dogs and disease

[Dano2]

A friend tried telling me that a purebread is more susceptible to cancer and disease than mutt (mixed bread) is.
I swear i read somewhere its just the opposite. Myself, I dont think it would matter, but i think he is just pissed off because his mutt has a tumor the size of your fist in its chest, its an older dog, so maybe its her time soon, but i told him he should atleast have it checked out, but, stinking to his old fashioned ways, he said she seems happy.
Does anyone know for sure, about the purebread, mutt thing?
thanks
P.S. figured maybe he was just saying that becasue I have a purebread black lab, he's just that type a guy, heh, oh well.

[Surface Tension]

A true mutt (not half lab have poodle)where you cant go back and find any purebred lines is more disease resistant.

Our selective breeding focuses on conformation and hunting skills and not disease resistance. We all know how breeding for show has ruined many breeds. There are some conditions like hip dissplasia(sp?)for example that would keep a reputable breeder from breeding a dog.
The wild "Survival of the Fittest" is removed and its turned into "Every Dog for Himself" at the dog bowl

[This message has been edited by Surface Tension (edited 06-05-2003).]

[rushing]

Pure bred dogs are more susceptible to breed specific problems than "Mutts" because of certain pure bred breeders. If pure bred dogs are not throughly checked for breed specific problems they are only breeding dogs that are going to pass on those same bad traits.
Some breeds of dogs are worse than others.

As far as show dogs ruining breeds, I just don't think thats true. The whole point to breeding pure bred dogs is to better the breed and try to achieve the breed standard. Show breeders spend alot of time and money trying to acheive the best dogs possible, which means alot of hunting dog breeders also compete in field trials. The more titles your dog has the more respected breeder/trainer you are. It's a tough and expensive job being a responsible breeder. Thats why when you are looking for a dog, make sure you do your homework on your potential breeder and on the potential problems for that breed of dog. Try to find a breeder that has a certificate saying their dogs have been vet checked for hip dysphasia. Be armed with a bunch of questions! Good breeders like to see a well informed buyer.

There is nothing worse than losing your family dog or your 4 legged hunting buddy
due to problems from irresponsible breeding!

BTW I don't have a hunting dog I have a Boxer that I love very much and has had problems due to being uninformed when we bought him.

Rob

[B-bear]

We all know that breeding for show has ruined breeds???!!!!! ST-- I would have to disagree with you on that. I know a few "show" breeders which are very responsible when it comes to taking care of their particular breeds. They don't want a breed that they love to get a bad reputation like bad hips, tumors, bad eyesight etc. They research genealogy of dogs to make sure they aren't breeding dogs that are related and make extreme efforts to breed OUT diseases.

And I also know a few "non-show breeders" (guys with 2 black labs in his garage) that act very irresponsibly in breeding their dogs. They keep no records or have no knowledge of the 2 dogs they are breeding. The 2 dogs could be brother and sister for cripes sake!!! The only 2 prerequisites in their minds that they should breed the 2 dogs is--
1. They hunt good
2. These are the only 2 dogs we have.
These guys don't care if one or both of the dogs have health problems because they are just looking for a paycheck-- they wanna sell pups to people who know these dogs hunt well. There is more to breeding than knowing whether the dog hunts well. One of my buddies bought a Springer that was supposedly a "show dog"--best darn rooster dog I have ever seen.

Rushing is right. Most of the "show breeders" also sell their dogs for hunting, after all we are talking about hunting dogs not lap dogs. These guys bust their tail trying to get the breed perfect-- not screw it up. If you ask me we should be pointing the dirty little finger of shame at some these amateurs that decided they were gonna breed labs and goldens because they are good hunting dogs and if they can't sell them as a hunting dog they can sell 'em as a good family pet-- which they are only if they don't get a tumor. That’s how these breeds got ruined not by “show doggers”.
Just my opinion- could be wrong tho. Sorry about the rant.

[This message has been edited by B-bear (edited 07-12-2003).]

[This message has been edited by B-bear (edited 07-12-2003).]