sandgrubber Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 This is old, but I can't see it has been discussed before America's most popular dogs revealed in first ever dog census Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373428/First-mutt-census-reveals-Chow-Chow-dogs-popular-mixed-breeds.html#ixzz1YPSiYHkx clipping a few highlights . . . it's an interesting study . . . read the whole thing! When it comes to breeds of pooch, not everything is as you might expect. More than half the dogs kept by owners the U.S. are mixed-breed and the most common breeds are not necessarily those most often found in mutts, a survey says. German Shepherds are popular both as purebreds and mixed-breeds, but the third-placed mixed-breed Chow Chow is only the 63rd most popular purebred. ... The poll revealed that shelters are the most likely place for people to get mixed-breed dogs (46 per cent), followed by friends, relatives or neighbours (18 per cent). Dry dog food is the most popular feeding choice for mutts (65 per cent), ahead of mixed wet and dry food, wet food and raw food or scraps. Nearly half of owners (48 per cent) said their dog slept with them. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373428/First-mutt-census-reveals-Chow-Chow-dogs-popular-mixed-breeds.html#ixzz1YPSZa7ow I find it interesting that DD's are not big, and shelters/friends/relatives/neighbors are the main sources of X-breeds. Lovely that almost half sleep with their dogs . [Though it would be good if people stopped confusing survey and census ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 If shelters are the most likely place for people to get mixed breed dogs does that mean shelters are whelping them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted September 19, 2011 Author Share Posted September 19, 2011 If shelters are the most likely place for people to get mixed breed dogs does that mean shelters are whelping them? I only know half a dozen US shelters. They whelp pups only when they end up with a preggers bitch in rescue . . . all are fanatical about desexing anything that goes out their doors. I've never heard of a shelter allowing a bitch to be bred. I think the numbers are more testimony to the horrible frequency with which people buy pets and either can't keep them, or are unwilling to keep them cause they cause problems of one sort or another, or allow them to wander and can't be bothered with paying the pound to retrieve them. Sad, isn't it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Makes no sense to me. If people are not more likely to get mixed bred dogs from somewhere else how do they end up in shelters in the first place? Or are they talking only about adult dogs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Makes no sense to me. If people are not more likely to get mixed bred dogs from somewhere else how do they end up in shelters in the first place? Or are they talking only about adult dogs? I'd imagine that the survey is answered by only a few pet owners. The people answering it are more likely to be a certain type of owner - those that source mutts from shelters rather than breeders. I don't think you can read anything more into the stats eg shelters breeding dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 I checked. There were ~20000 dogs included in the survey. All were dogs whose owners chose to purchase ($70) the Mars product that uses DNA to determine a mutt's breed ancestry. I'd guess this imparts some bias . . . certainly NOT a random sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carameldog Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 For a more accurate picture why not put a few questions about our pets on the census forms ? How many do we have ? what sort of pets do we have ? Pure bred or x ? Where did we get them from ? It wouldn't take a lot of time and a more accurate picture of pet ownership would emerge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgrubber Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 For a more accurate picture why not put a few questions about our pets on the census forms ? How many do we have ? what sort of pets do we have ? Pure bred or x ? Where did we get them from ? It wouldn't take a lot of time and a more accurate picture of pet ownership would emerge. Great idea. I find lots of dog questions boil down to nothing, cause you can't get the facts. Eg, we get all upset about DD's, but I suspect there are a lot more plain old fashioned mutts . . . oops puppies from people who don't think of themselves as anything else. Putting pets on the National census would be great. One problem: How do you convince the politicians to make it happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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