The Truth About Purebred Dogs

Advantages of purebred dogs

Purebred dogs have many predictable physical traits.

Purebred dogs were developed by "selective breeding", which means dogs WITH specific traits (carried on genes inside the dog's body) were bred, whereas dogs with DIFFERENT traits (and thus differing genes) were not bred (i.e. their traits and genes were removed from the gene pool). The result is that every breed ends up with a specific set of genes that distinguishes it from every other breed. These genes include physical traits such as size, coat, and color.

So when you see a purebred puppy, you have a pretty good idea what genes he had to have inherited and therefore what he should grow up to look like. If you want a certain size dog, or a certain coat or color, you can choose a breed that has genes for those traits.

Purebred dogs have some predictable temperament/behavior traits.

SOME aspects of temperament and behavior are also carried on genes. If you want an energetic dog, you can choose a breed who inherits genes for high energy. If you want a dog for herding your cattle, or guarding your sheep, or hunting pheasants or rabbits, or pulling a sled, or doing police work, you can pretty much count on certain purebreds inheriting genes for those kinds of behaviors.

Proper raising and training can modify certain behaviors, but if a behavior is "hardwired" into your breed's genes, it's harder to change. Don't expect to easily "mold" a purebred dog into anything you want him to be. To minimize power struggles and stress, you should look for a breed with a temperament that already sounds very close to what you want.

Disadvantages of purebred dogs

Predictable traits means you're stuck with them.

Too many people acquire a purebred dog, and then complain about its built-in characteristics. Sorry, but if you choose, say, a Labrador Retriever, you need to accept that he WILL shed a godly amount, he WILL have a large powerful body that can knock over small children if he gets excited, and his enthusiastic tail WILL occasionally send breakables flying off your coffee table.

Physical traits are carried on genes. Specific genes come with each breed. You have to research a breed's genes before you buy.

Some purebred behaviors can be difficult to live with.

I'm talking here about working behaviors.

Most breeds were developed to do some kind of WORK – herding sheep or cattle, hunting pheasants or quail, retrieving ducks from the water, hunting rabbits or coons or wolves, killing rodents in the barn, protecting livestock, guarding estates and monasteries, pulling carts and sleds, police and military work, and more.

Certain behavioral traits that helped a breed do its work were "hardwired" into each breed's genes by selective breeding.

Common working behaviors in purebred dogs include:

• chasing, grabbing, nipping at things that move (useful for herding dogs and hunting dogs)
• high energy level (useful for herding dogs, hunting dogs, sled dogs)
• aggression toward other animals (useful for fighting dogs, guardians, hunting dogs, and terriers)
• digging holes in the ground (useful for hunting dogs and terriers pursuing prey into tunnels, or northern spitz-type breeds who had to dig warm sleeping holes in the snow)
• acting threatening toward strangers (useful for guarding dogs)
• baying and howling (useful for hunting dogs pursuing prey, so the hunter would be able to follow them)
• putting their nose to the ground and taking off in pursuit of interesting scents (useful for hunting dogs and terriers)
• carrying things around in their mouth (useful for hunting dogs who retrieved birds and ducks)
• making their own decisions (useful for many working breeds who had to work independently)
• strong desire to DO things, to use their keen minds and athletic skills to accomplish something (useful for many working breeds)

If you just want a family companion (a pet), working behaviors can be a real nuisance. The reality is that most breeds were never intended to be "just" pets.

Purebred dogs are not GUARANTEED to develop the traits you want.

Up to now it may have sounded like purebred dogs were robots who all look and act exactly the same. If that were the case, you could just decide which traits you want and choose a breed that's supposed to have those traits, and voila! As easy as ordering a pair of drapes from the Sears catalog.

So here comes the other shoe dropping....

A purebred puppy can grow up to be different than what you expected.

It's true. All this purebred "predictability" that I've been talking about is TYPICAL – but not GUARANTEED. The reality is that some purebred dogs do not "conform to the norm" for their breed.

Purebred dogs can have a lot of health problems.

• Crippling bone and joint disorders
• Eye diseases that cause reduced sight or total blindness
• Heart diseases that drastically shorten a dog's life
• Hormonal and endocrine system diseases like hypothyroidism and diabetes
• Seizure disorders such as epilepsy
• Skin diseases that cause frantic itching
• Digestive disorders that cause chronic diarrhea and vomiting
• Kidney and liver diseases
• Blood-clotting diseases
• Cancer – the number-one killer of many, many breeds

You're probably shocked
by that long list of health problems.
And you should be.

Over 300 genetic health problems occur in dogs – all kinds of dogs, purebred, crossbred, and mixed – but the risk of these health problems occurring in a purebred dog is higher than in a crossbreed or mixed breed.

To sum up, a purebred dog can be a good choice...

1. if you know exactly which characteristics you want in a dog.
2. if there is a breed that actually HAS all the characteristics you want (which is unlikely; compromise is almost always required when choosing a dog breed).
3. if you're willing to accept whatever other traits that breed happens to have, including working behaviors.
4. if you're willing to accept the greater potential for genetic health problems (much worse in some breeds than in others).
5. if you're willing to pay hundreds of dollars for a puppy – or adopt an adult through an animal shelter or rescue group.
6. if you acquire your puppy from someone who is doing all the right things to produce good-tempered, healthy dogs.