Bud, my Mutt <proudly>, enjoys playing so much that we
make sure that we take him to the nearest dog park regularly. Not only Bud but
we (parents) also get a chance to interact with other dog parents. At a dog
park, the ice breakers are generally the questions about each other’s dog. After
the usual pleasantries it is usual that we politely ask about each other’s dog.
Questions such as “What your dog’s Name?”, “Is it a he or she?” or “What breed
is he/she?” etc are considered the norm and falls within the boundaries of
politeness. When it comes to the breed question I have had different
experiences with different people. In the realm of dog parents there are owners
of “Purebreds” and owners of “Mutts or Mixed Breeds”. Most of the time I have
seen happiness and pride in both these groups of people. And, both these group
of people have their own reasons to feel that way. However, there is a third
kind of breed in humans who dislike Mutts for whatever petty and constricted
reason. I fail to understand this dislike and I personally try to avoid this
kind I if I can. Never mind, God has made me and he has made them too. Ever
heard about “Anti-Christ” or “Anti-Matter”. Antagonistic forces exist
everywhere and who am I to fight that. I accept them. So let’s talk and focus
on good people and gather positive energy.
Coming back to the breed question – When we are posed with
this question our response is “Lab mix”. To some people it comes as surprise
because Bud resembles a lot to a purebred lab prima-facie. Some people also
call him “Blondie” or “Pinky Nose” (which used to black initially) ha ha.. But
there are many experienced people who have not failed to notice some “Hound”
features in Bud. To tell you the truth, we were least bothered about it and
considered these trivial when we were looking to adopt from petfinder.com
(great website). We have never gotten Bud DNA tested but sometimes my wife gets
curious to know what mixes are there in Bud and claims that she wants it done only
to understand him better. J
Although, I guess I have discovered that there is another reason behind it. She
had once exclaimed that she would like to adopt another “lab mix” just like
Bud. I thought about it and then I realized that my wife actually wants to have
another Bud because he is BUD and not because he is a MUTT. I am sure she knows
about this but it took me sometime to figure this out. Yes, between us, she is
the smarter one J.
Anyway, that Bud is a mutt – is a fact, but Bud is our BUD too – which means that
he has his own personality, a temperament, energy level and all other things
that makes Bud our BUD. Even if we spend a fortune and get to find what mixes
are there in Bud then also manage to match another dog with the same breed
distributions. But even after going through this pain can we still be sure that
we can get another BUD. The straight answer is NO. Irrespective of breed, I
believe, every dog is unique and has its own personality. I feel, the breed
information should only be used as a vague guide to understand if a particular
dog would match up for the household or not. Again, this is just to have a vague
idea as, believe me, I have seen supposedly high energy worker dogs behaving
like super couch potatoes. Like I said, every dog is unique. Also, please note
that I use the term “household” because when you take a dog in, it becomes a
part of the family and just not of one person who spent the dollars. He affects
everyone and gets affected by everyone in the house.
For a minute and sake of argument, let’s even suppose that
Bud was a purebred. So, does that mean that if we get another purebred of the
same breed he will be same as Bud? I am sure that you would agree with my
answer that this is not possible and that breeders don’t produce robots or have
a set-mold to fashion the same dog each time. Even a breeder would agree with
me here that each dog in their kennel is unique. Although, they may tell you
the standard characteristics with a great deal of guestimation such as weight,
height or expected capabilities or known habits. But again, all of these are
not accurate information about a particular dog. I firmly believe that it
really doesn’t make a difference whether a dog is a purebred or a mutt if a
household can accommodate its needs.
There is another term that is often used in this (Mutt)
context – Cross Breeding. Cross breeding and Mixed breeding are almost same
except for the fact that former is artificial selection and latter is a process
of natural selection. Cross breeding is mostly controlled by humans who try to
engineer or preserve a particular mix in dogs. There is another type of
breeding that happens called inbreeding. Although I condone it and consider it
against the natural laws of eugenics but it is known to be practiced at some places
for selfish motives. Most of the times Inbreeding produces unhealthy progeny. Demand
for purebreds and their high selling price is also another reason that some
puppy mills resort to inbreeding. Why are purebred so much in demand? And, that
people are ready to pay few grand for the purebred puppies irrespective of the
fact that what sad conditions these puppies may have come from is astounding.
Commercialization to be blamed here?? Or the simple logic of economics – Demand
& Supply to be blamed? Whatever be the reason but resultant is that dogs
have attained a status of toys for many. Nevertheless, in-spite of the
ill-treatment and abuse it continues to be man’s best friend and if you ask me why
then I just have one answer, that is, because they have a heart of gold and that
my friend only good people can appreciate.
I also believe that, choosing a purebred or a mutt is
totally an individual choice but should the mutts be viewed as lesser beings? I
don’t agree with that. Moreover, I have read and also many people would agree
with me that Mutts tend to take the best of all the
breeds they have within them and thus making their progeny stronger and better
in many ways.
Bibliography
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