I miss old fashioned mongrels.

[Hollyhocksarenotmessy]

Particularly the medium sized black and tans with amazing eyebrows that seemed to be attached to every pensioner during my childhood.

Archer that looks very rottyish!!

When we took out pup to the vets to get her first jab the vet did a little punch of joy that we couldn't say what she is other than a Heinz 52. Apparently 3very other puppy that month had been a oddledoodlepoodle thing.

Me too! Grew up with a tri-coloured collie cross - fantastic temperament and so healthy. I’m now a vet, and sick of seeing only Staffies, Cockapoos and horribly-bred breeds like French bulldog, English bulldog, Boston Terrier etc. There are hardly even any Jack Russells any more, and they used to be so common.

But if people keep stumping up huge wads of cash for unhealthy dogs, people will keep breeding them.

I saw a medium-sized black and tan mongrel yesterday and I did a double-take, such was my surprise at seeing it. I considered asking the owners if they knew what he was/where they'd got him, but decided against it. He was so similar to my childhood dogs, it was lovely to see.

Pub terriers!

@Treecreature

Mongrels everywhere we look. But now people call them things like cockapoos or labradoodles and charge a fortune.

This.

If its not a full breed its a mongrel.

I think OP is probably referring to the Heinz57-type dogs of uncertain parentage, rather than cockapoos etc, which are crossbreds rather than mongrels.

Agree. Re the poo crosses. They are mongrels. You see so many fewer of the old style ones these days though, sadly.

My darling was nearly 18 when she died. I loved her so very much. Collie terrier and who knows what else. Miss her and always will. Neither cutely photogenic nor hypo allergenic. But absolutely my heart dog. I was privileged to have her as my friend.

@FelicityBeedle you might want to crop your photo, lovely dog though!

Thing is, it’s not really a bad thing that you don’t get as many of them anymore, it kind of reflects that more people look after dogs properly and don’t randomly breed.

But... it does mean people who have worked out how to monetise random breedings by giving it a portmanteau name do more of that instead. And I don’t even mean just the straight crosses, you see puppies with real weird names for sale and when you look it’s about 4 different breeds in there.

We've got one. He is gorgeous. Exactly as others have described: black, tan and white. Curly tail. Obviously some terrier in there. Lovely temperament.

He is a rescue dog originally from ireland. I had thought he was a jack russel x border collie. But reading this thread he could be alot more.

I spoke to a guy in the pub (where you find the best experts) who says that with enough mixing all dog show the same characteristics and look the same. This thread seems to suggest the same.

My family are mongrel owning people
My dog growing up was a proper Heinz 57 rescued from Birmingham dogs home. She was tan and white with a big spot of brown on her bum. She looked a bit beagle like but really we had no idea. She was a very god girl, loved by all and had a long and happy life.

My sister and I both got Romanian rescue dogs which I think is where a lot of todays mongrel dogs are coming from. I honestly can't get my head around paying thousands of pounds for any dog and all this genetic testing and going on breeders waiting lists for years just for a family pet who you aren't going to work or show.
I just want a friendly mutt who likes a walk and a cuddle and I don't reckon I should need to pay thousands to achieve that.

Anyway this is my mutt

I came across a gorgeous scruffy mutt the other day, asked his owner what he was... and she replied 'a saturday night special!' . He was a rescue and they had one of those DNA tests done out of curiosity and there was a bit of everything in there!

And another yesterday.. a big tall white dog with black splodges and a lovely bark. Owner said he called him a 'Tuscany Setter' because he looked a bit like an English setter but not quite, and they found him as a stray in Tuscany!

Mine's a 'proper' breed because we needed fairly predictable characteristics (DS2 has autism) but I really want a Heinz 57 rescue next time!

Here's my mongrel girl! She's a Romanian rescue, eyebrows and all. Probably GSD/lab cross from her looks and build - we have never bothered doing dna testing.

My parents have a lovely sweet mongrel. Seems to be mostly terrier. 18 years old and still going.

@CovoidOfAllHumanity, your dog id adorable! My friend has a Romanian rescue too. Also beautiful, but so highly strung.

Yours too, @Xiaoxiong. Such intelligent eyes. Some deep thoughts going on there

Like this, you mean?

Do lurchers count? I used to have a medium sized lurcher rescue who was probably part whippet, some Staffie and who knows what else.

@Treecreature

Mongrels everywhere we look. But now people call them things like cockapoos or labradoodles and charge a fortune.

Phnar phnar you're so clever.

Me too. I have a terrier bitsa dog and a Spanish spanielly bitsa dog. I also have a couple of actual breeds, a patterdale and a springer. They are all lovely, but I have to say the patterdale and springer are much harder work than my two mongrels!

Yes, my baby was alsation, lab, Westoe and Italian greyhound cross with some Chinese crested in there and some other bits and bobs of other breeds but not enough to make the big headlines in his dna test.

He looked like an alsation puppy his entire life and was absolutely my soulmate. I've never bonded with another animal like I did him. He also lived much longer than any of our pure breed yorkies did and our border/Yorkie with less health issues (until his last 18m where screws and more got him and he became poorly).

It will be a year in April. I still look for him, go to let him out, miss knocking his water bowl, look for him to be tap dancing in excitement as I come down the stairs /enter the house ❤️💔

I have a Romanian rescue too. He was already in the UK though and we adopted him from someone else here as he didn't get on with the other dogs there.

I was told he was mostly Romanian (Carpathian) Shepherd and possibly German Shepherd. I think I see some border collie in him. We haven't done a DNA test on him, it's tempting but we don't need to at the same time. DH calls him a Heinz 57 because he's definitely a proper mix of breeds.

I just clicked into this from trending, but I met the best dog the other day, with a very chatty wee old woman. She said he was part Lhasa apso and part fox terrier on his mum’s side, and the dad was an unknown quantity. His name was Bert and he really suited it - a proper little old man with a very waggy tail!

Definitely if you adopt from overseas you will find yourself with a mongrel.