Mongrels

[dmulally]

scdan4 said:

I too mourn the passing of the Generic Brown Dog.

TO the poster above - nowt wrong with staffies, they'll see you right. Lovely dogs. Just a shame so many tracksuit bedecked idiots own them, but that's not the dogs fault.

I have a foster failure that is mostly staffy. Couldn't ask for a nicer dog. She has the personality of someone who constantly walks into a room forgetting what they were supposed to be looking for.

[VinceFox]

Are my fking ears burning?

[The_Burg]

Mongrels make the best dogs, combining strengths unlike the appalling defects many pedigrees suffer.

The breeders of many pedigrees are on a par with Nazi researchers. Pugs, Prince Charles spaniels for 2. They are not dog lovers.

[Ilikebeaver]

surveyor said:

Ilikebeaver said:

My parents have a female dalmatian that's not been spayed and I am just about to pick up a Vizsla boy.

Should we mate them and create a ('bobby') Dazsler?

Edited by Ilikebeaver on Monday 9th December 21:33

Domino say Hi

Wow! An excellent looking chappy.
I expected less spots and more brown

[mjb1]

GreenDog said:

Been to a rescue centre lately ? Unless you want some chavs abandoned Staffy you might struggle to find a suitable dog. This is the reason that for the first time in my life I bought a dog from a breeder.

I find that hard to believe, but I guess it depends on location to an extent. In fact, I just looked online at the dogs available at a local rescue centre, and there are only two staffies (both 7 years old), so you really are talking bks.

Our dog came from a rescue centre, he is half staffie (and half ridgeback). Apart from a bit of a nervous disposition around strangers, he has developed into a fantastic dog - great with other animals and very well behaved. So I really don't get your point at all.

[Tango13]

scdan4 said:

I too mourn the passing of the Generic Brown Dog.

Don't forget the 'General Purpose Wire Haired Black' or the 'Smooth Coated Black & Tan with a Modicum of White' though.

[Kiltie]

Corpulent Tosser said:

We are looking for another dog ...

Definitely get a pure breed ... some here.

Edited by Kiltie on Monday 9th December 23:38

[RB5Bird]

mjb1 said:

I'd rather have a mongrel than a 'pure breed': http://dogbehaviorscience.wordpress.com/2012/09/29...

Forget the over priced fashion accessories in the paper and go and visit your local rescue centre.

Some interesting reading there. Such a shame that all those breeds have been ruined by human intervention, selectively (in)breeding traits for looks - that ultimately destroy the breed. German Shepherds that can barely walk - but they look good (?), they don't, they look all spasticated up.

I wouldn't pay over the odds for an inbred pure breed, get a mutt from a rescue home - one that will appreciate a good home.

[ehonda]

The_Burg said:

Mongrels make the best dogs, combining strengths unlike the appalling defects many pedigrees suffer.

The breeders of many pedigrees are on a par with Nazi researchers. Pugs, Prince Charles spaniels for 2. They are not dog lovers.

How do these mongrels manage to only pass on strengths and not weaknesses? They don't, your first line is pure poppycockadoodle.

Your second line however is spot on.

[opieoilman]

By mixing genes in the pool, recessive genes that tend to lead to defects are bred out, making mongrels healthier.

http://www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/inbreeding-...
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/inbreeding.htm

I have a 10 year old staffy/collie/spaniel/rottweiler mongrel who has only had to go to the vets twice (other than his annual jabs) in that time. He has a great personality, is very well behaved and gets on well with everyone and everything (except cats). That isn't just me praising my own dog, I also have two jack russells and they aren't right in the head, as well as usually going to the vets at least couple of times a year each. I'll always get a mongrel.

[ehonda]

opieoilman said:

By mixing genes in the pool, recessive genes that tend to lead to defects are bred out, making mongrels healthier.

Survival of the fittest, but how many generations does it take for these recessive genes to be bred out?
I'd guess more than it takes before the average uk mongrel can trace its bloodline back to some pedigrees. it's undoubtedly different in places with a history of stray dog populations.
I like mongrels, but I'm not convinced they're inherently healthier than your average pedigree breed. Obviously I'm not including those that have been bred to a ridiculous breed standard which is detrimental to health.

[AdiT]

Ilikebeaver said:

Wow! An excellent looking chappy.
I expected less spots and more brown

I know someone who has a pair of Weimarama/Dalmatian crosses and apparently they always come out plain chocolate. He's had them before from the same breeder and says they're always that colour. Why exacly they cross those 2 I don't know; Unless you're aiming for "Nutty as a BIGGER bag of frogs"

[graham22]

pad58 said:

I wish someone would create a Labrador that doesn't shed it's hair.

Wasn't that the reason for Labradoodles? Guide dogs for blind people with fur allergies what with the poodle element not malting.

Or am I missing the whoosh parrot?

[AdiT]

graham22 said:

Wasn't that the reason for Labradoodles? Guide dogs for blind people with fur allergies what with the poodle element not malting.

Or am I missing the whoosh parrot?

Thats what I understood.

Saw another Weim cross this dinner time. English pointer mother and German Pointer/Weimarama cross father. Nice looking dog; looked like a more sturdy/solid English pointer. I asked what they call that, "It's a Royal English Pointer... cos' like the Queen, it's mostly German."

[shambolic]

I have lab/German short haired pointer cross dogs.
Great working gundogs.

[Nimby]

ehonda said:

Survival of the fittest, but how many generations does it take for these recessive genes to be bred out?

I don't think they are bred out; you just greatly reduce the chance of inheriting two copies of the same recessive.

[CAPP0]

mjb1 said:

GreenDog said:

Been to a rescue centre lately ? Unless you want some chavs abandoned Staffy you might struggle to find a suitable dog. This is the reason that for the first time in my life I bought a dog from a breeder.

I find that hard to believe, but I guess it depends on location to an extent. In fact, I just looked online at the dogs available at a local rescue centre, and there are only two staffies (both 7 years old), so you really are talking bks.

Wow, are you having a really bad day? Maybe you two know each other; if not, why the over-reactive name-calling?

I know where GreenDog is coming from. Of course it will depend on which rescue centre you go to but IME at a few different rescue centres over the past few years there were definitely more Staff-based dogs than much else. At a rough guess I'd say 50%. Battersea (the London branch) is a particular example of this - last time I went, it seemed like every other kennel had a Staff in it. OTOH I could send you to a rescue kennels which only has one breed of dog in it - because that's what they specialise in.

Of course, you may also accuse me of talking bks, or you may have some other epithet to hurl at me - but actually the above statement from me is entirely factual.

In fact, here you are: the nearest RSPCA centre to me, in Kent, selected randomly simply because it's near me. 20 dogs up for adoption, 9 of them are Staff or Staff X. http://www.rspca.org.uk/local/leybourne-animal-cen...

[mjb1]

Is disputing the accuracy of someones statement name calling, just because I used a naughty word? I didn't call him anything other than wrong, and I'm sorry if Greendog was offended by my statement.

But I think we've already established that it varies greatly depending on geographic location, as his statement clearly isn't representative of rescue centres all over the country. My statement was entirely factual too.

I am a passionate believer in giving rescue dogs a second chance, rather than pay an extortionate amount to some profiteering breeder. To me, it's like adopting a child by purchasing a designer baby. I wouldn't want someone considering a dog to read Greendog's statement and discount looking at a rescue centre first.

And anyway, staffies can (and usually do) make perfectly good family pets.

[Hooli]

mjb1 said:

And anyway, staffies can (and usually do) make perfectly good family pets.

Unless you want a tiny cuddly lapdog of course. Our Staffy thinks she is a lapdog but has damn boney feet when she sits on you & stares into your eyes from 4" away.

[Shaw Tarse]

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