Cross Breeds

Are mixed breed sled dogs the same as designer dogs?

This question is for those who hate the creation of "designer dogs." Most racing sled dogs are not siberian huskies but are carefully bred mix breeds. This includes alaskan huskies. The current trend is dogs with a lot of pointer in the mix. These mix breed sled dogs are bred from the best performers in a musher's kennel and are bred for a purpose, winning races. Do you think of them in the same way you think of "designer dogs?"

Public Comments

1. No, like you said these dogs are bred for a purpose just not for monetary gain. "designer dogs" were created just to sucker dumb people into spending a lot of money on something they think is trendy or special.
2. From what I have read, sled dogs were always mixed - several breeds involved. These dogs serve a function and are bred to do a specific task - not to be useless fashion accessories. I doubt too many good sled dogs end up in kill shelters, at least I hope not.
3. No - they are being bred for an actual, working purpose, and are not being sold as actual breeds.
4. These are not designer dogs, they are working dogs. When you breed animals by carefully selecting traits for work you are not simply creating an animal that you can mass market for a lot of money because it's cute or supposedly "hypo allergenic."
5. Of course not. They were bred for a specific purpose. The breeder has clear goals for his breeding program. There is a way to "test" the worthyness of specific dogs. Honestly. I have no problem with people crossbreeding - as long as it's done responsibly. I'm a HUGE supporter of the Dalmation/Pointer backcross project. Hell, look at Shiloh Shepherds. This "breed" started as a cross of GSD and Malamutes. The breed creator wanted to recreate shepherds as she remembered them from childhood. IMHO she did this very responsibly. All of her dogs were health and temperament tested, she choose her breeding animals carefully, culled the ones that had nothing to offer to her breeding program. And today she has some fine looking animals. There's even a Shiloh Shepherd breed standard! The problem is the vast majority of designer dogs are NOT being bred resopnsibly. The dogs aren't being health tested and there is not a "goal" in mind for the "breed" other than to create cute pups that sell quick.
6. There is a huge difference between a mixed breed dog bred to add $$$ to some backyard breeder's pocket and a mixed breed dog bred to create a faster (not necessarly better) sled dog. In the 2007 Serum Run the ONLY teams that didn't have to wear jackets during the run and to bed down (temps to -30 degrees F) were the Samoyeds and Siberians... I found it quite interesting that many of the other teams (mixed breeds) were calling for the race to be postponed due to the cold. http://www.samoyeds4serum.com/ Trail Notes: "It was good that we hunkered down here in White Mountain. The dogs have all recovered really well. Even if the weather would have been good to continue on the day after our arrival, it would have challenged the spirits of the dogs, ‘cuz they had it pretty tough. We had two really hard parts of that trail. There is this little McKinley that you climb first, which is about 1000 foot elevation gain mountain that almost straight up and we were running into headwinds there. That in and of itself was tough, and then we had to go out on the sea ice and buck into those headwinds on top of that. It was a brutal run from Elim to White Mountain. They did it. Everybody’s healthy, the dogs are healthy. Samoyeds with heavy coats has just been remarkable. All the other dogs are jacketed up. Probably about 8 of the Alaskan huskies ended up with some form of frostbite. A number of the males had their penises frostbitten. The Samoyeds are just fine in their fur coats. That’s been a real … Most... well everybody’s real impressed with how durable they are in being able to sustain themselves in this kind of weather, –40’s –50’s in the winds."
7. There is nothing wrong with mixing dog breeds (that's how we got some - all our breeds of dogs today), however, a dog needs to be bred with a specific purpose in mind and these huskies/sled dogs have a purpose. The breeders are trying to breed the best sled dogs that are manageable as well. When you breed for the betterment of the breed and you love the breed, plus you as a breeder are willing to reasonably stand by your dogs (guarantees) and disclose any genetic issues your line may have, then that has the makings of a good breeder. Puggles, Labradoodles, Malti-Poos etc. etc. can make good pets but I don't see these breeds in the show ring, I see people who are trying to make hundreds/thousands of dollars off breeds of dogs that to me do not seem worth it. You can convince me that you might pay several hundred to several thousand for a good working German Shepherd if that is what you want, however, it had better be from good working lines and in good health - not some 4000.00 Malti-Poo that came out of a petshop! Good genetic stock in dogs and in the animal kingdom is a good thing. Bravo for the Mushers.