As a pet, Would you buy pedigree or mix-breed?

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poiuytrewq

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and why?

Both my current dogs I was given for different reasons so they are not breeds I have or in honesty would probably have chosen.
The last dog I purchased as a puppy for myself was 10 years ago and a little x-breed. Not in a designer, I want to be trendy kind of way just that I wanted a little dog and a friends friend had a litter.

I'm always checking out for sale ads and pages and notice two things. Firstly the price of pedigree puppies has shot up (I've bought two labs over the years for £300 and £400) The latter not so long ago but from a friend. The price of a lab pup seems in excess of £500 now in general and other breeds can get astronomical, just seen a French Bulldog litter at £2400 :O

Secondly I notice a HUGE amount of x-breed litters for sale (purpose or accidental, I'm not sure) even these are fetching strong money. £400 for a Bichon Frise x

I'm drawn more towards the cross breeds nowadays not only because of the price but there are some incredibly awesome looking dogs out there which if you believe the adverts have the best of both worlds and combine some great characteristics.

Opinions?
 
I guess it depends on what you want them for, and what you are prepared to pay. Do you want to have any litters, go to shows etc?

We've always had spaniels some KC Registered and some Sprokers, obviously the breeding of the dog has nothing to do with how you bond with it!

I have heard however that a cross may be beneficial as alot of breeds depending on lines etc have become inbred causing more health issues.
 
I tend to get my from the local rescue centre so go more for personality than breed or looks. Last time I got one I decided I didn't want an elderly one, a bitch or a white dog (hairs show up terribly on our chocolate brown carpet!) I came home with a brown & white 10 year old jack Russell bitch - who is absolutely awesome!
 
I always have rescues. I wouldn't buy a dog. I just pick what fits in with the dogs we have and our lifestyle. The first two rescues are pedigree labs, athird arrived today that is possibly a JRT x Womble.
 
Lurchers all the way! I have three now, two are rescues. They are all sound, tough dogs with wonderful temperaments as pets if you give them enough exercise and training and manage/redirect the prey drive. Finding a pedigree pup whose parents have had all the health checks, doing the necessary research into antecedents plus paying a fortune for it has now put me off for good. As well as getting 'approved' by some quirky breeders. Pedigree dogs are no more enjoyable or worthy than mongrels if you all you want is a pet so why bother? Nor would I want a cross between two pedigree dogs either. Too much risk of genetic faults being doubled up. It is a sad state of affairs that hardly any pedigree breeds are without inherited health problems nowadays. I recognise that some breeders are trying very hard to remedy the problems but I am not sure it is going to be possible with the limited gene pools of some breeds.
 
I also go for rescues, which have been x breeds so far. My last dog was a lab/collie cross from a rescue place, gorgeous dog and lovely looking. I would choose based on temperament and fitting in with our lifestyle. I have also had a JRT x border terrier and a corgi x collie. All been v special dogs in their own way.
 
I wanted a guarding breed given where we live which is fairly isolated, all my Dobermanns over the years have been rescue either private or through a rescue breed club.

Price is no indication of quality, if I was buying a Lab as a pet I would go for a KC registered one whose parents had been hip and elbow scored with good results, I would also check out the grandparents as well.

I had a Battersea dog years ago who looked like she was a Manchester Terrier crossed with a Beagle and she was a really sweet little girl and healthy.

I also have a Lancashire Heeler which is a breed I discovered when my daughter was small and I bought 2, they are a breed I love as they are good house dogs, vermin destroyers and cattle dogs.

I like dogs to have a purpose tbh, my Battersea dog was strictly pet material but none the less loved.
 
Pedigree and I need to know the lines. Not a failsafe, but it helps you know what to go for and what to avoid in terms of health and other genetic traits, if you've done your research/know what you're looking for/have had good or bad experiences in the past. There's lines I won't touch again with a bargepole, and there's lines I will definitely have again in terms of health, working ability etc.
 
Pedigree rescues for me - my greyhounds may not be registered with the Kennel Club but they still have impressive pedigrees :) Apart from Amy who is a mongrel :p - well, probably a greyhound x whippet really :)
 
All the dogs we've bought so far have been/are pedigree.

If we ever wanted a mongrel then we'd go to our local rescue centre.

I haven't seen one 'designer' dog 'breed' that I like the look of. They are all small fluffy things (not my cup of tea at all) with totally stupid names.
 
pure bred but doens't have to have a pedigree - I'm into border collies and am quite happy to have an unregistered one HOWEVER both parents must be fully screened for all the genetic issues, esp hip dysplasia. My current 12 yo collie has moderate hip dysplasia that has resulted in severe arthritis - I will do everything I can to not have a dog of mine go through this again.
 
Pedigree as I want to be as certain as I can I know what I'll end up with. Plus fully health tested with a lot of research done into lines.
 
Best of both worlds, a lurcher :) Specifically a mainly whippet lurcher, but thats just personal preference as I like small, tough, short coated couch potatoes that are incredibly athletic, and usually totally velcro suck up dogs :lol:
 
amymay said:
We bought a pedigree because we wanted a Bichon.

However if we get another dog I would hope to get a rescue.
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How are you finding your Bichon Amymay? I ask as its a Bichon X that prompted this question! (incredibly beautiful looking puppies!)


It would seem from the replies that x breeds are indeed becoming more popular then.
 
She's wonderful poiuytrewq. Such a lovely, happy, social little dog (megga high maintenance coat though, and sensative tummy, so careful feeding required)- as are many of the Bichon cross breeds that I've met. Bichons x Cavaliers are very popular. But as with everything they come with their own potential health issues.

I don't have a problem with x breeds perse. But call a spade a spade, and don't put a massive price tag on it.
 
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Poiuytrewq the last dog I fostered was a Bichon x Poodle, I dont usually foster the fluffies but he came with issues thats how I got him. I never saw any of the issues that he supposedly had except one as he wasnt good with the vet. He was the easiest dog Ive ever had, he was an absolute sweetheart and he wormed his way into my heart. He had good health and good skin which a lot of these crosses dont have so that is something you should check out thoroughly. I had so many people who wanted to adopt him I just wish I could have cloned him as I could have rehomed him 20 times, he really was such a poppet.
 
I'm very fixated on springers and how they act/look. The big selling point for me was how the puppies looked :redface3: which I know is awful. Their temperament is to die for, bar Zak being DA, but I know the cause and will forever loathe bearded collies owned by German people. :(

I like gundogs, so I could possibly switch to a pointer or standard poodle, but just love springers. I do worry about their popularity, 3rd most numerous registered breed this year and last? The breeding coefficient must be awful in the UK. Still, we've already pinpointed a breeder of working springers to look at when the current boys are no longer with us.

I don't think I'd ever have a cross, mongrel, whatever they get called unless it was a really gorgeous lurcher and it would be on top of two springer puppies :redface3:

Honey08 said:
I always have rescues. I wouldn't buy a dog. I just pick what fits in with the dogs we have and our lifestyle. The first two rescues are pedigree labs, athird arrived today that is possibly a JRT x Womble.
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Please can we see a pic? Womble! :biggrin3:
 
cinnamontoast said:
I don't think I'd ever have a cross, mongrel, whatever they get called unless it was a really gorgeous lurcher and it would be on top of two springer puppies :redface3:
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Lurchers and springers are a good mix. My dog has what can only be described as a fetish for spaniels! :lol: They play really nicely together as they both seem to like ferocious looking but actually very gentle wrestling, and he loves to do zoomies past them while they chase him :)

I've always been a gun dog person, grew up with irish setters, then springers. I wont go back after having my whippety lurcher though. I love the fact he will run for 15 miles one day, but be happy with a blast in the park the next. And his bone idleness unless he is running is on par with mine :lol:

Nothing beats the cuteness of a spaniel puppy, or their mournful eyes and saggy ears though!
 
We have working cockers at the moment, and my partner is a gundog man - in the past, he's had pointers, setters, and flatcoats. All working, all homebred. He wouldn't have a crossbred (aka mongrel) as he will only have dogs for a purpose, ie working. He used to have lurchers but no longer goes coursing, so won't have one now.

I had vizslas before I met him.

Never had anything other than pedigree dogs, but if I just wanted a companion/pet, would probably go to a rescue centre for whatever appealed to me.
 
I have a KC reg staffie, and a mutt. I bought the staff and the mutt was a rescue from a boarding kennel (family friend too) so free. Other mutts i have had were also free. I would never buy a "cockipoo" or a "labradoodle" i just would not pay the money for it. Not because i don't think that they desreve to have a price tag, but because people breed them specifically to get that pricetag. If someone had a lab x poodle for sale for a reasonable pice (i.e. the cost of vet jabs, wormer and puppy milk etc. and clearly stated that it was a whoospie) i would be more inclined to buy it. Does that even make sense?

But on the pedigree side of things too, i would only buy a breed that has not got too many issues. when i got my staffie i did research and looked into the parent dogs so i knew the temperament of them. my dog is not what i expected (shes not as boistrous as any other staff i know) but she has been a dream.
 
Pedigree because I like specific breeds.

Next time my first port of call will be to a breed specific rescue/re-homing facility, I would happily take on an older dog for their last few years.

I would love greyhounds again, but my cats were here first, and my property is not fenced so, both no-no's generally in my experience of owning and fostering them, I won't be having greyhounds sadly.
 
the only pedigree that I am tempted by is the Australian cattle dog, they are however known for not being overly sociable with other dogs so I will have to wait till I am a sad old dog lady living in a shed in some woods-I do too much sociable walking at the moment.
I would never buy a designer/first cross breed because I just think that it is a money making venture full of lots of lies and deceit.
That leaves me with true mutts and lurchers-I do believe the next one will be an unruly lurcher when I am ready
 
I'm a bit too in love with malamutes to get anything else, the first was pedigree as we wanted a puppy, 2nd was from rspca (think he has a bit of German Shepherd in him though) and third was from breed rescue so came with papers. Can't really imagine getting anything but a rescue now so although I have a preferred type ie big, chunky and hairy I don't care if it's pedigree it just needs to suit us and get on with the cats.
 
poiuytrewq said:
How are you finding your Bichon Amymay? I ask as its a Bichon X that prompted this question! (incredibly beautiful looking puppies!)


It would seem from the replies that x breeds are indeed becoming more popular then.
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I don't think the answers say that - they say people would choose rescues a lot, but that isn't buying a dog, really. Not much point buying a mongrel unless it is a long dog if you want it to do a job.
 
twiggy2 said:
the only pedigree that I am tempted by is the Australian cattle dog, they are however known for not being overly sociable with other dogs so I will have to wait till I am a sad old dog lady living in a shed in some woods-I do too much sociable walking at the moment.
I would never buy a designer/first cross breed because I just think that it is a money making venture full of lots of lies and deceit.
That leaves me with true mutts and lurchers-I do believe the next one will be an unruly lurcher when I am ready
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Twiggy, I had a heeler in Oz, and also looked after a couple for the miners when they were on away shifts. Lovely dogs, I never found them bad withother dogs but they did get a lot of socialisation. They were all bad at herding and ankle biting people, they couldn't resist a jogger or a cyclist and had to be watched like hawks.
 
I bought a KC registered Golden Retriever puppy. I looked around at rescue dogs but couldn't find anything older that would have suited (good with other dogs, cats, and young children) and puppies were like hens teeth. I already have a Golden so I knew the breed well and they are just the most wonderful dogs.

I have nothing against mongrels and cross breeds as such but I wouldn't go out and pay a fortune for one (I wouldn't pay anymore than I would for a rescue!). The cross breeds have no additional health benefits and in the most part they seem to be being bred by puppy farmers that know they can get lots of litters a year from each bitch and sell them for a fortune. I wouldn't want to have any part of that.
 
Rescue centres everytime...nearly always find a dog that needs a home when i have looked.. the trendy x breeds are ridiculously priced...at the end of the day they are a mongrel!
 
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