Site To Help With Breed Selection

[Maddy]

It's all very generic (as many people have pointed out), not very well researched and in some cases, just a minute or two on Google will correct some of her "facts".

Most of what she's done seems to be taking fairly broad descriptions from places like Wikipedia and then just padding them out with some Type stereotypes. For example.. "Greyhounds are reserved around strangers". Almost every greyhound we've had through here have been the absolute opposite. They love visitors and will happily go with anyone, even people they've never met before.

Not too surprisingly, the site's aim is to direct you to the "buy" pages where Michele kindly offers to tell you what breed of dog she thinks suits you and all for the low, low price of just $75.

For $75, I'd be more than happy to give someone my opinion of which breed was best for them and I'd at least take the time to research properly for the breed descriptions

[aussielover]

The lab stuff was OK until I saw that she reckons Silver labs are ok and will eventually be a reconginised colour. She also thinks a bit of weim blood is probably a good thing and is all for hybrid vigour.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Plus I find this line "They are independent thinkers who don't particularly care about pleasing you" is pretty ordinary, almost offensive.

I do notice that most of it is copy and pasted for Afghans, I would think they have a generic sighthound description they apply to most of them which is pretty lame. They also list Affies as slow to housebreak which is not in my experience with them. Salukis maybe...

I think the line about independent thinkers is probably designed to eliminate those who want a dog that has a cocker style shiny brown eyed faithful devotion to whatever the boss is doing. I think eliminating people who want a dog who hangs on their everyone word and movement is a good idea, but it's a shame to do it in such a crude way.

I have heard it said better, ie, it is tough to win the respect and devotion of a Saluki/Afghan, but once you have, it's a very strong relationship.

As to housebreaking, the more I've seen and trained, the more I have come to the conclusion that what matters most of all is how the breeder raises them. If they are raised indoors and housetrained as soon as they are up and about they are pretty easy. If they are left in kennels or crates in their own filth right from the get go they can be extremely difficult to house train.

[*Bones*]

Wishy washy about my breed but I t hought this quite reasonable.

Except if you didn't want a high energy dog such as a Border Collie you could cross breed for something lower energy.

Why not buy a lower energy dog to begin with?

But I guess that wasn't the point.

A crossbred dog is what you get when you breed one purebred dog to another purebred dog who is a different breed. Sometimes these are called hybrid dogs, though technically a "hybrid" is the offspring of two different SPECIES and dog breeds are not different species.

Many people breed crossbred dogs on purpose and have coined a cutesy nickname: designer dogs. This is a silly name, really, because purebred dogs were also "designed" by the people who created them. A better name for crossbreeds that are bred on purpose might be deliberate crossbreeds.

Deliberate crossbreeds include Labradoodles (a Labrador Retriever crossed with a Poodle), Goldendoodles (Golden Retriever and Poodle), Cockapoos (Cocker Spaniel and Poodle), Schnoodles (Miniature Schnauzer and Poodle), and many more.

Notice the common breed in all the crossbreeds I just mentioned. Poodles are very popular when crossing breeds because people hope that its non-shedding coat will come through in the puppies.

Unfortunately, it doesn't happen that way. A non-shedding coat crossed with a shedding coat (like a Lab or Cocker) produces SHEDDING coats. Yes, the shedding is usually less than it would have been if Lab had been paired to Lab, or Cocker to Cocker.....but it's most definitely still a shedding coat.

So don't be hoodwinked into believing you can get a non-shedder from a Poodle crossed with a shedding breed.

Crossbreeds also occur accidentally -- for example, when a male Siberian Husky escapes his yard and discovers, just down the block, a female Dalmatian who is (lucky for him!) in heat. No specific name has been coined for such a cross -- in fact, no specific name has been coined for most canine crosses -- but that doesn't make the puppies any less crossbred.

One purebred dog bred to a purebred dog of a different breed = crossbred puppies. No cutesy nicknames are required.

Advantages of crossbred dogs

Crossbred dogs tend to have a moderate appearance.

The deformities that have been inflicted on purebred dogs -- tiny size, giant size, very short nose, protruding eyes, short crooked legs, a long back, loose jowls, long heavy ears, wrinkled folds of skin, etc. -- can only be maintained by deliberately and continuously breeding such dogs TOGETHER.

When a purebred dog with a deformity is bred to a purebred dog without that deformity, the hybrid puppies tend to have an intermediate look.

For example, crossbred puppies with only one Bulldog parent have more natural-looking faces and can breathe more easily than purebred puppies with two Bulldog parents. Healthwise, this is very good news.

Crossbred dogs tend to have a moderate personality.

Crossbreeding tends to produce a middle-of-the-road temperament that often fits better into the average household than the more "extreme" temperaments of many purebred dogs. If you've already read my article on purebred dogs, you know that the behavior of most breeds was designed for working purposes. Working dogs needed HIGH energy, STRONG chasing instincts, STRONG digging instincts, STRONG aggressive instincts, etc.

For example, crossbred puppies with only ONE Border Collie parent tend to be less obsessive about exercise and chasing behaviors than purebred puppies with two Border Collie parents. (Assuming, of course, that the other parent in the crossbreeding is a breed with lower energy.)

Crossbred dogs tend to be healthier.

ALL dogs have some defective genes. Since parents of different breeds tend to possess different defective genes, crossbreeding minimizes the risk of the SAME defective genes "matching up" (which is what causes many health problems).

Crossbreeding also produces a positive genetic phenomenon called hybrid vigor. A crossbred dog inherits a greater variety of genes than a purebred dog. Genetic variety produces a stronger immune system and better physical and mental health.

Hybrid vigor only works if each parent contributes a different set of genes. So if you cross two breeds with similar health problems, each parent contributes similar genes to their puppies -- no hybrid vigor.

DISadvantages of crossbred dogs

Crossbred dogs are unpredictable.

No one really knows which characteristics a hybrid puppy will inherit. For any given trait, whenever a puppy inherits different genes from each parent, those genes may blend together into an "intermediate" result...or one of the genes may simply "trump" the other one.

In any crossbred puppy, you can't know for sure which traits will end up a blend of the two breeds, and which traits will end up with one trait trumping the other.

Everything you need to know about crossbred dogs

If you want all the advantages of a crossbred dog that I've talked about in this article, you have to stick with F1 crosses -- and avoid all the others.

"What on earth is an F1 cross???"

An F1 cross is one of the three TYPES of crossbred dogs. If you choose the wrong type, you will probably NOT get all the advantages I talked about -- moderate appearance, moderate temperament, and hybrid vigor.

In my book, How To Buy a Good Dog, I explain the critical differences between an F1 cross and the other two types of crosses.

I tell you how to avoid the crossbred HYPE, where all across the Internet, crossbred dogs are being touted as "perfect" pets and marketed for high prices. I'll show you how NOT to fall for outlandish claims of perfection.

I'll explain how to tell whether a particular cross might make a good, healthy pet. And I'll discuss how to find breeders of crossbred dogs and how to tell which designer dog breeders are good sources from which to buy.

Read about How To Buy a Good Dog.

Read about purebred dogs.

Read about mixed breed dogs.

OR

[hilaryo]

The Borzoi is pretty generic...

Plus one of their listed downsides is "Slowness to housebreak"???? Where did that one come from??? Has this author met Borzoi from another planet??

I've never lived with such clean dogs as Borzoi, I've also never "housebroken" any of mine. They just don't toilet indoors. They don't even toilet in kennels unless absolutely desperate. They don't even like being near other dogs who have made a mess in nearby crates or kennels.

My new boy arrived at 9 weeks old, had one accident in his crate the first night and got so upset about it he has never had another.

Plus I find this line "They are independent thinkers who don't particularly care about pleasing you" is pretty ordinary, almost offensive. Independent thinkers yes, as people are. But does that make them uncaring about their people?? No. Not remotely. Anyone who has lived with them would never think that of them. They are more devoted than people can imagine. Their humans are their world and they hate if they are unhappy.

I do notice that most of it is copy and pasted for Afghans, I would think they have a generic sighthound description they apply to most of them which is pretty lame. They also list Affies as slow to housebreak which is not in my experience with them. Salukis maybe...

Yep... The other sighthound breeds come up with pretty much word for word descriptions for whole sections. The author is looking ignorant doing this. Sighthound breeds are vastly different to each other in many ways, they're not all Greyhounds in differnt coats and colours.

Not just sighthounds Alyosha, the scent hounds (beagles anyway) have the same comments listed. I guess any breed in the hound group has been pretty well lumped together.

[Christina]

Suprise. Pretty good on the Toy poodle.

Had to laugh at the comment about how they can be clipped to look like "normal" dogs, forget the silly show ring clips

Not sure about them being ideal for agility, while they are very lively & agile it would have to be geared to their small size.

Overall a fairly accurate review.

[Alyosha]

Not just sighthounds Alyosha, the scent hounds (beagles anyway) have the same comments listed. I guess any breed in the hound group has been pretty well lumped together.

That doesn't suprise me, the terriers are probably the same, and any other breeds that have similar backgrounds - herding, pastoral, spitz etc. They'd all have their generic description, and then a quick google and add some extra bits to teh beginning - you're in business!

I suppose they're in it for the money but I would hate for people to be turned off their choice of breed by something like it.

[Fevah]

In two minds about the Min Pin review although I do like this comment; "He is a lover of comfort -- usually that lump under the blanket is the resident Min Pin."

Providing enough exercise and mental stimulation. Miniature Pinschers are active go-getters. They MUST have regular opportunities to vent their energy and to use their busy minds to do interesting things. Bored Min Pins can be extremely noisy and destructive.

None of the three Min Pins I've owned were destructive, except for Remy and that was because he suffered from seperation anxiety. I agree that they LOVE exercise, play, being trained (especially for treats) and 'adventures', but there have been times when I haven't been able to walk them (like when I was sick in bed for a week), and they didn't respond in a negative manner.

Animal aggression. Most Miniature Pinschers are dominant or aggressive toward other dogs.

I don't think so.

Fence security. Many Min Pins are clever escape artists who will go over or under fences in search of adventure.

Umm. Apart from Jacques, who is the naughtiest Min Pin I've had (because everyone else SPOILS him), I've had no escape artists (and he only did it once because the opportunity was there, and then he came back, and the only reason I found out about it was that the neighbour saw him!). They haven't wanted to escape. There hasn't been any evidence of attempted escape.

Mind of their own. Miniature Pinschers are very bright and willing to work with a confident trainer, but they have an independent mind of their own and are not pushovers to raise and train.

I always read that Min Pins are not for first time dog owners and that they are hard to train. I wonder where this idea came from? All my dogs have wanted to please me and have done as I asked (albeit sometimes TOO enthusiastically!). I still consider myself a 'first time'/inexperienced dog owner and I have never had any issues.

Barking. Miniature Pinschers are often too quick to sound the alarm at every new sight and sound...For the same reason, Min Pins should never be left outside in your yard, unsupervised.

They are watch dogs, they are meant to bark if someone suspicious comes along! Mine bark when someone knocks on the door, or passes the back gate. I am perfectly happy to leave them alone outside when I am at work. I think barking is a problem for most small dog breeds, but it usually only becomes a problem because owners have not discouraged their dogs from barking!

Miniature Pinschers cannot be trusted off-leash. They will take off -- oblivious to your frantic shouts -- after anything that runs.

Training is the key here. I've successfully managed to train three Min Pins with reliable recall. If I can do it, then it definitely can be done!

[t-time]

She seems to think all pets should be clipped off and doesn't appear to believe either of my breeds are non-shedding

Reviews for both Tibetan terriers and Havanese were very generic and as someone else mentioned, just google the breed in Wiki and you could find out the pertinent information about the breed.

[RuralPug]

This is very interesting...I was quite happy with the breeds I was familiar with (expecially the warts and all warnings) but I did wonder how one person could know 180 breeds intimately...hmmmmm...sounds like the answer is she doesn't...just pretends to with cookie cutter descriptions.

The comment about different temperaments being prevalent in US lines in some breeds I have heard before. Temperament is not really changed in US vs European vs Australian in the breeds I am best aquainted with, but there are hereditary conditions that are rare in one country and common in another, so I suppose it could be the same with temperaments up to a point. Certainly you can have a line where the temperament is usually at one end or the other of the bell curve instead of in the middle.