Mixed Breed or Purebred Dog?

Which is better? Mixed breed or purebred? It's always a question that's sure to start an argument. Both kinds of dogs have their devoted followers who are ready to jump in and defend their beloved companions.

The truth is that both kinds of dogs make great pets.

People who love mixed breed dogs will tell you that when you adopt a mixed breed dog you are saving a life. It's true that an estimated 3.7 million animals are euthanized in shelters in the United States each year. Many people derive great personal satisfaction from feeling that they have saved a dog and are providing him with a wonderful life.

Adopted mixed breed dogs tend to live long lives compared to most purebred dogs. They live shorter lives than Toy and small breed purebred dogs but their lifespans are about the same as or a little longer than medium sized purebred dogs. On average, they have much longer lifespans than the giant breed purebred dogs which may live to be about 10 years old.

Some people claim that mixed breeds dogs are healthier than purebred dogs but this area is not as clear cut. Purebred dog breeders go out of their way to test their dogs for health problems and genetic diseases. There are a number of databases which have been recording this information for decades. However, the fact that breeders test their dogs to try to prevent health problems is not evidence that purebred dogs are less healthy than mixed breed dogs. In fact, many mixed breed dogs suffer from the same health problems and genetic disease found in purebred dogs but there is no way to track the diseases since ancestry is unknown in mixed breed dogs. Mixed breeds have no breeders or parent breed clubs dedicated to finding cures for their health problems. There's really no credible way to tell if the mixed breed population, as a whole, is any healthier or unhealthier than the overall purebred population.

When you factor in the influence of purebred dogs that are produced by substandard breeders known as "puppy mills" which may negatively affect the purebred population; and when you consider the unhealthy puppies and dogs which are put to sleep in animal shelters without ever being adopted, the picture of which group is healthier becomes even less clear. Ultimately, you can find healthy puppies and dogs from both mixed breed and purebred litters.

When it comes to intelligence both camps have their supporters. Again, both mixed breeds and purebreds are equally capable of being trained and learning just about any kind of skills you have the ability to teach them. If you watch dogs competing in agility you will notice that there are plenty of both mixed breed and purebred competitors. The same is true of virtually any companion competition. Both mixed breed and purebreds learn obedience, compete in flyball, and they can both excel at rally competitions.

If you plan to hunt or herd with your dog, or participate in some specialized event such as earthdog events or sledding then you may need to look for a purebred dog that has the specialized instincts for that endeavor. If competition and titles are important to you then you will probably need a purebred dog unless it is a sport where performance is more important than pedigree. In the Iditarod, for instance, no one cares what kind of dogs you have as long as they get you across the finish line first. On the other hand, it is doubtful that a team of lovable mutts from a California shelter would be able to make the journey. You would need highly specialized and trained dogs to complete such a course even if they weren't purebred dogs. The same is true of field competition and other events. You may have the best dog even though it's not a purebred, but chances are that it will be some cross of dogs that have the instincts for a certain sport. The dogs for these pursuits are almost always purpose-bred dogs and not mixed breed dogs found in shelters. They are produced by breeders, whether technically purebred or not.

Both mixed breed dogs and purebred dogs of all breeds make wonderful pets. It's really a mistake to try to denigrate any dogs because of their background. They're all dogs. They all have the desire to be man's best friend. Whether purebred or mixed breed they are affectionate, intelligent, sensitive, caring and they want to please us. Choose the dog that's right for you and allow others to make the same choice.