Pedigrees tend to produce offspring of a similar likeness to the parents in shape, size, colour and behavioural characteristics. This is down to generations of breeding to harden the genes so to speak. Once you cross a breed, in the case of a springer and a cocker for example, the first generation may come out alike and be similar in characteristics to the parents in different ways. However, the offspring of sprockers are less homogeneous and the offspring of that generation will be even less like the parents.
With mixed breeds you often get throw backs to the constituent parts of the parents. So a Jack Russell type cross breed might produce pups that resemble the Yorkshire Terrier that got in with its great-grandmother 3 generations back. Sometimes you get a mixed bag of different looking pups dependant on how many breeds or types are in the gene pool and their influence.
Some cross-breeds are specifically bred to fill a gap that pure breeds are lacking. The Plummer Terrier for example. But in the early crosses there is no guarantee that you will get the best characteristics of both breeds unless you really know the genetics side of things, and even then these custom cross-breeds rarely produce replicas if bred together in the first generations. Many pedigree animals are the result of many generations of breeding to stabilise the breed type.
The current fad for cockerdoos and the like owes more to amusing lexicography than breed standards.
------------- If I had known how busy retirement would be, I'd have carried on working.
Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 27/1/2018
Whether or not a dog is a pure breed or a mongrel depends entirely on the passage of time. Every "breed" known to man is a cross-breed, it just depends how far back in time you go. Surely all domestic dogs are descended from the Wolf? Think of the Mexican Hairless then think of the Newfoundland, that's the work of Man. Mankind has shaped the dog into whatever he wanted at the time, and this has resulted in the "breeds" we know today. Not long ago the KC didn't recognise the Border Collie as a breed, and there are many other examples of this. I suspect that many dogs that are regarded as cross-breeds or mongrels today will be regarded as breeds in themselves in years to come.
Regards the Border Collie example; for many years before the Border Collie was entered into the KC the International Sheep Dog Society kept breed records. To be able to register an ISDS pup, both parents had to have achieved qualifications in sheep dog trials.
The ISDS resisted the KC's attempts to interfere with the breed for many years. Today's KC registered Border Collies are completely different animals to the ISDS collies. All that matters to the ISDS is the preservation of the working ability. Size, shape, colour, etc is of no consequence.
------------- If I had known how busy retirement would be, I'd have carried on working.
Quote: Originally posted by Nicepix on 27/1/2018
Pedigrees tend to produce offspring of a similar likeness to the parents in shape, size, colour and behavioural characteristics. This is down to generations of breeding to harden the genes so to speak. Once you cross a breed, in the case of a springer and a cocker for example, the first generation may come out alike and be similar in characteristics to the parents in different ways. However, the offspring of sprockers are less homogeneous and the offspring of that generation will be even less like the parents.
With mixed breeds you often get throw backs to the constituent parts of the parents. So a Jack Russell type cross breed might produce pups that resemble the Yorkshire Terrier that got in with its great-grandmother 3 generations back. Sometimes you get a mixed bag of different looking pups dependant on how many breeds or types are in the gene pool and their influence.
Some cross-breeds are specifically bred to fill a gap that pure breeds are lacking. The Plummer Terrier for example. But in the early crosses there is no guarantee that you will get the best characteristics of both breeds unless you really know the genetics side of things, and even then these custom cross-breeds rarely produce replicas if bred together in the first generations. Many pedigree animals are the result of many generations of breeding to stabilise the breed type.
The current fad for cockerdoos and the like owes more to amusing lexicography than breed standards.
I agree, it's all down to selective breeding over several generations. With the passage of time cross-breeds become breeds in themselves, as has happened in the past, many, many times.
Half of that list of dogs should have been grouped together. All the fancy silly mixed names are ridiculous. Have you seen the prices being asked for some of them?
My rescue Staffy is such a great dog. He’s possibly a cross with a boxer as he’s quite tall for a Staffy, but we don’t care. He loves us and he doesn’t growl or fight other dogs. In fact he’s so laid back it’s amazing.
And the Staffy came 4th on the list. They aren’t the nasty horrible dog people think.
A post on a Facebook group ran into a thousand comments about what the owners did for a living and a large majority were business owners and home owners. Not the stereotypical tattooed benefits scrounging lay about
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Topic: Britains Favourite Dogs (top 100)
