No doubt this is a very hot topic. I personally feel that people having litters of mixed breed dogs and selling them for hundreds of dollars under the umbrella of being a "designer" dog is only in it for the money. I also feel that this practice is causing and will continue to cause a rise in unwanted pet populations in shelters. Not everyone is irresponsible, and that is not what I am saying, but they are mixed breed dogs with papers (if they come with any) that don't mean anything. And people will breed their dogs in hopes to make a quick buck. I wish more imphasis was put on improving specific breeds. However, when you breed two dogs from different breeds, you actually do get the best of both breeds most times. Generally, it is the best genes that show up and a genetic problem that plagues one particular breed of the mating will not show up in the mixed breed animals of any species. Because of this, mutts and cross bred dogs are generally healthier animals with less genetic predisposition to specific disorders. One example of this is that certain types of bull dogs have probles birthing and often need C-sections. If you were to take female dogs from say a Boxer who does not generally have birthing problems but still in the bull dog family, and mate that dog with a male bull dog (whose breed does have problems) the resulting litter of puppies would likely not have the birthing problems plagued by the breed of the bull dog that does. Years ago, when dogs were first being used to create the breeds we know and loved today, this form of selective breeding is how we got what we have today. Most of the genetic problems in pure breed dogs actually come from breeding relatives that are too closely related which is a whole nother problem. Sorry to go off on my soap box here. I am not a fan of cross breeding or line/inbreeding. |