Let's talk...Mixed breeds!

Hi y'all,

Today's topic is mixed breeds! Also known as "mongrels," "mutts," or "hybrids." Personally, I prefer the term mixed-breeds or hybrids (less to type! That's always good), because it kind of makes me uncomfortable to call a dog a mutt. I know, it's ridiculous: the term mutt as applied to dogs is generally not derogatory (but do not call people that!), I just do not like using it.

Very technically, there is a difference between a cross-breed and a mixed-breed. A cross-breed is a dog that is intentionally bred and has two purebred parents. An example would be the Labradoodle, a cross between a Labrador and a poodle.

A mixed-breed is a dog that may be accidentally created, and may have mixed-breed parents as well. For simplicity's sake, I like to think of crossbreeds versus mixed-breeds as first generation (with purebred parents) versus second generation (with mixed parents). However, for the sake of this project, there is no difference between cross- and mixed-breeds. 

The entire reason for saying mixed-breeds may be healthier is because a lot of purebreds may have been inbreeding for generations, drawing from the same gene pool and receiving the same alleles over and over. Not unlike humans, where inbreeding causes extensive physical and mental problems, dogs may also have physical and temperamental issues. 

Random trivia: royalty were infamous for inbreeding to keep the line pure (sound familiar?) and keep the power within one bloodline, i.e. sisters married brothers, cousins married cousins, etc. One famous example among many is Charles II of Spain, the last Hapsburg  He lived only to be 35, and had physical deformities (so much so that he was rumored to be cursed by a sorcerer and called Charles the Hexed) and mental disabilities, as well as a history of insanity in his family. There is a good reason inbreeding has stopped in modern times, and not just because you don't want the family confusion of she's my sister...but also my aunt?!

The Hybrid Vigor theory is also called heterosis, and explains how out-breeding measurably enhances the genetics of a species or hybrid. This applies not just to animals, but to plants as well. This theory is still contested, but I believe it makes sense. After all, out-breeding enlarges the gene pool and makes it more likely for dominant traits to mask recessive ones. According to Dr. Urs Giger, professor of medicine and genetics, most hereditary diseases in dogs are recessively inherited, making it more likely for inbred dogs from the same line to have the same recessive alleles, therefore prolonging the disease's existence. 

More on mixed-breeds and health later! :) 

~S

P.s. Do keep in mind that while I strongly encourage adopting AND adopting mixed-breeds, being a mixed-breed does not make a dog insusceptible to injuries or regular, non-hereditary diseases such as rabies. A mixed-breed will be just as likely or unlikely as a purebred to get worms or rabies.