was domesticated several tens of thousands of years ago.  Unequivocal genetic and archaeological evidence shows that humans domesticated wolves on more than one occasion.  Many scientists believe that humans adopted orphaned wolf cubs and nursed them alongside human babies. Once these early adoptees started breeding among themselves, a new generation of tame "wolf-like" domestic animals would result which would, over generations of time, become more dog-like.  From there, humans began to select for specific traits and thus create "breeds" of dogs.

I have had both mutts and purebreds in my lifetime.    I find both have been wonderful animals.   I do not consider my dogs as "pets" per say, but more companions which add to my quality of life.  In the above picture you see four of my dogs I had at the same time.   Echo, the doberman, Missy, beagle/cocker mix, Blake, greyhound, rottweiler, chow chow, collie mix, and Brasso, the German Shepherd Dog.    Each one of these dogs had it's own strengths and weaknesses.   We , as "owners"  need to look for and focus on the strengths that our companions have to offer us. 

Both Echo and Missy turned out to be fantastic and certified Therapy Dogs, and also both were Service Dogs.   They went into grocery stores, restaurants,  nursing homes, hospitals, schools, churches, and any other place I wished to take them.   By federal law they were granted access to any place I was allowed in.   Blake was an excellent mouser and neck warmer.  Brasso was the Military War Dog who served to protect me, my home, and the other animals that lived in it.  

 With the purebred, you are able to get a fairly accurate estimate of size and what the breed was originally bred to do, as well as the group it is placed in by the standards of AKC  or UKC.   There are people who  can tell you about the characteristics of the purebred dogs you have and may be willing to help out with problems.    You can find a reputable breeder if you wish to purchase a purebred.   No, not a yard full of puppies with a make shift pen out in the country where the dogs are kept confined, not socialized and bred to death.   A reputable breeder is one that has taken into account the best characteristics of their particalar breed , such as a good herder, watch dog, police dog, lap dog, along with the best set of genetics possible.   This only happens when a person is willing to spend a large amount of time and money on a dog.   Genetic testing, showing, training, careful selection of the very best puppies and making sure all dogs that go to homes not able to achieve these standards will have an altered pet, not able to be bred randomly.   Papers mean nothing more to the average Joe Citizen than to look at the accomplishments of the generations past. 

There are deeply misguided people today who are taking pure bred dogs and mixing two breeds together.   This is NOT a purebred.  And to purchase one of these dogs is a huge mistake !    You may as well go save a life of a mutt in a shelter than give money to such uninformed individuals.   They have only produced a mutt.  To create a new breed takes many , many long years and a lot of careful selection.  By definition a pure bred dog is one that when you breed it to another of the same breed you ALWAYS get exact copies of the same type of dog.   It is not hit and miss.  Of course coat color, texture , and length vary in the same breeds of some dog but you still have a Pug, and a Pug , looking like a Pug. 

A purebred dog offers you a glance into its possible medical history.   Some are predisposed to hip problems, bloat, eye issues, seizures, etc.   To be aware of this is always good and again you can see if the breeder you are buying from screened the parents, grandparents, and other ancestors for all the genetically linked medical problems.   If a breeder does not have this information available to you, as a purchaser, then don't buy the dog.  You could be in for a world of heart ache when your one year old Labrador Retriever gets hip dysplasia.  Being aware that many deep chested, large breed dogs can suffer from Gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat or torsion of the stomach filled with excess gas and becomes twisted)  is being a good owner.  Thus you can seek to avoid this condition and know what to do if it occurs.

So, on the one hand, knowing the reasons your dog was developed as a breed, how closely the dog you purchased still retains those characteristics, and understanding the possible medical issues your pet can acquire, is very helpful in making a decision as to what type of dog would fit your family situation the best.   On the other hand are the mutts.  Just as smart as the purebreds and sometimes with many fewer health issues.  DNA testing is available through the internet for your mutt if you wish to find out what breeds are all mixed up in there.   There are so many people who do not train, love, research, and choose to keep their dog once they pick one, that our shelters and pounds are overflowing with the unwanted.   But that does not mean these dogs are throw a ways!   The reasons people dump their dogs are as varied as the breeds themselves, from "he pottied on the carpet, yes I know he is only ten weeks old but I have new carpet!"  ,  "I don't know why the dog keeps running away when I let it out and leave for work, he has lived there almost three weeks now and if he refuses to stay in the yard I simply can't keep paying the fees at the city pound"   , or  "I can't believe the dog bit me when I startled it and jerked it's food out from beneath it's nose but I won't have a dog that bites !"

Thus, the dogs dumped at shelters and city pounds are not broken creatures.   They were owned by broken humans who probably have no idea that when you teach a human baby how to walk it takes tiny steps and falls down a lot.   We are a world of I want it done yesterday and that makes a sad case for all dogs adopted to homes with these type of people.   If you don't have time, don't want to clean up after spills and shed hair, don't want to hear the dog bark, DON'T get a dog. 
The mutts I have had through rescue, shelters and city pounds have turned out to be just as easy to train and very high in levels of intelligence.   Even in one litter of purebred dogs, each puppy has a different plane of energy, attention, and willingness to work.   No matter what breed or mixed breed you pick for your family situation, be sure to research , read, ask questions, and do not just jump at the first puppy in the window. 


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