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Amongrel,mutt, ormixed-breed dog is adog that does not belong to one officially recognizedbreed, including those that result from intentionalbreeding. Although the termmixed-breed dog is sometimes preferred, many mongrels have no known purebred ancestors.
Crossbreed dogs, and "designer dogs", while also a mix ofbreeds, differ from mongrels in being intentionally bred. At other times, the wordmongrel has been applied to informally purpose-bred dogs such ascurs, which were created at least in part from mongrels, especially if the breed is not officially recognized.
Although mongrels are viewed as of less commercial value than intentionally bred dogs, they are thought to be less susceptible to genetic health problems associated withinbreeding (based on the theory ofheterosis), and have enthusiasts and defenders who prefer them to intentionally bred dogs.
Estimates place the prevalence of mongrels at 150 million animals worldwide.[1]
In the United States, the termmixed-breed is a favored synonym overmongrel among people who wish to avoid negativeconnotations associated with the latter term.[2] The implication that such dogs must be a mix of defined breeds may stem from an inverted understanding of the origins of dog breeds. Purebred dogs have been, for the most part, artificially created from random-bred populations by human selective breeding with the purpose of enhancing desired physical, behavioral, or temperamental characteristics. Dogs that are notpurebred are not necessarily a mix of such defined breeds.[3] Therefore, among some experts andfans of such dogs,mongrel is still the preferred term.[4][5][6]
Dog crossbreeds, sometimes calleddesigner dogs, also are not members of a single recognized breed. Unlike mixed-breeds, crossbreed dogs are often the product ofartificial selection—intentionally created by humans—whereas the termmongrel specifically refers to dogs that develop bynatural selection, without the planned intervention of humans.
The wordscur,[7]tyke,[8]mutt, andmongrel[9] are used, sometimes in a derogatory manner. There are also regional terms for mixed-breed dogs. In theUnited Kingdom,mongrel is the unique technical word for a mixed-breed dog. North Americans generally prefer the termmix ormixed-breed.Mutt[10] is also commonly used in theUnited States andCanada. Some American registries and dog clubs that accept mixed-breed dogs use the termAll-American to describe mixed-breed dogs.[11]
There are also names for mixed-breeds based on geography, behavior, or food. In Hawaii, mixes are referred to as poi dogs, although they are not related to the extinctHawaiian Poi Dog. In theBahamas and theTurks and Caicos Islands, the common term ispotcake dogs (referring to the table scraps they are fed). In South Africa, the tongue-in-cheek expressionpavement special is sometimes used as a description for a mixed-breed dog. InTrinidad and Tobago, these mixed dogs are referred to aspot hounds (pothong). InSerbia, a similar expression isprekoplotski avlijaner (over-the-fence yard-dweller). InRussia, a colloquial termдворняга (yard-dweller) is used most commonly. In thePhilippines, mixed-breed street dogs are often calledaskal, aTagalog-derived contraction ofasong kalye (”street dog"), while in Singapore, they are known as Singapore Specials.[12] InPuerto Rico, they are known assatos; inVenezuela they are calledyusos orcacris, the latter being a contraction of the wordscallejero criollo (literally, street creole, as street dogs are usually mongrels); and inChile andBolivia, they are calledquiltros. InCosta Rica, it is common to hear the wordzaguate, a term originating from aNahuatl term,zahuatl, that refers to the disease calledscabies. In the rural southern United States, a small hunting dog is known as afeist. InYucatan Peninsula, Mexico, they are called "malix" (ma.liʃ), meaning "no breed" inYucatec Mayan.
Slang terms are also common.Heinz 57, Heinz, or Heinz Hound is often used for dogs of uncertain ancestry, in a playful reference to the "57 Varieties"slogan of theH. J. Heinz Company. In some countries, such as Australia,bitsa (orbitzer) is sometimes used, meaning "bits o' this, bits o' that". InBrazil and theDominican Republic, the name for mixed-breed dogs isvira-lata (trash-can tipper) because of homeless dogs who knock over trash cans to reach discarded food. InNewfoundland, Canada, a smaller mixed-breed dog is known as acracky, hence the colloquial expression "saucy as a cracky" for someone with a sharp tongue. InSweden, these dogs might be humorously referred to as agatu korsning, which translates to intersection, but literally to 'street crossing'.[13]
Guessing a mixed-breed's ancestry can be difficult even for knowledgeable dog observers, because mixed-breeds have much moregenetic variation than purebreds. For example, two black mixed-breed dogs might each haverecessive genes that produce a blond coat and, therefore, produce offspring looking unlike their parents.
In 2007 genetic analysis[14] became publicly available. The companies claim theirDNA-based diagnostic test can genetically determine the breed composition of mixed-breed dogs. These tests are still limited in scope because only a small number of the hundreds of dog breeds have been validated against the tests, and because the same breed in different geographical areas may have different genetic profiles. The tests do not test for breed purity, but for genetic sequences that are common to certain breeds. With a mixed-breed dog, the test is not proof of purebred ancestry, but rather an indication that those dogs share common ancestry with certain purebreds. TheAmerican Kennel Club does not recognize the use of DNA tests to determine breed.[15][16]
Many newer dog breeds can be traced back to a common foundational breed, making them difficult to separate genetically. For example,Labrador Retrievers,Flat-coated Retrievers,Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, andNewfoundland dogs share a common ancestry with theSt. John's water dog –a now-extinctnaturally occurring dog landrace from the island of Newfoundland.
The theory ofhybrid vigor suggests that as a group, dogs of varied ancestry will be generally healthier than their purebred counterparts. In purebred dogs, intentionally breeding dogs of very similar appearance over several generations produces animals that carry many of the samealleles, some of which are detrimental. If the founding population for the breed was small, then the genetic diversity of that particular breed may be small for quite some time.
When humans select certain dogs for new breeds, they artificially isolate that group of genes and cause more copies of that gene to be made than might have otherwise occurred in nature. The population is initially more fragile because of the lack of genetic diversity. If the dog breed is popular, and the line continues, over hundreds of years diversity increases due to mutations and occasional out-breeding. This is why some of the very old breeds are more stable. One issue is when certain traits found in the breed standard are associated with genetic disorders. The artificial selective force favors the duplication of the genetic disorder because it comes with a desired physical trait.[17][18] The genetic health of hybrids tends to be higher.[19] Healthy traits have been lost in many purebred dog lines because many breeders ofshowdogs are more interested in conformation – the physical attributes of the dogs in relation to the breed standard – than in the health and working temperament for which the dog was originally bred.[20]
Populations are vulnerable when the dogs bred are closely related.Inbreeding among purebreds has exposed various genetic health problems not always readily apparent in less uniform populations. Mixed-breed dogs are more genetically diverse due to the more haphazard nature of their parents' mating. The offspring of suchmatings might be less likely to express certain genetic disorders because there might be a decreased chance that both parents carry the same detrimental recessive alleles, but somedeleterious recessives occur across many seemingly unrelated breeds, and therefore merely mixing breeds is no guarantee of genetic health. When two poor specimens are bred, the offspring could inherit the worst traits of both parents. This is commonly seen in dogs that came frompuppy mills.[21]
Several studies have shown that mixed-breed dogs have a health advantage over purebred dogs. A German study finds that "mongrels require less veterinary treatment".[22] Studies in Sweden have found that "Mongrel dogs are less prone to many diseases than the average purebred dog"[23] and, when referring to death rates, that "mongrels were consistently in the low risk category".[24] Data fromDenmark also suggest that mixed breeds have greater longevity on average compared to purebreds.[25] A British study showed similar results, but a few breeds (notablyJack Russell Terriers,Miniature Poodles andWhippets) lived longer than mixed breeds.[26]
In one study, the effect of breed on longevity in the pet dog was analyzed using mortality data from 23,535 pet dogs. The data were obtained from North American veterinary teaching hospitals. The median age at death was determined for purebred and mixed-breed dogs of different body weights. Within each body weight category, the median age at death was lower for purebred dogs compared with mixed-breed dogs. The median age at death was "8.5 years for all mixed breed dogs, and 6.7 years for all pure breed dogs" in the study.[27]
In 2013, a study found that mixed breeds live on average 1.2 years longer than purebreds, and that increasing body weight was negatively correlated with longevity (i.e. the heavier the dog, the shorter its lifespan).[28] Another study published in 2019 confirmed this 1.2 year difference in lifespan for mixed-breed dogs, and further demonstrated negative impacts of recent inbreeding and benefits of occasional outcrossing for lifespan in individual dogs.[29]
Studies that have been done in the area of health show that mixed-breeds on average are both healthier and longer-lived than their purebred relations. This is because current accepted breeding practices within the pedigreed dog community result in a reduction in genetic diversity, and can result in physical characteristics that lead to health issues.[30]
Studies have shown that crossbreed dogs have a number of desirable reproductive traits. Scott and Fuller found that crossbreed dogs were superior mothers compared to purebred mothers, producing more milk and giving better care. These advantages led to a decreased mortality in the offspring of crossbreed dogs.[31]
In the UK, authorJilly Cooper wrote books on mongrels:Intelligent and Loyal, which is one of the earliest works entirely dedicated to the type, and the series of children's booksLittle Mabel, which features the misadventures of a mongrel puppy called Mabel.[32] To gather stories about mongrels forIntelligent and Loyal, Cooper put an advert in newspapers asking people toshare stories about their pets for the book.[33][34]
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The mongrel is not a true breed, but it is certainly a common category of domestic dog. It has been estimated that, worldwide, there are 150 million of them.
Canines of unknown lineage used to be termed mongrels—how demeaning! Over time, the term 'mixed breed' was preferred.
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Hybrids have a far lower chance of exhibiting the disorders that are common with the parental breeds. Their genetic health will be substantially higher. (p. 338)
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