Dog

crossbreed A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to mai ...

s, sometimes called designer dogs, are dogs which have been intentionally bred from two or more recognized

dog breed A dog breed is a particular strain of dog that was purposefully bred by humans to perform specific tasks, such as herding, hunting, and guarding. Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing around 450 global ...

s. They are not dogs with no purebred ancestors, but are not otherwise recognised as breeds in their own right, and do not necessarily breed true.

Early crossbreeds

Several types of dog crossbreeds date from the 14th century or earlier, such as the

lurcher A lurcher is a cross-bred dog resulting from mating a Greyhound or other sighthound with a dog of another type, commonly a herding dog or a terrier. The lurcher was for hundreds of years strongly associated with poaching; in modern times it i ...

or the longdog. Historically, crosses between dogs of different types were more well accepted at a time when modern purebred breeds (based on the

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

principles) did not yet exist. These types of crosses were performed to aggregate qualities of two different types in the same dog or to perfect an already fixed type of dog, always for working purposes. An example to be cited is the famous case of Lord Orford's

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgen ...

s, which were improved by adding courage through the crossing with

Old English Bulldog The Old English Bulldog is an extinct breed of dog. Physical characteristics The Old English Bulldog was compact, broad and muscular, as reflected in the painting '' Crib and Rosa''. Through John Scott's engraving, this painting became the ...

s, achieving the desired result after six generations. With the success of Lord Orford's dogs, the practice was adopted by other Greyhound breeders and became more common. File:181. Greyhound x Bulldog first cross.JPG, Greyhound/Old English Bulldog first cross File:182. Greyhound x Bulldog second cross.JPG, Greyhound/Old English Bulldog second cross File:183. Greyhound x Bulldog third cross.JPG, Greyhound/Old English Bulldog third cross File:182. Greyhound x Bulldog fourth cross.jpg, Greyhound/Old English Bulldog fourth cross Other historical examples are the

bull and terrier Bull and terrier was a common name for bulldog and terrier crossbreeds of the early 1800s. Other names included half-and-halfs and half-breds. It was a time in history when, for thousands of years, dogs were classified by use or function, unli ...

(

and

terrier Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...

cross) and crosses between

foxhound A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their bark, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on hors ...

s and

Old Spanish Pointer The Old Spanish Pointer, or Perro de Punta Español, is an extinct breed (or landrace) of dog originating in Spain, believed to be the ultimate ancestor of almost all pointing dogs. History In 1644, Alonso Martínez de Espinar described the ...

s that later resulted in the

English Pointer The Pointer, sometimes called the English Pointer, is a medium-sized breed of pointing dog developed in England. Pointers are used to find game for hunters, and are considered by gundog enthusiasts to be one of the finest breeds of its type; ...

Designer dogs

The ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various ...

'' traces what was the "designer dog" fad to the late 20th century, when breeders began to cross purebred

Poodle The Poodle, called the Pudel in German and the Caniche in French, is a breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Poodle va ...

s with other purebred breeds in order to obtain a dog with the Poodle's hypoallergenic coat, along way with various desirable characteristics from other breeds. Fred the Bassador

The primary identifying mark of a designer dog is that the resulting puppies are called by a

portmanteau word A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordssyllables (or sounds) from the breed names of the two purebred parents, such as

Schnoodle This is a list of common dog crossbreeds. These are crossbreed dogs created deliberately by crossing two purebred dogs. Some are known as designer dogs and are bred as companion dogs, often given portmanteau names derived from those of the par ...

(

Schnauzer A Schnauzer (), plural ''Schnauzer'', literal translation, lit. translation "snouter") is a dog breed type that originated in Germany from the 14th to 16th centuries. The term comes from the German language, German word for "snout" and means coll ...

and Poodle cross), or Shepsky (

German Shepherd Dog The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

/ Siberian Husky cross). Other purebred breeds are being crossed to provide designer dogs described with an endless range of created labels, such as the

Puggle A puggle is a dog crossbred from a pug and a beagle. The puggle was first bred by designer dog breeders in the United States with the aim of producing a healthy companion dog that is less likely to inherit some health and behavioural issues com ...

(Pug and Beagle cross). There are even complex crosses (with multiple breeds in recent ancestry) being labeled in this manner, such as German Chusky (German Shepherd Dog, Siberian Husky and

Chow Chow The Chow Chow is a spitz-type of dog breed originally from northern China. The Chow Chow is a sturdily built dog, square in profile, with a broad skull and small, triangular, erect ears with rounded tips. The breed is known for a very dense ...

cross). Like children in a family, a percentage of designer dogs with the same breed ancestry will look similar to each other, even though crossbreeding does not result in as uniform a

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological prop ...

as the breeding of purebreds. Often even pups in the same litter will look quite different. Huskamute facial expression

Another defining characteristic of designer dogs is that they are usually bred as

companion dog A companion dog is a dog that does not work, providing only companionship as a pet, rather than usefulness by doing specific tasks. Many of the toy dog breeds are used only for the pleasure of their company, not as workers. Any dog can be a co ...

s and

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

s. Working and hunting dogs deliberately crossbred for a particular working purpose are not generally given portmanteau names; they are most often referred to by a type name, such as Eurohounds (racing sled dogs) or

s (hunting dogs). These dogs could be considered only as crossbreeds, not as designer animals, since appearance is not the main reason for them to be bred. An exception to this is the

Labradoodle A Labradoodle () is a crossbreed dog created by crossing a Labrador Retriever and a Standard, Miniature, or Toy Poodle. The term dates back to at least 1955 but was unpopular at the time. Labradoodles are considered a good choice for people wit ...

, which although having a portmanteau name, is often used as a Guide or Assistance dog as well as being a popular family dog. Although designer dogs are often selected by owners for their novelty, reputable breeders sometimes use crossbreeding in an attempt to reduce the incidence of certain hereditary problems found in the purebred dogs, while retaining their more appealing traits. Jon Mooallem, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', commented, "Given the roughly 350 inherited disorders littering the dog genome, crossing two purebreds and expanding their gene pools can be 'a phenomenally good idea,' according to one canine geneticist—if it is done conscientiously." Crossbreeding has not been well studied in dogs, although it has been for livestock. The heritability of the desired trait being bred for (such as a hypoallergenic coat) needs to be known; "Heritability is the proportion of the measurable difference observed between animals for a given trait that is due to genetics (and can be passed to the next generation)." In addition, the goals of dog crossbreeding may be harder to define than the goals of livestock crossbreeding; good temperament may be harder to define and measure than high calf weight. Corgi and Jack Rusell Terrier cross

Designer dog breeders are often criticised for being more interested in profitable puppy production than in dog health and welfare. Wally Conron, writing in ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his w ...

'', comments on the popularity of crosses after his introduction of the Labradoodle: "Were breeders bothering to check their sires and bitches for heredity faults, or were they simply caught up in delivering to hungry customers the next status symbol?" 'Designer dog' puppies sometimes bring higher prices than the purebreds from which they are bred. Fanciers of designer dogs say that all modern dog breeds were created from earlier breeds and types of dogs through the same kind of selective breeding that is used to create designer dogs. The

Toy Poodle The Poodle, called the Pudel in German and the Caniche in French, is a breed of water dog. The breed is divided into four varieties based on size, the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle and Toy Poodle, although the Medium Poodle var ...

was bred down in size from the larger Standard Poodle, most likely by crossing with various very small Bichon types, such as the

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

and

Havanese Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. Most of the modern breeds have ancestries that include various older dog types and breeds; see individual breed articles for details of the origin of each breed. Health of crossbred dogs depends on their being descended from healthy parents. Breeders who select their breeding stock for cost-effectiveness and who skip health testing for the same reason will not produce puppies that are as reliably healthy as those bred by more conscientious breeders. However, studies of longevity in dogs have found some advantage for crossbreeds compared to purebred dogs. In general it is believed that crossbred dogs "have a far lower chance of exhibiting the disorders that are common with the parental breeds. Their genetic health will be substantially higher."

Genetic defects

Crossbreeding that takes advantage of the increased chance that a recessive detrimental allele will only be inherited from one parent and therefore not expressed in the

of the offspring, is one strategy breeders can use to decrease the incidences of genetic defects. Knowing the disease incidence in the breed, and the genetic history of the individual, is important.

Registration and recognition

Crossbreed dogs are not recognized by traditional breed registries, even if both parents are registered purebreds. Breed associations such as the

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster ...

, the

United Kennel Club The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to individ ...

and the

Canadian Kennel Club The Canadian Kennel Club (or CKC), founded in 1888 and chartered under the Animal Purebred Act, is one of the national kennel clubs of Canada. It maintains breed registries A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in ...

do not recognize designer crosses as dog breeds. Westiepoo age 7

If crossbred dogs are bred together for some period of time, and their breeding is well documented, they may eventually be considered a new breed of dog by major kennel clubs (an example of a recent crossbreed becoming a breed recognised by all major kennel clubs is the Cesky Terrier). New breeds of dogs must have a breed club that will document the ancestry of any individual member of that breed from the original founding dogs of the breed; when the kennel club that the breed club wishes to join is satisfied that the dogs are pedigreed, they will accept and register the dogs of that breed. Each

kennel A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, ''the kennels'', the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and (though not in all cases) bred. A kennel can be made o ...

club has individual rules about how to document a new breed. Some minor registries and internet registry businesses will register dogs as any breed the owner chooses with minimal or no documentation; some even allow the breeder or owner to make up a designer "breed name" for their pet. Some crossbred dogs, created by breeding two purebred dogs of different breeds, may have the advantage of

heterosis Heterosis, hybrid vigor, or outbreeding enhancement is the improved or increased function of any biological quality in a hybrid offspring. An offspring is heterotic if its traits are enhanced as a result of mixing the genetic contributions o ...

, or crossbreed vigor. This advantage can be progressively diluted when two crossbreeds are bred in the attempt to create a breed, narrowing the gene pool. The best way to continue taking advantage of crossbreed vigor is from the breeding of dogs of purebred ancestry, as this vigor is typically seen only in the first generation cross of two purebred animals of separate breeds, thus taking advantage of

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of Genetics, genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. ...

References

External links