There is a constant debate among dog people about pure bred dogs versus mixed breeds, and then within breeds what is the end goal of the breeders. I thought we might examine that a bit from a trainer’s perspective (specifically this trainer 🙂 ).
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A purpose bred dog, or a dog specifically bred/selected to do a specific task or set of tasks, is an amazing creature. Seeing a lab do his retrieving thing, or a Malinois biting in protection work is poetry in motion. I would put the dogs that are mixed breeds but specifically bred for disc dogs or agility dogs or flyball dogs in this bucket too. There is no doubt the dogs love it too, love doing a task they are hardwired through generations of selection to do. It completes them.
Selecting dogs to breed based on how well they do their job automatically addresses a lot of problems both psychologically and physically in the dog. Take a good Labrador retriever for example. We are only going to breed the dogs that are excellent hunters, we can either use the measuring stick of hunt competitions or real life hunting. So the dogs that get selected are, by definition, sound of body to do all the running and swimming and activities a dog must do to retrieve. They will have a soft, or gentle, mouth because they bring birds back unchewed. They will be biddable, or open to direction, because the hunter has to send the dog to the birds it didn’t see, or keep the dog in the blind if the hunter missed. It will be able to make independent decisions when needed based on info available to it to find birds. It will be able to get along with other dogs in the blind. It will be able to get along with other people in the blind. It will be relatively pain insensitive to jump in icy water or push through brambles to get a bird. So by selecting the dog to do a job well we are also getting a whole lot of other selection criteria met. Note we didn’t select the dog for being a certain color, or a certain ear carriage, or how tall it is (although for jobs like underground hunting terriers that size is an important selection criteria for their job too). So we get a lot of neat things when we get a purpose bred dog. Now let’s look at the other side of the coin.
A purpose bred dog is going to probably have a lot of stamina and drive to do its job. A purpose bred dog is probably going to develop a lot of behavior problems if it doesn’t get the work it was bred to do, or a satisfying alternate job the dog is suited for. It won’t be happy on the couch. The purpose bred dog can go a lot farther wrong without work and without training in my humble opinion. Most trainers love a purpose bred dog because they are capable of a lot of things, but the things we love about them will cause the dogs to fail in a home that doesn’t address who the dog is and what it needs. These dogs need to be thought of less as pets and more as working partners. All dogs have needs that must be met but it is extra critical for these purpose bred dogs or mayhem ensues.
It is essential that we have these purpose bred dogs around for the tasks they do, but most families that just want a pet do not have any business having a purpose bred dog. The exception to that in my mind is a dog purpose bred for assistance or guide work, even the washouts from those programs typically make great pets.
OK, let’s look at the non purpose bred pure breeds. These are companion dogs, or lines of working dogs that the breeders are now breeding primarily as companion dogs. These dogs are likely to not have the drive level the purpose bred dogs have because they really aren’t being selected for it. They might be selected for things like coat color, or size, or some abstract physical characteristic that has no real use – in fact it might be detrimental to the breed like the pushed in muzzles of the pugs or bulldogs. These dogs typically have less demanding requirements for work to do, but they often have genetic issues and may not be as easy to train if they weren’t selected for train-ability. So a show line German Shepherd is technically a working dog, but is far from the look and mind of a purpose bred German Shepherd. These are often the type of dogs people point to and say that purebred dogs aren’t as healthy/smart/etc as a mixed breed dog. These types of dogs can make good companion dogs but they must be selected very carefully to avoid as many physical and mental issues as possible, since they have no “jobs” that filter out dogs that shouldn’t be bred. Obviously any puppy mill or dogs just bred for the pet market will be the worst of this lot.
Last but not least the mixed breed dog. This is going to be a grab bag, we will see the widest expression of abilities and body types here. A mixed breed dog can have just as many health issues, and generally won’t do as good of a job at a task as a purpose bred dog – in fact the mixing of some of the drives from different breeds can produce some weird behaviors. Most households that don’t have a specific job for a dog to do will be just fine with a mixed breed dog, if you primarily want a companion. To most of my client households that just want a pet dog I recommend they look at adult dogs from rescue, which will comprise mixed breed dogs, companion bred purebred dogs, and a few purpose bred dogs. If they want a puppy I recommend going with a purebred either from super carefully selected companion lines or more seldom purpose bred. Mixed breed puppies are a gamble that I would just as soon let someone else take other than my clients, and dogs in rescue that are the least in demand are the adults not the pups. 🙂
Fair disclosure here, I own a purebred, poorly bred purebred dog I got as an adult from a rescue (easy dog to live with, genetic hip problem, pretty trainable), a mixed breed dog I got as an adult from a rescue (easy dog to live with, generally healthy, not the sharpest knife in the drawer), a poorly bred purebred I inherited from a client when he passed away (terrible health wise, good brain), and a purpose bred purebred I got as a puppy (excellent physically and easy trainer but a busy active dog).
So what is the right answer for you? All of these types of dogs (purpose bred, mixed breed, companion purebred) if selected carefully for the right household are great. Your local dog trainer is a great resource to help you select a dog that matches your lifestyle and situation, please consider that route instead of just selecting a dog you think is pretty. I love helping people find the right dog for their situation.
Redeeming Dogs has been helping dogs and their owners in the Dallas/Fort Worth area since 2006.
