OT: for the dog people—and maybe genetics or stats folks—NYT: Has Dog Breeding…

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Oh, and I'm serious. Do people really do this before committing to a relationship?

I guess you could, I'm not sure there is anything wrong with it. Would have avoided a major plot point of the novel "Tom Jones" and the movie "Old Boy"

OTOH, no dna needed to know there's no inbreeding here. I'm not sure how you crossbreed a chihuahua and a cattle dog successfully once, much less multiple times.

dallas by unterhausen, on Flickr

[.RJ]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

OTOH, no dna needed to know there's no inbreeding here. I'm not sure how you crossbreed a chihuahua and a cattle dog successfully once, much less multiple times.

At one point someone suggested my brown dog was a boxer / chihuahua mix and I just asked how they thought that worked

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by .RJ

I have no idea what breeds they are, and that's ok.

Your pooch on the right may be related to Fiona, a rescue from Ashdown, Arkansas. She is Aussie Cattle Dog, Border Collie, and Rat Terrier. She likes to hike, catch frisbees and chase balls. Her Rat Terrier % comes out in homicidal tendencies towards squirrels….

[.RJ]

looks like a fine example of the north american short haired dingo

[jimbolina]

Never got the ‘gotta get a purebred dog’ thing.

A fair amount of ‘em look silly, a lot appear fake, like kids toys, and others are just strange, and even not really dog like.

I have always gotten puppy mutts (growing to be medium-sized) and have had a goodly amount of luck with them, actually. No desire to consider any others types.

Two of those critters were unquestionably superb animals! Well behaved, loyal as all heck, and just fun to have as a companion. The last one of those two was an almost idyllic dog. If I had been provided with a robust checklist, that rascal would have checked ALL the boxes! And more, that I wasn’t aware of, like being able to read me.

Incredible.

I have to say though, a really great, loving dog (or two) is an authentic privilege to have at your side, and one is more than lucky to have experienced that beautiful, wholly unique, gratefully shared experience in life. In my opinion, they represent THE most remarkable connection to the animal kingdom one could possibly ask for.

There.

[Alistair]

Originally Posted by jimbolina

Never got the ‘gotta get a purebred dog’ thing.

Our first two doggos were purebred because we wanted low shed, low allergy dogs.

The next two (this includes the current pup) were rescues - still low-shed, fluffy white furballs, just happened to find them at local rescues.

[peanutgallery]

We always go with rescues. Don't understand the whole purebred thing. Current couch potato is a pit mix that picked us out at a shelter. Great dog

Around here way too many Amish and Mennonite breeders that I would consider far from ethical

[charliedid]

What about the puppy mills and breeders who are breeding mutts? Stories about the robust (we got a dog from one years ago) rescue operations in rural America and bringing all these puppies to big cites for "rescue adoptions" These are (in part, not entirely) essentially puppy mill puppies that are "mutts" not saved from local animal control offices or shelters as assumed or reported.

People do what makes them feel good about their family pets. I get both sides of it.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by charliedid

What about the puppy mills and breeders who are breeding mutts?

There can't be much profit in that - I'd think that "mutts" don't go for anywhere close to pure-breeds.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Louis

There can't be much profit in that - I'd think that "mutts" don't go for anywhere close to pure-breeds.

If you do it as just another part of a breeding operation and sell them by the pound to organizations it's supplemental I suppose.

But yes certainly not the came margin or profit as an AKC pure bred dog.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by charliedid

If you do it as just another part of a breeding operation and sell them by the pound to organizations it's supplemental I suppose.

But yes certainly not the came margin or profit as an AKC pure bred dog.

Not so sure about that out here where I am at. Seems like anything with "doodle" in it's name is being sold for more than most common purebreds.

[verticaldoug]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Is this even reality? What a sad world we live in if it is. Yeah, I'm an old geezer shouting at the clouds.

Oh, and I'm serious. Do people really do this before committing to a relationship?

Not really, but it can make sense for rare diseases. (Rare Diseases tend to occur on a localized part of the genome and aren't as poly-genetic as common diseases). If you look at what screening in the Ashkenazi Jewish population for Tay-Sachs which started in the 1970's, it has basically eradicated this disease some populations.

Or dalmatians for deafness. It's still a problem, but not as bad as it was. However, the dogs now tend to have more black coloration on their head and ears- seems deafness and white coloration on ears are linked.

[unterhausen]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

Around here way too many Amish and Mennonite breeders that I would consider far from ethical

The beagle rescue got some dogs from an Amish breeder who was going out of business. I think there might have been 6 dogs, at least 3 of them were females that they had been breeding. Mother and 2 daughters, speaking of inbreeding. Nice dogs, but a couple of them were afraid to go for a walk at first. For my own emotional needs, it's nice to walk a dog that wants to be petted, but they need to go for a walk.

[.RJ]

My brown dog I'm pretty sure was a stray - had never been on a leash before and did not know how to go on a walk. The good news with dogs, is that most of them will be food motivated, want to please their people and can learn all the basics in a few months.

[merlinmurph]

So, dogs need a dating app like there is in Iceland to make sure your potential mate isn't related. ;-)

Regarding the mutt vs. purebred debate.....

For close to 20 years, I showed up at our local animal shelter on Monday mornings and volunteered for 1-2 hours. I met more dogs than you can imagine and saw the complete spectrum of dog behavior, from totally docile, sweet pups to, uh, difficult dogs that needed work. I learned a lot about dogs and am still a total rookie. I really liked walking a dog one week, then showing up the next week finding the dog was gone (adopted).

Saying that, my golden rule is Get the Dog You Want. There are all types of dogs, dogs of all sizes, dogs of all energy levels, dogs that want to snuggle and totally independent dogs, there are working dogs and lap dogs - it's endless. People need to figure out what they want, otherwise the dog will be simply tolerated (not treated well) or returned. I have seen my share of families with kids adopting a cute but high energy herder that is constantly trying to herd the kids, nipping heels and all that. Not good.

If you want a shelter dog, one of the best suggestions I've seen is to get a dog at least one year old where the dog has grown a bit physically and emotionally and you have some idea what you're getting. Puppies sure are cute - who doesn't love a puppy? But, puppies grow up, and you almost always have NO Idea what you're getting. You may be lucky, or you may not be lucky.

That's why people get a breed - predictability. They have a very good idea what they're getting. Yes, there are no guarantees and you can end up with a mean Golden Retiever or a couch potato Border Collie. And then there's the whole "reputable breeder" aspect.

Three years ago, I caved to my wife and we got a mutt, my first dog in my adult life. I wanted a Golden and as I often say, Bode is definitely no Golden. He is one of the coolest dogs ever, a unique looking 60-pounder, and we constantly get asked what he is. My answer is always something to the tune of "he's whatever you want him to be" or "he's every type of dog". He can be a handful, but he's a much, much better dog than he was when we got him 3-and-a-half years ago as a 1-year-old.

Enjoy your dog!

PXL_20231116_122230007~2 by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

PXL_20231019_110826673 by Dan Murphy, on Flickr

PXL_20231026_202353881.MP by Dan Murphy, on Flickr