You won’t see them showing off at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, but mixed breeds (also called mutts) bring their own special charm.
While purebred or designer breeds offer predictability in appearance, size, temperament and traits such as prey drive and energy levels, don’t sell the “superstrat” short, as described by Michelle Cote, trainer and founder of Mutts Melding Mankind. With “multiple breeds in their DNA,” these dogs have different personalities “due to a more diverse gene pool.” For this reason, she prefers them for her organization, which places service dogs with veterans.
While choosing a purebred or designer breed offers what some owners want in a canine companion, such as when looking for a dog for a senior, adopting a mixed-breed dog not only provides a loving home for a deserving animal, but also helps reduce the demand for puppies from puppy mills and unethical breeders, says Cote. If you go to a reputable shelter or shelter, you will be exposed to an abundance of cute, charming mutts looking for a home. And at most reputable shelters, the staff can guide you in choosing the right mixed-breed puppy (or abandoned purebred puppy).
What is a mutt?
Although definitions may vary, mutts (also called mixed-breed dogs) are the result of breeding purebred dogs or other mixed-breed dogs. What sets them apart from designer breeds is that they are usually the result of chance matings. Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict what puppies will look or behave like. Each mutt is a mix of its parents’ breeds, resulting in a combination of appearance and temperament. You never quite know what personality and physical traits you will get, making each mutt a special surprise and a unique personality.
Are street dogs healthier?
Like many simple questions, the answer to the question ‘are mutts healthier than purebred dogs’ is complicated. A recent study led by researchers from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciencesbased on data collected from the Dog Aging Project on 27,000 dogs (13,923 mixed breed dogs and 13,618 purebred dogs), attempts to answer this.
The results, published in the journal Frontiers in veterinary medicinesuggest that while certain breeds may be more susceptible to specific medical conditions, purebred and mixed breeds are largely equal when it comes to the frequency of common health condition diagnoses. According to the report, some conditions, such as tartar and osteoarthritis, were reported at approximately the same frequency in purebred and mixed-breed dogs. However, other conditions were more common in some than others: pulled teeth and dog bites were more common in purebreds, while ear infections were more common in mixed-breed dogs.
The science of mixed races
Overall, the number of health-related problems may be similar. However, according to the World Veterinary Association for Small AnimalsThere is a scientific reason why some problems are more common in purebred dogs. Mixed breed dogs usually mate randomly and give birth without human intervention, suggesting that natural selection is taking place when an individual does not thrive. “The occurrence of common genetic diseases in mixed-race individuals occurs randomly due to dispersed ancient liability genes,” the association said. “Uncommon and breed-specific recessive or complex hereditary diseases are much less common in mixed-breed individuals.”
Mutts: the American Dream Dog
According to the American Veterinary Medical AssociationAbout 53% of dogs in the United States are mixed breed dogs. For a country based on a healthy mix of nationalities, it is fitting that more than half of the dogs in the United States are mixed breeds. But mutt, designer breed or pedigree dog, there is no bad dog.
