Cross Breeds

What makes Heinz 57 mixed breed noble, but a cross of just 2 breeds garbage?

I see a double standard here. Mutts with 3 or more breeds mixed in are noble, wonderful pets with hybrid vigor and terrific health. Better than purebreds I've heard several posters say. But if the mutt is a simple cross of just 2 breeds, it's worthless garbage. Is the difference due to the dog's perceived origins? Or because public fancy has shifted to crossbreds since almost anyone can afford a purebred now?

Public Comments

1. I have to say, I have never seen anyone with any smarts on here suggest that dogs who are mixed with 3 or more breeds are more "noble" or even more "healthy". Any mixed breed dog is a crap shoot at best. ETA: Cougar, if my vet ever fed me that line of crap I would change vets. I would not trust a vet with so little understanding and knowledge of their patients.
2. " Mutts with 3 or more breeds mixed in are noble, wonderful pets with hybrid vigor and terrific health. Better than purebreds I've heard several posters say." Please don't confuse SOME people's opinions for what we all think. "But if the mutt is a simple cross of just 2 breeds, it's worthless garbage." A mutt is a mutt. Doesn't matter if its 2 breed or more involved. I've never said mutts were better, healthier etc and never will. I'm not that naive and actually understand genetics. Personally I'd like to know where you got the notion that any of us who actually know better draw the line between 2 breed mutt vs a 3 or more breed mutt.
3. Having been on YA a long time, I have missed that trend. In my opinion there is nothign noble about a mutt, if it has two breeds or a thousand breeds. Its just a mutt that someone created without caring about their dogs or the dogs future. To me a mutt represents a lazy, careless and sometimes evil owner (someone using their dog as an ATM). Anyone that knows dogs will agree that there is no such thing as hybrid vigor, because there is not any when you crossbree dogs, mingling of two breeds is not hybrid- mixing of SPECIES is. (ex: Horse to a Mule) I have not seen public fancy shift to mutts, it is more that people think they are more special if they can have a dog with a made up name. I myself am purchasing a Cockerdoodledo puppy this weekend. It is a cross between a Cockapoo-Labradoodle-Jindo. I mean seriously I will just sound so cool when I tell people what breed it is, that they will immdediately think I am extra special. Way more cool then when I am walking with my Collie who comes from generations of Champion/Health tested ancestors.
4. You have selective HEARING...and/or READING No one said that mutts with 3 or more breeds are better, healthier, etc Hybrid vigor applies to HYBRIDS...which are a mix of two or more different SPECIES....thus has nothing to do with mixing dogs All mutts are just that...mutts. There is no such thing as a hybrids, crossbreeds, etc...they are all DAMN MUTTS. So you buying your mutt from a pet store, DOES NOT make it any more special than my 18th generation Heinz 57 mix. That's all that anyone here in the Dog Section has ever said. Get your facts straight before you ask a question, or post a rant.
5. Wherever did you get the idea that "Heinz 57" dogs are noble? And what do you mean by noble? That term actually means a dog of unknown parentage, not necessarily three or more breeds. It could mean two breeds only, actually. It just refers to unknown breeds in the dog's background. People often say that mixed breed dogs are smarter and generally healthier than a purebreed, though.
6. Hybrid vigor is a myth. Most people who are against dogs with only 2 breeds in it's heritage are not against the individual dog or the breeds it's mixed with. They're against the breeders who breed them and give them some fancy name while charging an arm and a leg for it. I see nothing wrong with people wanting purebreds and nothing wrong with people wanting mutts. What I see wrong is people breeding more dogs when there are already millions on this planet who need homes. Every dog is worthy of respect and love. Just because one has parents of indistinguishable breeds doesn't mean it doesn't deserve the same chances in life as one who's parents are purebred with numerous titles under their belts.
7. I think you are confusing the opinion of a few, with that of the majority. A mutt is a mutt is a mutt. 2 breeds, 3 breeds, or even more breeds. Still a mutt. Heres the kicker. Most mixed dogs of two breeds i.e. a yorkiepoo or a goldendoodle were created on purpose with some greedy BYB using unscrupulous breeding practices to make a quick buck. If someone ADOPTs one of these dogs from a shelter/rescue...then good for them. It is BUYING one that people have a problem with. Most people who are selling mutts, only sell mixes of 2 breeds, not many. That is where I think you are getting confused. People who have true "Heinz 57" dogs got them from the pound and therefore I have more respect for them than I do for someone who went out and bought a "maltipoo". Hybrid vigor PPPPPft. Ridiculous theory the defies logic and genetic science.
8. Who says heinz 57s are "noble" or have "hybrid vigor and terrific health". They aren't and they don't, and I certainly don't see anyone with a brain claiming that. Mixes in general can be less likely to display recessive genetic disorders that are specific to a single breed (like Scotty Cramp) or a few breeds (because if a dog of a breed that has the condition is bred to a dog of a breed that does not carry the condition, it's impossible for the offspring to display the condition, though they can still be carriers). But they're likely to be much less healthy on average than a well-bred purebred- becaure mutt breeders don't health screen extensively the way any reputable breeder of purebred dogs does. Crosses of two breeds are no better or worse than any other mutt out there. What ticks people off on here are the posters that think their "whateverpoo" is better than some other mutt in a shelter, or worse, that their "whateverpoo" is a breed. They aren't.
9. just came from the vet with my mutt. and the vet says she is cute. also said mutts are smarter and healthier then pure breeds. she says mutts are like the jack of all trades and does many of them well. while pure breeds are bred for singular per pose and they do that one thing well. but not to good at catching on to other skills. and that most pure breeds also carry the gene traits that make them susceptible to illness and bad bones and hip problems