The Best Mixed Dog Breeds

With the many dogs left to roam that end up having puppies there are plenty of mixed breed dogs to choose from without deliberately breeding the "designer dogs" that sell for hundreds of dollars. Some crossbred dogs are actually misidentified - for example not all black and tan dogs are "shepherd cross" - indeed the one pictured has no shepherd anywhere but rather is cattle dog-border collie!

Sometimes for a particular purpose a mixed breed can be an ideal choice for a lower "down payment". Of course all dogs need feed, health care and such no matter what breed or combination of breeds and in many cases this is the same. With that in mind the purchase price is the big difference and sometimes this is for free.

Working dogs are often grade (unregistered) or crossbred. Some of these might be with a particular purpose in mind, which is not necessarily dependent on pedigree. Keep in mind that in "working" being a well trained pet, a home alarm or service dog is working every bit as much as a livestock dog or hunter is. Sometimes you must look carefully at what the mix is.

An example of this was the ad I answered of a Great Pyrenees who needed a home - we needed a Pyr to keep roaming dogs out of the rabbits. At first look it was clear he was not purebred, and the people admitted he was half German Shepherd. By nature the German Shepherd is a herding dog - untrained that can mean chasing. So it left the question - would the Pyr instinct override to protect or would he get too excited and try to harm his charges? As it happened for what we need he's worked out fine. He may not be the idea dog for someone with 100 head of sheep on 40 acres but in a small, controlled situation he keeps other dogs away.

What are other possibilities of crosses that can work well? Just a few include:

Pets:

Any dog can be a pet but for many there are limits to the size of pets they are allowed to have. Sticking with the Shih-Tzu crosses or something similar keeps the size down while allowing for an individual look based on grooming. For those who prefer less hair consider Chihuahua crosses, Miniature Pinscher or other smooth haired breeds. Remember all of these will need training to be the best pet they can be. This means it is up to you to teach them proper manners and navigating our day to day world.

Hunting:

This is perhaps one area most demanding of performance and most forgiving of pedigree. Pure and simple the dog can either find the game or they can't! Coonhounds of various breeds can be crossed for practical purposes of parents with qualities wanted. Bird dogs as well as small game dogs do not need papers in order to do well as long as they can find their chosen species and stand for the sounds of the gunfire. For a good dog an accidental breeding is not a hindrance. Some possibilities: Redbone coonhound cross, Brittany spaniel cross, Irish Setter cross, pointer cross.

Herding:

Like the hunting dogs, a herding dog can either do the job or not. Many love the work ethic of the border collie but not the overdrive. Crosses of them on Australian Shepherds, for example, may still be worth a try for herding livestock on a day to day basis on the farm. Here as long as they hold the cow or pen the sheep for you pedigree doesn't matter.

Working:

High drive, motivated dogs that are play obsessive and toy focused can be hard to place in homes but can be ideal as search dogs for drug detection or other forms of search, for search and rescue work and other activities. Their tireless energy allows them to go as long as the job requires, and the ability to find certain scents is an asset. These might be retriever mixes of many sorts but little dogs can get into the work! The most famous is a small Chihuahua mix who is a certified K-9 in Ohio but increasingly dogs have been used to detect gas leaks, termites, border patrol dogs and even cancer. Some dogs are sensitive enough to predict seizures and alert their people. Beagle crosses work well and in Washington pitbulls are used, some which came from abusive situations or areas that banned them on breed.

While there is nothing wrong with wanting a purebred dog, showing or having purebred working dogs, not everyone necessarily wants that. For those willing to just take on a dog able to do the job no matter what the pedigree is this can be a great way to give a dog a permanent home and a practical use. Dogs that have a job, even if it's home companion, that is taken seriously have a different presence about them as if they know their place in the world. Consider giving a mixed breed a job for your next dog.