What's in a Breed?
I read something that made me laugh the other day. It was from a breeders organisation encouraging rescue. Fantastic I thought, breed rescues are great organisations. People who love a certain breed, usually because they have one or have 'always' had one, know exactly where to go to adopt their new pet.
When looking through the 'reasons for adopting' I came across this beauty of statement: 'A Pure bred dog is completely predictable; adopting a purebred dog means you know exactly what you are getting'. Laugh? I almost wet myself.
Yes, we all know there are inherent breed traits. Boarder Collies love to run, beagles love to sniff, Staffy's love to bounce. But to say that somehow you have an insurance police against unwanted traits by choosing a purebred dog is just ridiculous.
Ask PetRescue's Shel; Ajax her King Charles Cav, suffers extreme anxiety - but breeders claim this is the perfect family dog? And one of mine, Wiz the Koolie, claimed to be one of the most agile, energetic breeds around - If Wiz runs, people point - 'look Wiz is running!' say the amazed dog park crowd. And agile? She was named Wiz Bang Wallop due to her affinity for running into things.
As a Behavioural Trainer I see a lot of different breeds with a lot of different problems. One of my saddest cases was a couple's Golden Retriever, (chosen as they make the perfect family pet), who was euthanised due to extreme aggression. No abuse, no mistreatment, in fact the opposite, this couple had been getting the best possible care for their mentally ill dog (yes it happens to animals too) for his entire life, but he had become so dangerous they had to put him to sleep.
As compared to the 25 Pit Bulls bought into the shelter, after a fighting ring was raided. Although legally not allowed to be rehomed in that state, some of the puppies were the happiest most stable dogs I had ever worked with.
Now I have nothing against a purebred dog, but I do think that these statements (designed to portray a cross breed as an unpredictable bomb about to go off) are laughable. If you truly want to know what you are getting when you adopt a dog the answer is really simple. ..... Adopt an adult dog!
Go meet him, talk to the rescuer, spend some time with him and see what he (or she) is like. If you meet a purebred Jack Russell at her foster home and she is a a cuddly, smoochy kinda of dog, then you can probably bet she will be a cuddly, smoochy dog at your home. If you meet Maltese x that has energy to burn and just wants to chase balls, then you can fairly much predict that this dog is not going to turn into a lap dog when you take him home.
If you want a surprise get a puppy, if you want want a pretty good idea of what you are getting, adopt an adult. It's not rocket science :)