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Think about it for a minute. What's a purebred? What's a mixed breed?

At this point in time, purebred dogs are recognized breeds that mate to produce reliably predictable results. But remember; they didn't start out that way. Every breed we have now got that way by mixing.

Louis Doberman, to name just one example, created the dog named after him as recently as 1890. He used the Pinscher, the Beauceron, the Rottweiler, the Thuringian Shepherd Dog, the black Greyhound, the Great Dane, the Weimaraner, the German Shorthaired Pointer, the Manchester Terrier and the German Shepherd Dog, though at this point no one knows how much of each dog went into the Doberman we know today. So, is the Doberman a purebred? Then, or now?

The point is that every dog started as a mix of dogs people wanted. As their purpose was refined and genetic strains became reliable, each one became a "breed." Some people are much too reliant on the concept of "purebred," when all it means was that for several generations, the dog's parents were the same "breed." In the hands of untutored or uncaring breeders, it can result in a genetic mess that nonetheless "has papers." But they don't tell anyone how good the dog is.

How good the dog is depends upon how well the dog performs its job. In our modern world, we have far less need for the kind of dog who brings down poachers, guards a moat, or chases a fox to death. Once upon a time, people needed those kinds of dogs, and bred those kinds of dogs.

Getting a Dalmatian now, without realizing this is a dog who was bred to run alongside coaches all day, means mayhem if what the person wanted was a dog who would hang out and watch television in the evenings. The overwhelming number of purebred rescue Dalmatians, who all lack coaches to run alongside, is mute testimony about how a purebred can simply be the wrong dog.

That's why I think the concept of "new breeds" is a sound one. The loss of dog jobs involving hunting and herding means a lot of these wonderful dogs have too much energy and the wrong instincts to do what most people want them to do, which is to be a calm companion who will play well with the kids. "Lap dogs" have always been popular, but back in the day, only the rich or a royal family could commit food and time to a dog who was only a companion. Now, that's the primary purpose of many dogs.

These "new breeds" offer the same reasons anyone buys a purebred dog. To know how big or small they will get, what their coat will require in the way of care, what their personality will probably be like. There are wonderful "mixed breeds" in the shelters of America, and a knowledgeable person can go there and find exactly what they want. But so many people don't have that expertise, and don't want to gamble. With a living being who we want to be a part of our family for ten years or more, why should we?

So let's celebrate the "Labradoodles" and the "Peek-a-Poos." These breeders are creating dogs that people want.

It's no more than what dogs have always done, and what people have always done with their dogs.

Learn more about this author, Pamela Merritt.
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