so I went to see some pups today and it was awful :-(

[AllergicToNutters]

They were living in rank cages outside on concrete floors. The smell was horrid. There was Dad and a Portuguese pointer in a cage, Mum was sooo skinny and looked as if she had been bred and bred. The pups looked healthy enough but the one remaining pup ( so I had no choice in selecting one for us) was shaking and whimpering. He was absolutely beautiful but I didn't take him. I felt awful. The pups were kept in a shed away from the other dogs and Mum. They were clearly not 'indoor' dogs. Very sad and don;t know what I can do.....

A lot of people want pedigrees. It's one of the main reasons people give for not getting a rescue dog.

Red, this is for me atleast, one of the biggest downside of having this whole puppy breeding industry. They promote the creation of purebreds and designer/fashionable cross-breeds. No breeder will promote mutts, even if they are the most healthiest. Just no money or 'love for the breed' as some call it, in it.

Most people don't need a pedigree dog. Their dog's main job will be to go for walks with their owner, provide cuddles and demand tummy rubs. A mutt will be great for most of us.

And they are healthier than the breeds we keep perpetuating. For most of us, we no longer need working dogs bred for a specific purpose. How many people use their labs to retrieve nets/ducks from the water? How many Border Collies are herding cattle in London or Manchester? None. So why do we breed so many of them? This really does not help promote healthy and diverse dog genes in the long run.

My mutt has a skin condition, you're welcome to come and rub his tummy if you like? You might not leave with both hands intact, but that's a whole other thread (of which there are many)

He also has inordinate exercise needs and if you don't give him a job he will find his own, such as renovating the old outside loo into a cosy kennel or guarding the front window from passer bys or disposing of the mail and the posties fingers

My two pedigree hounds otoh would make an excellent pet for anyone and are no bother at all.

You are talking out of your arse, Flatbread. Again.

yes, Dooing. Lets not look at large sample data and their findings. Let's ignore published research and base all our knowledge of dogs on your three, ok?

My point is with a mutt or cross breed you never quite know what you are getting wrt how much exercise and stimulation they will need. My dog would not be suitable for a first time owner, nor would say, a Collie cross or a Northern breed cross.

Your scientific data includes pedigrees bred by puppy farmers. No one believes that puppy farmers are a good thing. It's also ignoring recent improvements in breeding by responsible breeders.

i have a crossbreed. a labradoodle.

apparently a cross of two highly intelligent breeds.

someone forgot to inform ralph of those traits

he also has the combination of a poodle hairy ears and the lab fl;oppy ears resulting in expensive ear issues.

he also gets poodle eye issues.

he costs me a fortune in grooming and sort out his minor issues.

Lurchers are mongrels, so you will have to shove over a bit more and make room for my sister and her Bull Lurcher and his hernia.

Flat, you do have a point that many people don't need pedigrees. So we agree on something. John Bradshaw has some interesting things to say on that issue in In Defense of Dogs.

However, most people do want to have an idea of what a dog will be like before they get it. They want to know if their puppy is going to turn out to be a small or large dog and roughly how energetic it will be. So there isn't one generic ideal pet dog that will suit everyone.

Suppose someone did want to breed dogs just to be pets and to be healthy. Your a) and b) wouldn't be the best way to do that. Given that we know dogs have all sorts of inherited problems, the breeder would want to test for those and make sure they weren't passing those conditions on. Otherwise, the 'healthy' part would be missing.

Isn't a designer crossbreed just a mutt with a fancy name?

he is also a shite guard dog, and would probably kill someone if anyone attempted to train him a guide dog.

Guarding is a strong point of my terrier, mainly guarding us from trees and strong winds, which is useful considering we live opposite a park on the north east coast

Yep, Redwing. My crossbreed, gorgeous though he is, is a mutt. He is not a farking sprocker And while I'm at it, mashing words together is neither big nor clever

Oi Chickens, what are you trying to say about my lovely Jack in a Fox?

i really want a bullshitz

Your what now?

A Jackshit would be better.

I prefer to refer to Jasper as a cockringer. Much less cutesy.

We are not entirely sure what he is. The pound said he was a Fox Terrier cross. The vet thinks he is a proper mongrel with some Jack Rusell, some Fox Terrier and some Westie. Going on his ferel and almost untrainable behaviour there could be some actual Fox in there

this is him, if you wanna take a guess

He's bloody gorgeous, that's what he is

this is mine the postie is scared of him, but that could be because dh answers the door whilst saying 'back beast back, get back, i warn ya!' everytime the postie knocks.

He's cute!

DOin, thats not the devil dog is it?

He'd just had a bath and brush there. His usual colouring a bit more muddy and grass stained

misdee, I saw Ralph guarding your poorly DC the other day. He's scrumptious.

I'll see all your defective quirky crossbreeds and mutts and raise you a spitz x large powerful guarding breed. Intelligent as you like but with a penchant for using his Mensa worthy IQ for evil rather than good. Learns quickly and is a doddle to train but will he do a damn thing you tell him? Will he hell! He will consider your request briefly, weigh up the iptions and then give the canine equivalent of the 2 fingered salute It's only his decrepit arthritic knees (product of crossing 2 !breeds with incompatible conformation) that prevent him from launching an attempt for world domination.

And we wonder why his previous owners wanted rid