Good crossbreeds

[fankino04]

Just musing really as there are always threads about the terrible crossbreeds being purposely breed (pomsky anyone?), What crossbreeds do people think are a good match? One of our rescue malamutes always looked like he had a bit of German shepherd in and whilst if he did it may have been the gsd side that gave him his back problems but it was also probably the shepherds input that made him so trainable.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I think crossbreeding within groups or types of dogs should actually be encouraged personally. So generic spaniels, collies, retrievers, shepherd dogs, hounds, spitzes, little floofs, terrorists etc etc.

I think problems crop up when you cross two very different breeds. But problems also result from the close breeding necessary to keep every single breed "pure".

I'm more of a lumper than a splitter basically.

From your pool of crossed within type dog you could have them assessed for breed, so you get a 'collie of border collie type' if you want. You could still have conformation showing but the focus would be more on soundness and temperament and general conformation than on how much it looks like just one thing. More like horse showing in a way.

There. My controversial vision for dog breeding. Jazz hands.

 

[CorvusCorax]

A lot of police/army dogs are a big mix of German and Belgian and Dutch shepherds, no one really knows what is in there any more. There's little to separate the Malinois and Dutch herder anyway and in Belgium they still regard the shepherd as one breed with four types, which can interbreed. In fact there are lots of breeds which are classified separately when they are just the same thing with more/less coat or shorter/longer legs.
There were rumours that one of the greatest deerhound kennels of the day from the 20s-70s may have injected a little Irish Wolfhound into the lines.

 

[blackcob]

There. My controversial vision for dog breeding. Jazz hands.

?

The uncomfortable truth is that even with all the health testing in the world a closed gene pool is a problematic concept and conformation showing has a lot to answer for, and I say that as a fan of pedigree dogs and somebody who shows.

Crosses are often being produced now to match the vagaries of dog sport rules, I'm thinking of whippy crosses in flyball (hopefully somebody more knowledgeable about that will be able to comment), Eurohounds for the sled dog sports and dogs bred with the intent of fitting into certain height categories at agility.

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I've always wanted, but not yet had a whippet x bedlington

 

[PapaverFollis]

Traditional crosses like lurchers tend to be pretty healthy, useful sorts of dogs too.

Plus I think a conscious effort to produce "random mutt for pet home" would be good. The Generic Dog. Breeding for calmness and friendliness, they're a bit thick but it's easier that way trust us. But there's a danger of straying into designer crossbreed that don't make much sense on the way there.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I think crossbreeding within groups or types of dogs should actually be encouraged personally. So generic spaniels, collies, retrievers, shepherd dogs, hounds, spitzes, little floofs, terrorists etc etc.

I think problems crop up when you cross two very different breeds. But problems also result from the close breeding necessary to keep every single breed "pure".

I'm more of a lumper than a splitter basically.

From your pool of crossed within type dog you could have them assessed for breed, so you get a 'collie of border collie type' if you want. You could still have conformation showing but the focus would be more on soundness and temperament and general conformation than on how much it looks like just one thing. More like horse showing in a way.

There. My controversial vision for dog breeding. Jazz hands.

Terrorists ?

Prefer to refer to the cat as a terrorist tbh.

 

[Annette4]

I am determined i want a collie x whippet as my next dog my problem is finding one ?‍

Generally for me, if you are crossing for a purpose (so for me I am looking for more trainability and agility without losing speed) then thought is really put into the mix. Thinking lurchers as an example, terrier mixes for more speed without losing tenacity, bull mixes for more strength and stamina etc.

Where it often appears to go wrong to my uneducated eye, is when greed is involved and it becomes about money and not about the health of the dogs.

 

[splashgirl45]

I am determined i want a collie x whippet as my next dog my problem is finding one ?‍

Generally for me, if you are crossing for a purpose (so for me I am looking for more trainability and agility without losing speed) then thought is really put into the mix. Thinking lurchers as an example, terrier mixes for more speed without losing tenacity, bull mixes for more strength and stamina etc.

Where it often appears to go wrong to my uneducated eye, is when greed is involved and it becomes about money and not about the health of the dogs.

good luck with finding that cross, i had a whippet/border collie and she was fantastic, looked like a whippet but easy to train like a collie(photo) ...my next one was whippet/bearded collie/bedlington and was very different, a really high prey drive and quite difficult to get her attention for training as she didnt do treats or toys or balls.. now have a border collie/lab and 2 terrier mixes, all mongrels....the only pedigree i ever had was a deerhound which was my dream dog

 

[HeyMich]

We have a 15 yr old Splab (Springer x Lab) and she's an awesome mix. Born before the crazy crosses were a thing, so she cost us £70 as an accidental mongrel. I like to refer to her as a 'love child'.

 

[Archangel]

I have a Rottweiler x Labrador (best guess). She is a really lovely dog and looks like a sturdy black lab. Very good with small furries and steady round farm animals. Very quiet and easy, but turns into big and barking if someone knocks at the door. Seems to have the best of both breeds.

 

[P3LH]

Thing is I think a large number of breeds, including both of my own - rough collies and Pembroke corgi’s, could do with an outcross. A sensible one.

Lurchers for me, are utterly super. The big rough coated deerhound types in particular. I’m also a huge fan of every dogue de bordeux come Rottweiler I’ve ever met too.

 

[Dizzy socks]

I am determined i want a collie x whippet as my next dog my problem is finding one ?‍

Generally for me, if you are crossing for a purpose (so for me I am looking for more trainability and agility without losing speed) then thought is really put into the mix. Thinking lurchers as an example, terrier mixes for more speed without losing tenacity, bull mixes for more strength and stamina etc.

Where it often appears to go wrong to my uneducated eye, is when greed is involved and it becomes about money and not about the health of the dogs.

We have one, she was the best dog you could imagine - literally perfect in every way. We also currently have a whippet x poodle, which is slightly mad, but she’s incredibly fast - keeps up with our huge lurcher without trouble. She can look quite terrier like, until you see her move. She’s ridiculously spindly.

I’ll try and add a picture.

 

[Meredith]

Our cocker x lab was a fruitloop in his youth but always safe. He was £50 plus countless accessories as the previous owners could not cope. Now elderly we have no idea how when he goes where we will find a dog of any breed to replace him that we can afford.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have a saluki bedlington mix she’s lovely .
But my favourite cross breed belongs to a friend she’s a border collie Lab cross shes a lovely lovely dog .

 

[PapaverFollis]

There certainly should be outcrossing in breeds where only one or two characteristics separate them, I'd say as a matter of urgency in some instances where the gene pools have got really tight.

So rough and smooth collies, they could do with lumping. Norfolk and Norwich terriers is it? Poodles which seem to have myriad health issues could usefully cross across sizes to get some diversity going?

I don't hold much value in "rarity", not over and above healthy animals. So while I think it would be a shame to lose rare breeds I also think it would be a price worth paying for the health of dogs in general.

I'm not sure if I'm answering the original question really and my head has gone a bit busy which means I'm just being a bit mad ? So I'll stop now.

 

[P3LH]

There certainly should be outcrossing in breeds where only one or two characteristics separate them, I'd say as a matter of urgency in some instances where the gene pools have got really tight.

So rough and smooth collies, they could do with lumping. Norfolk and Norwich terriers is it? Poodles which seem to have myriad health issues could usefully cross across sizes to get some diversity going?

I don't hold much value in "rarity", not over and above healthy animals. So while I think it would be a shame to lose rare breeds I also think it would be a price worth paying for the health of dogs in general.

I'm not sure if I'm answering the original question really and my head has gone a bit busy which means I'm just being a bit mad ? So I'll stop now.

There’s no logic to splitting rough and smooth collies. One of my rough collie boys actually was one of four roughs out of a litter of six, from two smooth parents. So the genes are there. Thanks to KC red tape at the time he was registered as smooth and therefore couldn’t add his bit to the rough collie gene pool; despite being of better and more moderate type than many show roughs today, he is like pre seventies dogs with the correct tight fitting coat, and being CEA clear at six weeks (the only one in his litter) would have brought that much sought after gene too.

interestingly people often have asked about using him in lurcher breeding.

 

[P3LH]

Equally I would be interested from my Pembroke corgi owner POV as to what an outcross to Swedish Vallhund or Lancashire Heeler would be like. My bitch is quite moderate, and nice and short in the back (well - proper) but I’d still like a little longer leg to her as they used to be. I would wonder if that would resolve the high number of c sections within the breed.

I know of someone who has been mixing ridgeback with Danes as a ‘pet project’ for about ten years now to try and produce a more moderate dane type. They are striking dogs.

Probably the best dog I owned was a very carefully bred terrier by a breeder who loved sporting dogs, but wanted to breed a landrace type of old rough haired scotch type terriers who could work. Mine was west highland x dandie dinmont, I think there was a bit of Lucas further back on the westie side. She was an ace dog, I lost her to a cancerous growth aged 10.5 and was devastated. She had never been sick, other than issues with her skin in summer. I never took a litter from her, and regretted it. She was as hard as nails health wise, and would go all day or so absolutely nothing, and generally was easy as they come. Her breeder had been dabbling with the line for the best part of 30 years and produced some lovely lovely dogs which actually did breed true to type. Sturdy little brindle things, Norfolk type ears, rough coats, lovely big eyes, who just loved life. I’d love another. She was special.

pictured here probably about 12 months old, quite a long time ago. Also, before the PC brigade start - it was a half check not choker she was wearing, none of mine ever wear anything unless on or just returning from a walk. And the tri colour russell had that weird collar with a big fastening as she was a DEMON for snapping clips on leads, so a saddler friend created a rather complex thing that meant she couldn’t escape to go fight with others!! Bloody terriers!

 

[misst]

My mother in law had a fantastic GSD x Irish Wolf Hound Lurcher. He was brilliant. My husband bought it for her when he was a teenager from the market in North End Road West London!! MiL had lost her westie and was very down. He saw this hairy pup at the market and asked if it would be the same size as a Westie. The man said yes so husband bought it. His parents nearly died when they saw the size of it's paws. He grew to be enormous and lived in a 6th floor flat in West London with a small balcony. He was walked 3 x daily and went to Richmond Park at the weekends.
He died aged 14 and was a brilliant dog. He was protective of his people but soft as butter with children and other dogs and MiL adored him. Husband is 63 now so it was a long time ago - can you imagine if someone on here asked if it was a good idea to have a huge lurcher in a small 6th floor flat! I can just see the answers now! Times have changed..

 

[P3LH]

My mother in law had a fantastic GSD x Irish Wolf Hound Lurcher. He was brilliant. My husband bought it for her when he was a teenager from the market in North End Road West London!! MiL had lost her westie and was very down. He saw this hairy pup at the market and asked if it would be the same size as a Westie. The man said yes so husband bought it. His parents nearly died when they saw the size of it's paws. He grew to be enormous and lived in a 6th floor flat in West London with a small balcony. He was walked 3 x daily and went to Richmond Park at the weekends.
He died aged 14 and was a brilliant dog. He was protective of his people but soft as butter with children and other dogs and MiL adored him. Husband is 63 now so it was a long time ago - can you imagine if someone on here asked if it was a good idea to have a huge lurcher in a small 6th floor flat! I can just see the answers now! Times have changed..

Don’t worry, quite a long time ago mum had a dobe and an old English sheepdog living together with her in a high rise!!!

 

[scats]

I love crossbreeds, we have 3.
I have a Shih Tzu cross JRT and I actually think it’s a fantastic mix. It has brought her nose out so she doesn’t have any issues with breathing and she doesn’t have the ‘bowed legs’ of many Shih Tzu’s, though you look at her and know she’s got Shih Tzu in her as that’s predominantly what she looks like.

I also have a corgi x cockerpoo- super little dog, but does have some of the needy cockerpoo traits. She definitely has the Corgi herding instinct though and is extremely loyal and very intelligent, but she is quite stubborn!

Our old girl is a Great Dane x Husky and she is just the best dog who’s ever lived. She turns heads as she is just so striking, she is loyal, intelligent but never clingy or needy.

 

[millikins]

I'm on my 3rd Rottie X, I adore them. First was Rottie/GSD (long haired) a stunning dog who was abandoned at the kennels where I worked after her owners' marriage split, 2nd was from Battersea, she'd been returned twice as unmanageable but she settled and current one is a foreign rescue and also lovely though she's more GSD than Rottie.

 

[PapaverFollis]

If we're celebrating our own crossbreeds, I have two springer crosses. Sprocker and Springer x Collie. I think they're marvelous but not for the faint of heart as you can imagine. They can be pretty intense especially when they were younger. Still full of beans at rising 11 and 9 and a bit. But I'd do it all over again in a millisecond.

 

[Indy]

I've got a Kelpie Collie cross and he's ace. He's a complicated, complex, sensitive, independent, intelligent, good looking dog. Wouldn't be without him.

 

[DabDab]

I think terrier mixes generally pretty well (if you like a terrier of course), but I also really like most terrier-toy mixes. Temperament wise the toy breeds do seem to tune down some of the, um, terrierness

 

[misst]

I have a probable yorkie x jrt (rescue so no idea but that is what he looks like) he is not so much of a terrierist but is very vocal like a yorkie. He is super cute looking and people always ask what he is. He is a bit of a worrier but very loving. My latest is a KC reg JRT as that was the only responsibly bred terrier pup I could find. She would benefit from a dose of something more laid back! She has no off switch and is a true terrier - loyal, persistent, alert, super friendly and high high energy.

 

[fankino04]

I think terrier mixes generally pretty well (if you like a terrier of course), but I also really like most terrier-toy mixes. Temperament wise the toy breeds do seem to tune down some of the, um, terrierness

Funnily enough I walk a "jackapoo" and she's one of the few small dogs that I don't find annoying.

 

[Griffin]

One of the nicest cross breeds I have come across is a cocker x lab. Really lovely temperament and looks like a small Labrador. I would say a little more relaxed than a cocker.

 

[Karran]

I will openly admit to being a bitof a purebred snob but I do like the idea of a nice sprocker for the next sport dog.
Despite my woes with Miss Collie, I also quite fancy the idea of kelpie X or perhaps a collie X spaniel but regardless Mrs Spaniel has made it very clear there are to be no more dogs until she goes which will hopefully be a long, long way off and I will probably have changed my mind several times!

 

[Meredith]

One of the nicest cross breeds I have come across is a cocker x lab. Really lovely temperament and looks like a small Labrador. I would say a little more relaxed than a cocker.

Aforementioned lab x cocker. Unfortunately looking fatter than usual and also tail-less. ?