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.

God I love a mongrel. Grew up with them.
I came across this photo of my dad as a boy with the family dog. I can't even work out what its mix is, it's so... mongrelly. A proper lump o' mongrel, that one.

How do you go about getting a mongrel dog these days? Rescue is the only way I can think of, apart from having friends who know about them.

@TheVanguardSix love that dog!

We have a beautiful 3 year old mongrel, had him since he was 12 qerks. Hi mum was a rescue (friends adopted her while she was pregnant) and she had six pups, likely from two different impregnations, split into two trios in terms of look and temperament.
She's part Patterdale, reckon our boy is also part bearded Collie and part lurcher. He's the best

@Gherkingreen that is a truly magnificent beard.

Thanks @ABitBesottedWithMyDog! We call it his 'wee Billy Connolly beard' in a terrible Scottish accent (apologies Scotland) but it's said with love and respect

I’m looking to buy my first dog. I’d love a mongrel, a proper mutt- but everything seems to be pure breeds or oodles/poos

I had a German Shepherd collie cross as a teenager, and would have another in a heartbeat

Basically sign up at a shelter and wait for some "accidental puppies" to show up from 1985.

I think with most people spaying nowadays and dogs no longer roaming the streets, true mongrels are rare. Dogs are deliberately bred - puppy-farmed popular breeds with one another in the hope of creating some sort of 'look'. There are no accidents, only the money-hungry.

That said, I think in rural areas with working dogs you still get old-fashioned breeders with healthy dogs who simply want a puppy for themselves and sell the rest. It's finding them that's hard.

Another option is foreign rescues - full of striking mongrel puppies. But coming from the streets isn't plain-sailing.

I miss the days of the 'Collie Cross' at the dog's home, which meant they knew nothing other than the predicted size. Best dogs ever. Cost about £25 if you couldn't find a free one in the local paper and they lived forever.

I have one of those Dogs Trust Collie Crosses and he’s just turned 18 (had him since December 2004). Doesn’t look much like a collie to me though