Designer dogs

A purebred dog is one that has been bred over a long period of time to the point where the offspring of these dogs are predictable in terms of look, character, temperament, size etc. and these known facts may even be documented thereby providing guidelines (or standard) which breeders must adhere to for that particular breed. This means that a dog that does not meet the standard for that particular breed should not be bred.

Purebred dogs come with a boatload of advantages such as knowing exactly what the breed is capable of doing, may be its good for herding, hunting, sporting, a companion dog, guarding etc. And beyond that you will also know the sort of care, training, exercise, health and much more that is right for that breed. In essence you know what you are acquiring and it is easy to get the required knowledge to care for it.

Designer dogs have seen an explosion in interest from dog lovers over the past many years and this is partly because of their exotic look and also because people believe that they are genetically healthier than purebred dogs.

Before we take a closer look at designer dogs it is helpful to state the difference between a designer dog and a mutt. Mutts are cross breed dogs with unknown pedigree and are usually the result of an accident i.e. two different breeds mate to produce a mutt whereas a designer dog is a conscious effort that involves two or more purebred dogs i.e. dogs with known ancestry.

In simply words, a mutt is a cross breed with unknown parent breeds which may make it more challenging to truly care for a mutt since the knowledge of the parent breeds makes it easier to understand cross breed.

So the big question is: are designer dogs healthier? Designer dogs can still have the same genetic health problems of any of its breed parents; however the percentage of designer dogs with genetic health disorder is far lower than purebred dogs because the gene pool has become widened. The widened gene pool increases the probability that a recessive gene will only be inherited from a single parent breed and therefore will not manifest in the puppy.

When two purebred dogs are crossed their offspring is the first generation and in order for the first generation pup to inherit the health problem that is caused by a recessive gene, the pup must inherit the recessive gene from both parent breeds.

Since recessive genes will only manifest when it occurs in pair that it both parent breeds have the recessive gene which they passed down to the pup but a dominant gene will always manifest either singly or in pair. So even if the first generation pup is a carrier (has only one recessive gene) it will not suffer from the health problem.

However designer dogs are not immune from genetic health disorder in subsequent generation of that hybrid e.g. if two goberian dogs that are carrier of the recessive diseased gene mate then the genetic health problems of the original breed may show up or if a dominant gene is responsible for the disease. Therefore in terms of health issues, the first generation designer dog may be the best option. These facts are essentially the same in the same of designer dogs such as miniature golden retriever.

http://www.aboutdogfacts.com/golden-retriever-husky-mix/

http://www.aboutdogfacts.com/miniature-golden-retriever/

http://www.aboutdogfacts.com/