Purebred or Designer Dog?

Although we love to see crossbreds adopted from rescues leostory.org does not advocate the intentional breeding of so called "designer dogs".

Contrary to popular belief DESIGNER DOGS ARE NOT BREEDS OR PUREBREDS they are crossbreds, giving them silly mashup names like Pugalier won't change this.

A designer dog is a crossbred that has usually been created by using two purebred parents of different breeds, for example a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle. Poodles are extremely popular in these first generation crosses. As a result many end up being bred to death in puppy farms.

One of the BIG problems with designer dogs is that there is no reliable predictability in the offspring. Puppies in the same litter may look and act completely differently to each other. Obviously puppies - including those in the same purebred litter - are not going to look or act exactly alike. However, designer dogs often don't even have some basic consistencies across the litter e.g. coat type, size and temperament.

Designer dogs are called "hybrids". The term "hybrid vigour" is used regarding designer dogs to mean that the puppies inherit all the best characteristics from each of the parent breeds making them superior to their parents. So what, that's reasonable, isn't it? Well no, because it's not true.You will often get what is called outbreeding depression in hybrids where the offspring will be inferior to BOTH original parent breeds.

Purebred dogs, particularly those bred by ethical breeders are predictable. What this means is that the puppies will have the same traits (within reason) as their parents, who also inherited their traits from their parents. All purebreds have a breed standard they should adhere to. These standards can vary a little from country to country. You should check you state or national canine body if you want to see what the standard is for a particular breed.

Although some purebreds do have particular health issues associated with them, you are aware of them and your vet certainly should be. You have knowledge; you can look for early signs and treat any problems quickly. Additionally, you can avoid behaviours and procedures that might be a problem. Some breeds may have allergic reactions to particular drugs, so you can avoid them and seek alternatives. With crossbreds you have no idea about these things until they happen, and possibly kill your pet.