Dog Breeds: Pure, Mixed and Breed Verification Testing

It is important to consider the fascinating world and origin of pure breeds and mixed breeds when it comes to dogs – especially for dog lovers and breeders. Pure breeds are those dogs that we know originally as Rottweiler, Doberman and Labrador retriever but to be pure bred they must have been born from parents of the same breed.

Pure breeds represent breeds of dogs that have been born from modern breeds of dogs that have been documented to be precisely from their original breed several generations ago. A pure breed requires a form of documentation detailing the dog’s parents, grandparents and so forth. Such documentation is often called a pedigree and serves as proof that a dog is pure bred based on its heritage, parents, genealogy etc. Pure breeds are only mated with other pure breeds (of the same breed of course) to ensure the process of selective breeding for its past and future generations produces more pure breeds. The American Kennel Club provides a great online tool which will help you discover more about breeds, the size they grow to, their general requirement and much more – click here.

DNA test for mixed breeds

It is today possible to carry out a DNA test for mixed breed dogs to determine the breed composition of any mutt. Mixed breeds are often the result of the mating of dogs between two completely different breeds; say Cocker Spaniel combining its genes, through mating, with a French Poodle. Mixed breeds often interchange traits that are combined and produce offspring that have quite peculiar traits from their respective parents’ breeds altogether; they may be of a very different size, coat colour and temperament.

A DNA test is commonly carried out and is called a breed verification DNA test. This DNA test is fairly accurate but not altogether precise at confirming with 100% accuracy the various breeds which make up a dog. A dog breed verification test will tell you the various breeds in terms of percentages. The breeds composing the largest part of your dogs genes will be expressed by a high percentage probability. A DNA test can also help confirm if the dog is pure bred or not. If it is pure bred, the highest percentages will show the DNA from a single dog breed.

Experts have determined that regular dog breeds, pure breeds and mixed breeds are all interconnected due to the heritage, ancestry and overall genealogy of the dog race in general. Selective breeding and ancestry determine the “pureness” in general of pure bred dogs, which have been selected and taken care of to only breed with those of their own breed.

Certain dog breeds that were once considered purebred lost their categorization due to the interaction with other dogs and unselective reproduction, which thereby created what are called the mixed breeds of dogs.

The interconnection lays the pathway that purebred dogs were once taken out of their native homelands and breed pedigrees, were exposed to a completely different environment and overtime were combined with other breeds of dogs that produced mixed breeds. Even though purebred dogs still exist all over the world, their number continually shrinks and they continually become more exclusive as many pure breeds are lost more within regular dog breeds and mixed dog breeds.

Pedigrees

In terms of pedigree, the standard imposed for a dog to be considered pedigree is to have at least 3 to 5 generations past from recorded ancestors from the same breed with no influence or from the combination of other breeds. However, the level of exclusiveness varies widely from dog owner to dog owner to different types of breeders. Selective breeders and dog enthusiasts will always have a preferred inclination to pure breeds due to their recorded ancestry from numerous decades ago.

In terms of loving the dog and having man’s best friend for his or her entire lifetime, the concept of categorization of breeds is ultimately not important and relevant. It is ideal to always have a dog that has the breed that we individually prefer.

Websites of Interest

For a range of dog resources, videos, photos and varied articles about dog breeds, dog care, dog parenting and much more visit: www.insidedogsworld.com