# Pure Bred GS vs Mixed GS



## GSxOwner (Jul 9, 2013)

I have always heard that's mutt's or mixed breeds are more likely to be healthy? Is this true? I would say some luck is involved cause obv mutt or not any dog can get sick. I had my bc/gs mutt for 15 years and it was liver disease which got her in the end  but she did fight it for years. Other than that just some uit's in her old age but literally not a single other thing.

Thoughts?


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

Mixed breed dogs can get any genetic issue that the breeds in the mix can get. I have encountered more than one *gag* "Goldendoodle" *gag* with _severe_ hip dysplasia. The owner of one of these dogs even said that the "breeder" of her Golden/Poodle mix told her that "designer breeds" didn't have _any_ health problems.  Guess they lied.


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## brightspot (Apr 18, 2013)

See the pretty face of my avatar? He was a rescue GSD mix. He had several health problems caused by his "front end assembly" being too narrow. I used to believe in hybrid vigor, not anymore. Any dog can get the short end of the genetic stick.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

mixes can have just as many problems if not more. luck of the draw really. They either get the healthy stick or the problematic stick or some even get the middle draw. I used to think the same thing about mixes being healthier because that's what I'd always been told. Nope. Learned otherwise. Especially with accident prone Riley. He had several issues on top of his mental issues.


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## Merciel (Apr 25, 2013)

I would venture to guess that truly random-bred mutts (not "designer" crossbreeds) are probably healthier on average than puppy mill purebreds. Depending on your region (which heavily influences which dogs are randomly breeding), they are probably coming from healthier foundational stock, are less subject to recessive genetic disorders, and may well be getting better prenatal/puppyhood care and nutrition, with less exposure to maternal stress hormones in the womb. Puppy mills are truly dire environments for dogs to be born into, for a whole host of reasons.

Beyond that extreme end of the continuum, though, I don't think mutts are any more likely to be exempted from the physical and mental issues that can afflict purebred dogs. Pongu is a mix, not a purebred GSD, but he still has the whole glorious panoply of mental problems stacked on top of a crappy structure and other physical issues (pano, anal gland malfunctions, etc.).

A well-bred purebred dog from healthy lines in a healthy breed is probably less likely to have problems than a random-bred mutt. Still a dice roll, but a roll with different (and better) odds.


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## kirsten (Jun 25, 2013)

The only mutt I've had which I loved dearly was supposedly a dauchund/chihuahua/spaniel mix. She ended up getting hip dysplasia and we paid 3k to get fixed. She was probably my most expensive dog as far as care goes out of 6 other purebred dogs I've owned.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

My mix (don't know what he is, likely a mix of 4 or more breeds) has worse hips than my three GSDs. He doesn't have HD but he will develop arthritis if he hasn't started already.

I think that dog genetics don't care what is pure and what is mixed. If you breed dogs that have heritable problems or have it in their lines, then you are more likely to see problems. A mixed dog is the same species as a purebred. I guess hybrid vigor makes the assumption that all purebreds are poorly linebred and backmassed. In some cases this is true but in many cases not.


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## AnnaRiley (Feb 14, 2008)

See my gsdx in my avatar. I have not posted in a long time, but he died in 2012 of ITP which can be common in a GSD. All I can say is he was as much GSD as he could be. And the GSD genes were there to take him out.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

Honestly, I think it's all luck of the draw, whether purebred or mixed. Foundation stock can stack the odds in your favor (or do the opposite), but there's no guarantee either way. 

We had our miniature schnauzer (PB) until she was 17 and a half years old. Her daughter (mini schnauzer/pit bull) that we had to let go a little over a week ago would have been 18 in October. Neither had any health problems of any kind. 
Sania, our lab is 13, going on 14 and has no health issues. 

Aiden (PB Frechie) is 6 and has a sensitive digestive system.


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