Ethical Puggle Breeding
It’s no surprise that puggles are extremely popular dogs – not only are they very cute, but typically their characteristics and maintenance needs suit a lot of dog owners very well.
But puggle popularity is currently causing problems. Demand is far outstripping supply, and as a result of this, many pups are being bred on puppy farms with little concern for their welfare. They are often transported considerable distances unaccompanied to fulfil orders – but not all pups make it to their new home.
This not only has an impact on the individual dog, but the future of the puggle. Without professional breeders taking a responsible approach, there will never be a breed standardisation.
This is why we provide a free Find a Breeder service. If you are looking for a puggle pup, and are seriously committed to owning a dog, then please make use of it. The list includes professional and private breeders, all committed to responsible and ethical breeding. By finding a puppy near you, you will also not need to have your puppy transported, but can see them with their mum and collect them yourself.
If you have any information to add to the service, please contact us.
The "Hybreed" Question
For the Pedigree.....
- The people most committed to breeding from the best stock are generally pedigree breeders, who are largely highly committed to quality and ethical breeding.
- Pedigrees bred from carefully selected stock can be monitored for key characteristics.
- While cross breeding may lessen genetic defects, it may also produce some very unexpected results. Please see the picture below of a poor puggle with deformed legs.
- Sadly, you have no guarantee your puggle will look anything like the pictures on this site, in the absence of any breed standard.
For the Mutt.....
- Have a look at Grumpy Bumpers; why pay for a pedigree when gorgeous dogs are in shelters looking for homes?
- Cross breeds are typically less “highly strung” than pedigree dogs, and are less likely to have a charater which is extreme. e.g. very shy, loud or enegetic.
- Many pedigrees are prone to health problems which breed standards can in some standards exacerbate. For example, the pug is known for an intolerance to heat and breathing difficulties. Cross breeding improves genetic diversity.
- Most of the pedigrees that are loved today would not exist if it were not for past cross breeding; for example, the Dobermann is only just over a century old, and was bred specifically for a tax collector, who found no existing breeds met his specification.
And finally......
As part of www.pugglelove.co.uk's committment to ethical breeding, we have sought advice from the Animal Health Trust on the subject of cross breeding, particularly in relation to Puggles. One of the emails received is shown below for your information:
Dear Shelley,
Thank you for your email requesting information about the health risks associated with cross breeding. I lead the genetic research team at the Animal Health Trust and most of my work is involved with investigating inherited diseases that purebred dogs suffer from. So I am well qualified to comment on the issues of cross-breeding.
In a nutshell, purebred dogs suffer from a wide variety of inherited diseases and this is purely a result of the fact that purebred dogs are relatively inbred. This means their parents and their grandparents and infact all their relations are more related to one another than, say, a human's relatives would be. And that means they share more of their genes, and more of their genetic mutations. It is also why purebred dogs tend to look very much alike - they share a lot of their genetic material, be it good or bad.
Crossbred dogs have parents that are obviously not related to one another, because they are from different breeds - so, from a genetic health point of view, this is A VERY GOOD THING!!! I cannot stress this enough - the more unrelated a dog's parents are the more healthy it should be. To take this to extremes, mutts (whose parents themselves might be crossbreeds) are the healthiest dogs of all. They might all look different but they don't suffer from inherited diseases. Cross bred dogs are also unlikely to have the extreme features that some purebred dogs have (the extemely short faces of the pug, for example, or the very large head of the bulldog or the very drooping eyes of the bassett hound) and therefore be more functional and have fewer health issues relating to extreme body type.
I am not saying that crossbred dogs will never get sick, but they are unlikely to suffer fom inherited conditions because most mutations that cause inherited conditions are recessive, so a dog has to inherit an identical mutaion from both its parents. Pugs and Beagles will each have their fair share of mutations but the mutations that the 2 breeds have are likely to be different, so a puggle is unlikely to inherit two copies of the same mutation and is therefore unlikely to suffer from a recessive disease.
Dominant diseases are different - these are diseases caused by mutations that only have to be present in a single copy before theycause disease. So if a puggle inherits a dominant mutation from either of its parents it will still suffer form that condition.
But on the whole, crossbred dogs will be WAY more healthy than purebred dogs.
I hope this helps but if you have any more questions or comments please feel free to contact me directly.
Cathryn
P.S. To prove I feel strongly about this crossbreed issue - my dog is a complete mutt!!
Cathryn Mellersh PhD