[Animals] What is the difference between a purebred designer dog and the "thousand milks" of a mixed breed?

[FNX Magokiler]

Although much attention is usually paid to purebred and designer dogs, more than half of the dogs living in the United States are mixed breeds, while in Spain, a 2021 study claimed that more than 30% of the dogs in our households were mestizos (also known as chuchos or mil leches). The importance of this type of dog in the United States is such that they have been given their own day: December 2, National Mutt Day.

No two are alike, which makes them unique companions. In addition to being adorable, mutts (especially those of many different breeds) are often healthier than purebreds, thanks to the diversity of their genes, which reduces the risk of hereditary diseases. Mixed-breed puppies largely come from mating unneutered dogs, and many end up abandoned and in need of a new home.

In the U.S., of the nearly 3.3 million dogs that enter animal shelters each year, many are mutts. In Spain, where shelters collect about 200,000 dogs annually, in 2022 71% of adopted dogs were classified as mixed breeds. All types of puppies and adult dogs are available for adoption through animal shelters and rescue groups. Adoption not only helps save lives, but is also less expensive than buying a purebred puppy or a designer breed, a new trend halfway between the purebred and the common mil leches.

How designer breeds emerged
Purebred dogs have been treasured for hundreds of years, and people are deeply devoted to their favorite breeds. But in the 90s a new trend emerged: designer dogs.

It all started when Australian breeder Wally Conron was asked to provide a guide dog for a blind woman living in Hawaii. The woman's husband was allergic to dogs.

 

 

At the time, Conron worked for the Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia (now Guide Dogs Victoria).

After several failed attempts to train giant poodles as guide dogs, Conron decided to cross a giant poodle with a Labrador retriever. Three puppies from the litter ended up being good candidates for guide dogs, but the allergic husband could only tolerate one. That dog, named Sultan, was trained and sent to Hawaii. But the organization had trouble pairing the other two dogs with blind handlers; People wanted purebred Labradors, not mixed breeds. Conron asked the group's public relations department to inform the media that they had created a new "non-allergenic" guide dog called a labradoodle, a combination of the English names Labrador and poodle. The trick worked and suddenly people were clamoring for this new breed of guide dog.

When the general public heard about Labradoodles, people began to demand them as pets. Other breeders began crossing Labradors and poodles, golden retrievers and poodles and, over the years, many other breeds with poodles, inventing cute names and fueling the doodle trend, dogs crossed from a poodle with a partner of another breed. .

Variants of poodles in abundance
Today, the poodle has been crossed with almost every breed imaginable, although the Labrador and golden doodle are the most po[CENSORED]r. Other designer breeds - such as the puggle (a pug crossed with a beagle) and the goldador (a golden retriever crossed with a Labrador retriever) - do away with the poodle and combine other breeds.

 

https://www.nationalgeographic.es/animales/2023/12/diferencias-perro-raza-diseno-mestizo-sin-raza