Crossbreeding for Sport/Work/Companionship
- Thread starter Linds
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I feel like most of the problem with designer dogs is the fact that a lot of breeders don't give a crap about their dogs. They don't health test or temperament test, and they will just give a puppy to the highest bidder. I have seen my fair share of blind and deaf cockapoos as well as young doodles that have hip and elbow dysplasia that are all the result of lack of health testing. Same goes with buyers needing to put thought into getting a dog. If there were more breeders who responsibly bred mixed companion dogs and more buyers who did their research before purchasing a dog, then the designer dog world would not be so bad. Although I still feel like some rescues and purebreds could do the companion job just as well as companion-crosses, I will admit that designer dogs have the potential to be physically and emotionally sound dogs that can make great companions for people
I've come across an amazing tiny number of people breeding dogs that put near the time, thought or work into creating dogs that breed true and with any consistency compared to those breeding for some other purpose. Usually size, temperament and health are involved in those purposes.
I guess I have yet to see these "companion" bred mixes that are everything that almost every other dog i've come across isn't.
I guess I have yet to see these "companion" bred mixes that are everything that almost every other dog i've come across isn't.
Fergus is a designer breed! Labradane!
Seriously, the people who got him got him from a breeder in Indiana that breeds Lab/Danes.
And I will say, one of my biggest thoughts about that was that at least hopefully that means his temperament will be good because most people breeding mixes for pet people are going to breed their really nice Great Dane with their really nice Lab.
Seriously, the people who got him got him from a breeder in Indiana that breeds Lab/Danes.
And I will say, one of my biggest thoughts about that was that at least hopefully that means his temperament will be good because most people breeding mixes for pet people are going to breed their really nice Great Dane with their really nice Lab.
What concerns me more, very selfishly, about considering a crossbreed.
Is that across the board healthy breeders of purebred dogs want NOTHING to do with designer mixes. The idea of a good poodle or golden breeder or whippet or border collie giving a breeding contract to somebody who breeds mixes, would be a shock, for example.
...so where is the breeding stock coming from? :/
I like the idea because it's variation, best of two breeds etc...
BUT I don't like the idea of it being a combo of two badly bred dogs from shady backgrounds
Is that across the board healthy breeders of purebred dogs want NOTHING to do with designer mixes. The idea of a good poodle or golden breeder or whippet or border collie giving a breeding contract to somebody who breeds mixes, would be a shock, for example.
...so where is the breeding stock coming from? :/
I like the idea because it's variation, best of two breeds etc...
BUT I don't like the idea of it being a combo of two badly bred dogs from shady backgrounds
And I have a plottahoula and an Alaskan bulldog! 
(And a hairy absolutely-not-a-bully who shall not be named.)
I don't care what breed/cross anyone gets or why. There is really no reason whatsoever for me to care about that. Again, I care how the dogs are being bred. It's not my place to tell anyone else what their needs/wants for a dog are and how to meet them "correctly." It's not a dirty sin to want a specific kind of dog.
And it's not companion dog owners' responsibility to take up the slack that owners who left their dogs at shelters created. Reducing the supply of shelter dogs by keeping them in their homes in the first place (which several large shelters have been able to significantly impact through changed intake and support programs, including one large one in my area) is going to do a lot more towards reducing shelter dog populations than guilting people into adopting dogs that aren't quite what they wanted in order to reduce the supply.
And I say that as an owner of two shelter dogs and an oops litter dog.
(And a hairy absolutely-not-a-bully who shall not be named.)I don't care what breed/cross anyone gets or why. There is really no reason whatsoever for me to care about that. Again, I care how the dogs are being bred. It's not my place to tell anyone else what their needs/wants for a dog are and how to meet them "correctly." It's not a dirty sin to want a specific kind of dog.
And it's not companion dog owners' responsibility to take up the slack that owners who left their dogs at shelters created. Reducing the supply of shelter dogs by keeping them in their homes in the first place (which several large shelters have been able to significantly impact through changed intake and support programs, including one large one in my area) is going to do a lot more towards reducing shelter dog populations than guilting people into adopting dogs that aren't quite what they wanted in order to reduce the supply.
And I say that as an owner of two shelter dogs and an oops litter dog.
From what Iv seen, most of the good ones started in their heart breed, their breed of choice, bred purebreds for a while, became disillusioned with the issues therein, and then took their own quality stock and used it as the base for their crosses. i have yet to see or encounter anyone (good) who started with the intent of crosses, never having owned or bred anything prior. the Malamute x Wolfhound guy started in Wolfhounds, and then owned 1 Malamute without intent, and somewhere along the way decided to give it a shot, and loved what happened so did some more, adding wolfdogs along the way
Also should be noted: working breeders are much less finicky about crosses, and you can get some really lovely well bred animals in the working crowd, taht wouldnt care if you did crossbreeding
Also should be noted: working breeders are much less finicky about crosses, and you can get some really lovely well bred animals in the working crowd, taht wouldnt care if you did crossbreeding
As long as there is a purpose to it I have no issues with it. In agility I know a BC/JRT and a BC/Staff that I would take home in a second. I have also always fancied having a lurcher BC/Whippet or similar.
For some breeds that are in trouble genetically, I think outcrossing is a good idea. Especially for a dog with a job and you cross to dogs with the same job/skills, such as my friends working cocker/working ESS mix which I think were originally the same breed anyway. My first "BC" was half BC and half heading dog off a farm. They do the same job so you aren't losing anything. Genetic diversity is good. It amazes me that people are SO anti even doing ONE outcross into a breed, would they rather it dies out or suffers heath issues, but at least it was pure? Example: the LUA dalmatians.
It is also quite common where I live for people to cross herding breeds (eye dogs that is: Heading dogs or BCs) with pointing breeds (GSP or Vizsla most commonly) specifically as deer indicator dogs.
For some breeds that are in trouble genetically, I think outcrossing is a good idea. Especially for a dog with a job and you cross to dogs with the same job/skills, such as my friends working cocker/working ESS mix which I think were originally the same breed anyway. My first "BC" was half BC and half heading dog off a farm. They do the same job so you aren't losing anything. Genetic diversity is good. It amazes me that people are SO anti even doing ONE outcross into a breed, would they rather it dies out or suffers heath issues, but at least it was pure? Example: the LUA dalmatians.
It is also quite common where I live for people to cross herding breeds (eye dogs that is: Heading dogs or BCs) with pointing breeds (GSP or Vizsla most commonly) specifically as deer indicator dogs.
