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This article does not cite any references or sources. (December 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
A healthy mixed-breed dog shows hybrid vigor.
A mixed-breed dog (also called a mutt, crossbreed, mongrel, a bitsa, tyke, cur, or random-bred dog) is a dog that has characteristics of more than two breeds, or is a descendant of feral or pariah dog populations. The term "mutt" generally refers to a dog of unknown descent. Dogs interbreed freely, except where extreme variations in size exist, so mixed-breed dogs vary in size, shape, and color, making them hard to classify physically.
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There is a profusion of words and phrases used for dogs that are not purebred. The words cur, tyke, and mongrel are some used, but generally viewed as derogatory in North America. In the United Kingdom mongrel is the unique technical word for a mixed-breed dog, and is not a term of disparagement. North American owners generally prefer mix or mixed-breed. Mutt is also used (in the U.S.A and Canada), usually in an affectionate manner. In Hawaii, mixed breed dogs are referred to as poi dog, and in the Bahamas, they call them Pot Cakes (referring to the table-leftovers they are fed). Some American registries and dog clubs that accept mixed-breed dogs use the breed name All American. In South Africa, the tongue-in cheek expression pavement special is sometimes used as a description for a mixed-breed dog. Random-bred dog, mutt, and mongrel are often used for dogs who result from breeding without the supervision or planning of humans, especially after several generations, whereas crossbreed implies mixes of known breeds, sometimes deliberately mated.
In Brazil and the Dominican Republic, the name for mixed-breed dogs is vira-lata (vira: to turn, to bring down; lata: tin can, trash can) because there are dogs without owners that feed on urban garbage on the streets, and often knock over trash cans to reach the food. Therefore, by having stray dogs it seems to increase the amount of "mixed-breed" dogs.
Slang terms are also common. Heinz 57 is often used for dogs of uncertain ancestry, in a playful reference to the "57 Varieties" slogan of the H. J. Heinz Company. In some countries, bitsa (or bitzer) is common, meaning "bits o\' this, bits o\' that". A fice or feist is a small mixed-breed dog. In Newfoundland, a smaller mixed-breed dog is known as a cracky, hence the colloquial expression "saucy as a cracky" for someone with a sharp tongue.
To complicate matters, many owners of crossbreed dogs identify them—often facetiously—by an invented breed name constructed from parts of their parents\' breed names. These are known as portmanteau names. For example, a cross between a Pekingese and a Poodle is called a Peekapoo, possibly a play on peek-a-boo, along with the Goldendoodle, a cross between a poodle and a golden retriever. As another example, one of the UK\'s Queen Elizabeth\'s famous Corgis mated with her sister\'s Dachshund, and the resulting offspring were referred to as Dorgis.
All possible body shapes, ear types, and tail styles can appear in mixed breeds. Extremes in appearance, such as the flattened face of the Bulldog or the extremely curled tail of the Pug, seldom survive even the first crossbreeding. Mixed-breeds also tend to have a size between that of their parents.
Predicting the adult appearance of a mixed-breed puppy is difficult. Even purebred puppies do not look much like the adult dogs they will become, and with mixed-breed puppies it is nearly impossible. If one knows the breeds of the parents, some characteristics can be ruled out; for example, a cross between two small purebreds will not result in a dog the size of a Great Dane. Some breeds tend to pass on their physical traits to mixes more than others. Border Collies and some Spaniels, for example, often produce offspring with similar coats and ears. The crossbreed offspring of German Shepherds usually have Shepherd faces and other characteristics.
With each generation of mixing, the offspring move closer to the genetic norm. Dogs that are descended from many generations of mixes are typically light brown or black and weigh about 18 kg (40 lb). They typically stand between 38 and 57 cm (15 and 23 inches) tall at the withers.
Guessing a mixed-breed\'s unknown ancestry is difficult for even knowledgeable dog observers, because mixed breeds have much more genetic variation than among purebreds. For example, two black mixed-breed dogs might each have recessive genes that produce a blond coat and, therefore, produce offspring looking unlike their parents.
Starting in 2007, blood samplesResults Revealed in Dog DNA Tes (2007-12-17). and cheek swabsCanine DNA Cheek Swab (2008-02-25). have become available to the public to ascertain the ancestry of mixed-breed dogs. These tests are still limited in scope because only a small number of the hundreds of dog breeds have been validated against the tests, and because the same breed in different geographical areas could have different genetic profiles.Canine Heritage Test FAQs (2007-12-17).
The theory of hybrid vigor suggests that as a group, dogs of varied ancestry will be healthier than their purebred counterparts. In purebred dogs, intentionally breeding dogs of very similar appearance over several generations produces animals that carry many of the same alleles, some of which are detrimental. This is especially true if the dogs are closely related. This inbreeding among purebreds has exposed various genetic health problems not readily apparent in less uniform populations. Mixed-breed dogs are more genetically diverse due to the more haphazard nature of their parents\' mating. "Haphazard" is not the same as "random" to a geneticist. The offspring of such matings are less likely to express certain genetic disorders because there is a decreased chance that both parents carry the same detrimental recessive alleles. However, some deleterious recessives are common across many seemingly unrelated breeds, and therefore merely mixing breeds is no guarantee of genetic health.
Crossing breeds to take advantage of the increased chance that a recessive detrimental allele will only be inherited from one parent, and therefore not expressed in the phenotype of the offspring, is only one strategy breeders can use to decrease the incidences of genetic faults. For example, large dogs such as the German Shepherd Dog often suffer from hip dysplasia, a multigene trait strongly affected by environment. Mating a German Shepherd, a breed known to have about a 20% incident of this disease (ref:OFA), with a dog of a different breed not known to suffer from it dysplasia like the Greyhound, reduces the likelihood that the cross-breed produced will suffer from hip dysplasia. Mate the same German Shepherd to an Otterhound (dysplasia incidence about 52%) or to a small dog such as a Pug (62%) or a Norfolk Terrier (37%), and the outcome might be considerably different. Breeding dogs that have been tested free of dysplasia offers a similar result, with the added benefit of producing offspring that are less likely to carry the defect, unexpressed.
Knowing the disease incidence in the breed, and the genetic history of the individual, is ultimately important in dog breeding. Having the parental dogs genetically tested for defects known to be troublesome to their breed (or breeds, in the case of mixed parentage) will do as much, or more, than simply choosing dissimilar individuals with functional reproductive tracts. Genetic health must be approached from many angles. Some schemes are effective for the short-term, but disastrous in the long. Others are slow to take effect, but that effect is long-lasting.
Mating two different purebreds to decrease the likelihood of inheriting a particular genetic disease, without consideration of all the other physical and mental attributes that comprise a suitable pet and companion, is as likely to fail as any other single-trait selection scheme. Overall, hybrid vigor is not associated with any of the traits in dogs that make them suitable companions. At the same time, there\'s nothing about a the genetic background of mixedbreed dog that makes it an inherently poorer companion than its purebred counterparts. Mixed breed dogs can make kind and caring companions and are often very good around children.
There is no guarantee of good genetic health, or temperment, of any dog, purebred or otherwise, as not all damaging genes are recessive, and there are relatively few single-gene traits. Also, of course, purebred and mixed-breed dogs are equally susceptible to nongenetic ailments, such as rabies, distemper, injury, and infestation by parasites.
Mixed-breed dogs can be divided roughly into three types:
There is no scientific justification for the belief that a purebred bitch is in any way tainted after mating with a dog of another breed. Future matings with dogs of the same breed will produce purebred puppies. Mutts or hybrid dogs are known to be very friendly to people, although that depends on their mixed breeds.
Mixed-breed dogs can excel at dog sports, such as obedience, dog agility, flyball, and frisbee. Often, highly energetic mixed-breeds are left with shelters or rescue groups, where they are sought by owners with the caring, patience, and drive to train them for dog sports, turning unwanted dogs into healthy, mentally and physically stimulated award winners.
Until the early 1980s, mixed-breed dogs were usually excluded from obedience competitions. However, starting with the American Mixed Breed Obedience Registry (AMBOR) and the Mixed Breed Dog Clubs of America (MBDCA), which created obedience venues in which mixed-breed dogs could compete, more opportunities have opened up for all dogs in all dog sports. Most dog agility and flyball organizations have always allowed mixed-breed dogs to compete. Today, mixed breeds have proved their worth in many performance sports.
In conformation shows, where dogs\' conformation is evaluated, mixed-breed dogs normally cannot compete. For purebred dogs, their physical characteristics are judged against a single breed standard. Mixed-breed dogs, however, are difficult to classify except according to height; there is tremendous variation in physical traits such as coat, skeletal structure, gait, ear set, eye shape and color, and so on. When conformation standards are applied to mixed-breed dogs, such as in events run by the MBDCA, the standards are usually general traits of health, soundness, symmetry, and personality. The Kennel Club (UK) operates a show called Scruffts (a name derived from its prestigious Crufts show) open only to mixed-breeds in which dogs are judged on character, health, and temperament.
Some kennel clubs, whose purpose is to promote purebred dogs, still exclude mixed breeds from their performance events. The AKC and the FCI are two such prominent organizations. However, the AKC does allow mixed breed dogs to earn their Canine Good Citizen award.
The mature appearance and behavior of purebred puppies is more predictable than that of mixed breeds, including cross-breeds. With purebred dogs, the genetic variations are well documented and a breeder has a fair estimation of what type of offspring a given pair will produce. Still, there is variation within breeds; for example, two champion sheep-herding Border Collies might produce offspring with no interest in sheep herding.
Some trainers believe mixed-breeds exhibit higher average intelligence than purebreds, but others believe mixes are no more intelligent than purebreds. Both sets feature both slow learners and dogs with high learning capacity. For example, Benji, the hero in a series of films named for him, was a mixed-breed terrier. It may be more difficult to predict the trainability of mixed-breed dogs when they are very young. Most Golden Retrievers are eager to please, but a cross of a Golden with the independent Siberian Husky could inherit either dog\'s trainability—or could result in a dog with the endurance and athleticism of the Siberian and the trainability of the Golden.
Many people enjoy owning mixed breeds, valuing their unique appearance and characteristics; while purebred dogs exhibit little variability of appearance within their breed, mixed-breed dogs exhibit often unique appearances. Although some dog owners prefer the status of owning a specific breed of dog or have a nostalgic attachment to a breed they wish to acquire, many others enjoy mixed-breed dogs that exhibit characteristics similar to their favorite breeds; in fact, with a mixed-breed, they can enjoy some aspects of appearance and personality of two favorite breeds with a single dog. There is usually an abundant supply of mixed-breed dogs wanting owners, available at negligible prices, while pedigreed dogs can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars and reputable breeders can be hard to find.
Some owners value a dog\'s pedigree as a status symbol and, therefore, have no use for mixed-breed dogs; others particularly appreciate the physical or behavioral traits of certain breeds; still others ignore pedigree and, instead, value a dog\'s personality and health. In short, most dog owners believe that their dog\'s breed—and specifically their own dog—is the best sort of dog there is.
Local animal shelters adopt out dogs of both purebred and mixed ancestry, emphasizing each dog\'s personality and suitability as a companion for each potential owner\'s lifestyle.
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