Advantages of Purebred Dogs
In Sweden, there are many advantages to the organized breeding of purebred dogs compared with mixed-breed breeding.
A regulated system
A major advantage is that purebred breeding takes place within a regulated framework. Ongoing checks are made to ensure that the dogs are kept properly and that the rules are being followed. If serious problems are discovered at a breeder’s and they are not corrected, the matter is reported to disciplinary boards and—when warranted—to the County Administrative Board’s animal welfare inspectors.
Getting a dog with the traits you want
Another major benefit of purebred dogs is that you have a better chance of getting a dog with the traits you are looking for. Every breed has its typical characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. Purebred dogs are much more homogeneous (similar within the breed) because they have not been crossed with dogs from other breeds. This means that as a puppy buyer, you can reasonably expect your puppy to have the traits described as typical for the breed. Of course, there are always individual differences between puppies. When you buy a purebred dog, you therefore have a much better chance of finding a dog that suits you and your lifestyle.
A purebred dog’s temperament, appearance, and characteristics are therefore easier to predict than those of a mixed-breed. In some mixed-breed puppies, many different breeds may be involved, which makes it hard to predict, for example, the dog’s adult size and temperament.
Known versus unknown medical history
For many purebred dogs, there are health programs in place to tackle hereditary diseases. The parents of most mixed-breed litters have not been examined for conditions such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, and similar problems. If you mate two different breeds where both are prone to the same hereditary disease, the risk can in some cases be higher of getting a puppy with defects than if you had bought a purebred puppy whose parents have been examined and cleared.
Many breed clubs have introduced requirements that veterinary examinations, carried out before mating, must be registered centrally in order to prevent the spread of diseases. This gives breeders access to information both about the dogs they use in breeding and about the breed as a whole. As a result, they can make better choices about which dogs to use for breeding.
Buying a mixed-breed dog requires more knowledge
In mixed-breed breeding, people often have no real idea what they are crossing, beyond the fact that the two individual dogs are pleasant. In the worst cases, no thought has been given to this at all, and the litter is simply the result of an accidental mating. That said, there is nothing to say that a mixed-breed dog cannot become just as pleasant and healthy a companion as a purebred dog. However, breeding of mixed-breed dogs is not supervised by the SKK (Swedish Kennel Club) or by any authority, which often means that it takes more knowledge on the part of the buyer to purchase a mixed-breed or unregistered dog.
The risk of unexpected veterinary costs for mixed-breed dogs
A purebred dog is often more expensive to buy than a mixed-breed dog. But keep in mind that a mixed-breed may develop diseases or congenital defects that you were not aware of, leading to many costly veterinary visits. Since there are often no extended pedigrees with the same type of mixed-breed background, it is harder to predict the health risks that mixed-breed puppies may face. The purchase price makes up only a small part of the total cost of a dog over its lifetime.
