When
you examine the history of domesticated dogs,
specific breeds were the eventual result of
mated pairs of dogs with desirable traits or
lack undesirable of traits. When the
desired dog is attained, it became the breed.
A hybrid dog, commonly called a crossbreed or
crossbred in the breeding of animals, is taking
this process a step a further by breeding two
purebred dog breeds together. The
resulting offspring often results in a
healthier, stronger animal with desired traits.
This effect is called Hybrid Vigor, also called
heterosis, which is increased vigor or other
superior qualities arising from the
crossbreeding of genetically different animals.
Many of the hybrid dog breeds have been given
interesting names that are sometimes a
combination of the two parent breed names, such
as the Goldendoodle, which is a combination of
the Golden Retriever and the Poodle purebred dog
breeds. To continue the targeted "new"
breed of dog, the hybrid dogs are bred with
other hybrid dogs of the same parent dog breeds.
Additional generations of the hybrid dog lose
the advantage of hybrid vigor. Eventually
the hybrid dog crossbreeds may eventually be
recognized as a separate purebred line of dog in
the world of purebred breeds.
Today some hybrid dogs are selectively bred
with less regard to maintaining the breed.
These are often referred to as designer dogs and
are generally seen as a controversial, over
priced mixed breed dog. While the
intentional breeding of known purebred dogs is
considered a new practice, it is actually the
continuation of the process by which all dog
breeds were created, the process of selective
breeding. Many argue that over the
centuries, the process of purebred selective
breeding of narrow lines of genetic variations
in current dog breeds has produced un-health
offspring where detrimental recessive genes have
surfaced. This is especially true if the parent
dogs were closely related. This inbreeding among
purebreds has made many of the offspring
susceptible to a variety of genetic health
problems. With dog hybrids, new lines of
genes are introduced with the hopeful effect of
improving health as well as introducing
desirable traits.
Below are some of the well-know Dog Hybrids.
|
