Are Mixed Breed Dogs Healthier Than Pedigrees?

When looking to purchase a dog for your family, there can be great temptation to purchase a pedigree puppy.  After all, pedigrees are instantly recognizable, and can be something of a status symbol.  Certain breeds are also associated with certain personality traits, and while not every doberman becomes a fierce guard dog and not every Golden Retriever is the perfect family dog, you certainly stand more chance of getting something close to the temperament you are seeking if you choose to purchase a pedigree.

 

With half breed and mixed breed dogs, it is often a bit of a guessing game to determine what traits and characteristics they will develop.  With puggles, labradoodles and every mixed breed in between, not even the owners of the animal’s mother may know what your new pup was mixed with. With this in mind, it is really better to consider a half breed?

In truth, a half breed dog is much more likely to be robust and healthy than a full breed.  Full breed dogs are often bred from a single, rarefied family line in order to ensure that they have all of the markings, traits, and characteristics that would make them ideal as show dogs.  Put simply, pedigree dogs are the result of often extreme interbreeding, with brothers, sisters and cousins bred together repeatedly to produce new puppies. While the result is a dog that is almost guaranteed to look just like the parent dogs, it often impacts the puppies significantly in terms of health.  Many full breed canines are simply not very healthy, and many are not very bright.

 

Pedigree dogs are also unnatural dogs. The vast majority of the pedigree canine breeds you see today are not naturally occurring, they have been bred by humans over hundreds of years to produce traits that do not occur or would be considered life-threatening deformities in the wild. For instance, bulldogs are so stocky and thick bodied that they cannot clean themselves properly, and many may develop sores and infections if not properly cleaned and wiped by their owners on a daily basis. Floppy-eared boxers are prone to ear infections, flat-faced pugs may have a hard time breathing as they get older or get sick, and long-bodied dachshunds almost always succumb to back issues.

 

Whether you should buy half or full breed dogs largely depends on if you are looking to enter your pet in dog shows.  If you want a show dog, then a full breed is certainly a good choice for you, but be prepared to spend a lot more money at the vet as your dog gets older. 

 

If, on the other hand, you are simply looking for an affordable, healthy animal to bring love, laughter, and joy into your household, a half breed might be the perfect choice.  Half breeds are most commonly available from your local animal shelter, meaning that you’ll pay under a hundred dollars for your new best friend, as opposed to the hundreds and in some cases even thousands of dollars that unscrupulous breeders charge for a pedigree animal.

 

Mixed breed dogs can make tremendously wonderful pets.  While full breeds are also just as loving, the risk of health problems is certainly high enough that it cannot be ignored.

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