Crossbreeding for Sport/Work/Companionship

I think a lot of times they get what they want from random newspaper dog litters, etc.

I know no one outside of dogs that has 'well bred' dogs.

And you know? Most dogs I come across are pretty decent dogs. My BYB dogs were great. Had a lot more issues in the well bred ones.

Even if pet dogs were bred with this type just of thinking, you would still be paying more to cover the cost of health testing. Just thinking out loud. And there are certain standards I would expect a puppy butter to live up to. I wouldn't sell to someone feeding Beneful, which is a huge chunk of the population sadly.

OFA hips and elbows is a one-time fee of what, maybe $300?

Ha, well I obviously have no issue with it. Mine is hands down the best dog I didn't know I wanted. I'd get another cross in a heartbeat if I could find a breeder who health tested.

You're one of the lucky ones, I think! My BYB dog is actually Rara. She came from a perfectly well-intentioned lady, sure, but unfortunately the lady knew nothing about the necessities of health-testing or breeding for health, and I didn't either at the time. :s Fortunately, Rara's temperament is fabulous, but she has a multitude of health issues by two years old. Very weak knees and hips and almost needed surgery when she was only a year and a half (if I remember correctly). Same with my first dog, but from a pet shop aka puppy mill. A pekingese with a LOT... of health issues... even more than just being a pekingese and their breed-specific problems.

I got a byb with a multitude of behavior AND health issues. :-/

Most of my training clients are the same way.

True.

My byb is great so far, but I expect health issues down the road.

I just don't care WHAT people are breeding anymore. I care HOW they're breeding them.

With each passing year, I'm getting more and more jaded about (on a good day) or disgusted by (on a bad day) what we are doing to dogs by closing stud books and putting an arbitrary written standard on a higher pedestal than the living creatures they are meant to define.


ETA: I've also gone around and around so much on the "breeding dogs 'just' for companionship" merry-go-round that I don't think I can do it again other than to say it's as valid a job as any other job and no, I don't agree that any old random dog can necessarily do it well.

As for the subject of crossbreeding specifically for sport/companion/some other job, I'm perfectly fine with it too as long as they know their health tests. Assume they already breed for temperament, because... well, they're breeding FOR a specific job.

The other issue is how the parents are treated. Are both parents also participating in the sport? And who are they selling the puppies to? There aren't THAT many potential owners that are planning on competing in flyball, for example. In this case, one or two litters per year maximum... chugging out multiple litters per year is a red flag.

You guys have made some good points about the sports mixes. I guess what I have just realized is that most breeds were bred to do a specific job like herding or hunting, and now people have a job to do (dog sports) and need a specific dog for that. That is where sports mixes come in. The idea of sports mixes is really starting to grow on me. The only thing that still bothers me about them is that way too many kennels that breed sports mixes produce too many dogs annually. I just find it hard to believe that breeders can spend an appropriate amount of time with every single puppy if they have four litters on the ground at once.

And as far as companion mixes go, I still think they need to stop being bred. There is no point for there to be companion mixes when there are so many great shelter dogs and purebreds that make perfect companions.

If there were so many great shelter dogs and purebreds that made perfect companions, there wouldn't be a market for the companion bred dogs - particularly the smaller ones.

It's a job that requires specific characteristics just like any other job, and not every dog is necessarily good at it by virtue of being a dog.

Aside from allergies. Buzz has been my healthiest dog. And there is no way to label where he came from other than BYB. Mom was average age, dad wasn't even 2 (I think just over 1 in fact). Puppies were born and raise outside in a kennel. $250 with fleas and worms in 1998. No health testing. But he was docked (them/a vet... who knows, but I think them)/dews removed!

Hips Good, Elbows Normal (at 8 years), PRA normal/clear, eyes normal by the Ophth with his last exam at 15. Most stable temperament ever. He is my standard for a springer. And I can't find a **** dog like him from a responsible breeder.

But people feel like they need something "special" when they are getting a dog. Shelter mutts and plain 'ole purebreds are not sparkly and new. A lot of people that I know that have gotten designer dogs got them because they were in some way "better" than some purebred or another. And a lot of people are biased against shelter dogs because they think they all have been abused and have a lot of baggage (which is true for some but not all rescues).

And some people have wants and/or needs for their companion dogs as other people do for their working dogs, and they have just as much right to seek it out.

Quit projecting motive and intent on people unless you're also willing to say that no one should buy dogs for flyball, agility, or any other sport because there are plenty of shelter mutts who could do the job just as well.

The thing about companion dogs is it's not always an easy job. People make it out to be something most shelter dogs could do but honestly, it's not something MOST dogs are even good at.

Now, let me preface this with saying that the shelter is full of awesome dogs (and so is Craigslist).

But, for example my dad wanted a dog. He wanted a dog that isn't dog aggressive, isn't human aggressive, can be trusted off leash, likes to cuddle, is larger, lower energy, healthy and a puppy.

That is almost impossible to find at a shelter because you won't know if it's a puppy or you are getting an adult (and still don't know health.) Maybe one day we could have found it but added on top of the puppy needing to be intact and the rescue willing to adopt to us it was pretty much not happening.

If someone started seriously breeding for the good all around house dog I think they would have a lot of people wanting a dog.

Definitely agree with you there. But that's an issue with the sport culture, I think. For some reason sport people are ok with breeders doing things like that.

I don't get it.

But there are definitely gaps in dog breeds where there's room for new breeds or crosses. I know because my wants fall right into one of the 'sport mix' type gaps. Labradoodles, cockapoos, etc do fill some needs even if they're not *my* needs.

Some people also do just prefer mixed breeds.

As usual Sass sums up my opinion on the issue 100%.

I have volunteered at a dog rescue for a long time, and what I see come through there are mostly perfect companion dogs. I know companion dogs fill important roles, but it is more about personality/temperament than it is about physical performance abilities, and honestly, that is easier to find in a rescue dog. I'm not saying companion dogs aren't important, because they are. We are almost always able to give someone a companion dog that meets their needs when they come into the rescue looking for one. There were breeds of dogs that were developed for the *specific purpose* of being companions just like people are breeding dogs for the specific purpose of performing in sports. I just don't see the need for going and getting a mixed bred dog for companion purposes when there are so many great purebreds and rescues that fit the criteria.

Well around here most the dogs in rescues are pits, lab mixes, houndy things, or heeler mixes. What if none of those work for the person? What if their ideal dog is a cockapoo?