Pure bred or mutt?

I bought my chihuahua from a breeder. At the time, I wasn't as knowledgable about dogs as I am today. I'm a bit embarrassed not to have saved a dog from a shelter, when there are so many needing loving homes. I thought that if I bought a puppy that was "pad trained" I wouldn't even have to potty train it. This of course is not true at all, when they're that little they still need a lot of training. Mutt or purebreed, I think people should get dogs from shelters first and foremost. I don't have a preference personally.

I think either way you should get one from the shelter. There are more purebred animals in the shelter than people seem to assume. Not to bash any particular breed, because I know German Shepherds are lovely dogs, but a lot of times they have some very serious problems with their hips. They are a very smart breed, but I would suggest going for a mutt. A lot of time animals that have been bred to meet a breed standard suffer from being bred within too narrow a group, or from the bad genes being carried on both sides, causing the puppies to inherit these traits. They end up having a lot of problems. Mutts often escape those problems.

I think that everyone should get their pets from the shelter system. Animals are being put down in shelters every day. Buying from a breeder allows them to keep breeding, which means more animals will be put to sleep. Shelters have puppies, pure bred animals, and animals that haven't done anything wrong to make them lose their home. Often animals lose their home because people move, or develop an allergy.

I love them all but yes I would choose a mutt from the shelter just to provide a home for one (or two). I did get one full grown shepherd (not a mutt though) from the pound long ago and he went after one of my visitors. She had to run in the bathroom and close the door to get away and I had to call some friends to come take the dog outside since he wouldn't leave the bathroom door. I didn't have him very long when that happened. I really prefer getting a dog when it's a puppy so we can really get to know each other.

Everyone blames breeders for the dogs in the shelter, and that is simply not why there is such a problem with shelters being overfilled.
The problem is the people that get a dog, and then allow it to get bred and have puppies. Then they try to find homes for all the puppies, and these are the dogs that are usually found in shelters.

People that spend $400 for a purebred puppy, usually also care enough to keep that dog, take care of its needs, and they seldom end up in a shelter unless they somehow get lost, and are impounded.
Dogs that are not purebred, especially large breed dogs, should always be neutered, so they do not have a large litter of accidental puppies, which then grow up to fill up the shelters with unwanted dogs. If dog owners were responsible, there would be a lot less dogs euthanized every year.

I would opt for a mutt, they tend to live longer with far less health issues. They also generally have very unique physical characteristics which I think is my favourite part about them, they always look so dashing. I have a mix breed (Pitt bull - Rottweiler) and she is by far the best dog I have had the pleasure to own. Very intelligent and eager to please, as well as being very friendly to both humans and other animals. We got her for free from a family near us, and we get so see the parents regularly. I couldn't imagine a better scenario when adopting a dog.

It does not really matter to me. I generally get dogs that I "feel" for. There are dogs that would "call to you" and dogs that won't. When I touch or carry the dogs, the one that seems to enjoy my cuddling the most gets to go home with me. I do understand that there are many mutts in shelters. Perhaps next time we get a dog, we will go and visit a shelter instead of a pet shop or breeder. Many people go for pure bred dogs because they have more value. It is the only way to sell the pups at a decent price. Since I am not in it for the money, I really don't care if I end up giving puppies away even if they are pure.

Our dog is a pure bred. I think when we were first contemplating a pet we thought we might actually breed and raise dogs so that is why we wanted a pure bred. But, it turned out that we weren't able to breed him - it was one of the conditions. Well, I should say we could breed with him but we wouldn't be able to have papers that the puppies were from a pure bred line. I think that was a way for the breeder to keep the lines pure.

But, it didn't matter. We don't use him to breed - he is just our pet.

I don't know if I have a preference - but even growing up my parents raised and sold pure breds. Guess I'm kind of used to it.

It would all boil down to personal preference I suppose. I don't care too much about pure breeds. I like my mutt and I wouldn't trade him for the world! What are you trying to get out of a dog? Some sort of job to handle? Hunting perhaps? Or maybe you want to enter dog shows? If you are just looking for a companion, I would suggest to adopt a dog from a rescue shelter even if it's a mutt. In fact, mutts normally have less medical problems than purebred dogs. Another thing to look at would be the price. The price of a true purebred would be a lot higher on its own not even counting the costs of vaccinations, and other expenses. Adopting a mutt would be cheaper, it would also most likely come with the vaccines it needs. In the end, it all depends on what you want and what you are looking to gain from this companion. Do your research, especially the special needs that pure breeds require.

I am also in favor of getting a mutt from a shelter. It's true you can get purebreds from a shelter, but you are much more likely to find a mutt. Mutts generally don't have the problems of purebreds simply because the genetic pool is so mixed. If there are genes that would cause a health issue, they are diluted by genes of other types. Here's a sweeping generalization: Mutts have the best of what each breed in its gene pool has to offer. Of course, dogs, not unlike people, are individuals first and there may be a mutt with a lot of problems. But still, since I'm going to have a pet, not a show dog, I'll go with a shelter mutt every time.

I don't have a dog now, though I used to have dogs, and will probably have one in the future. But my brother has a shepherd mix and she's a great dog!

A healthy dog is the most important thing to me. My dog is pure bred, but the breeding wasn't as great as you would think. She has a lot of health problems that came up in the beginning. We worked closely with the vet and were able to make it past them all though and now she's as healthy as a horse.

She's a great dane so she's the size of a horse.

Though there are some characteristics of breeds that might be bred out from time to time, a mixed breed or pure bred can make a great addition to a family. Sometimes the quirky characteristics that might pop up will be pretty entertaining as well.

I've heard some horror stories from people who have bought pets from breeders. One was just on The People's Court recently for selling a dog that was obviously sick in advance of the purchase. Needless to say, the dog passed away shortly afterwards and the owner was out of a dog and a lot of money.

I think the term "mutt" is unfair and misleading too. A "labradoodle" is a "mutt" generally speaking, but now breeders are charging top dollar for them. There are many unique and gorgeous "mutts" at the pound, that also have the added benefit of not having so many health problems from all the inbreeding. I had an incredible coonhound mix for 15 years that I wouldn't have ever traded for any purebred in the world.

It doesn't really matter to me what breed or mixture of breeds a dog is. If a dog needs a home, I will take care of it no matter what kind it is. I've got a dog and when she was just a puppy, she showed up at my house and followed me to the mailbox. I took her in and fed her and of course just kept her. I have no idea what kind of dog she is. I am assuming that she is a mixed breed and some people tell me that she looks like she has some pit bull in her. I don't know or really care. She is a very sweet dog and I love her no matter what kind she is.

I definitely love the looks of the majority of pure breds. That being said, I really can't in good conscience support the continued in-breeding of dogs for the sake of my vanity. I mean, I know that there are many good and respected breeders, but I feel that we're kind of ruining things for the dogs from an evolutionary and genetic standpoint. Pure breds are gorgeous, but so incredibly susceptible to diseases and maladies that a mutt would otherwise be fine with.

Mutts have a certain appeal to them, some of the more scrambled varieties are barely indentifiable, which is kind of cool as they look a part of so many different breeds. That, combined with the fact that they can be much healthier leads me to want a mutt, despite how pretty pure breds can be.