Purebred vs Mutt

[Terrie]

I bought my dog from a so called reputable breeder. He sells GSD's and Belgian Malinois to local law enforcers and public for search rescue, protection, attack.
When I brought my dog for his training, I asked the breeder if he had papers for him, he told me " No, if I want to know what he is, get a DNA sample " ( this should have been my first red flag ). When I took him to the vets, he too said he didn't look like a GSD. The breeder showed me both his mother and father and they are twice as small as my dog. My other GSD RIP was 76 lbs at 8 years old. Shiloh is 3 1/2 years and weighs 98 lbs. he is taller. Faster and much much stronger than a normal GSD. I decided to get a DNA sample done and this is my result. He has the coat and chest of a Bernese. The looks of a GSD, and the strength of a Bernard
Still love him to pieces however am disappointed in false advertising.

My question is how many of you have bought what you thought was a purebred only to find out they are mutts ?

[Longblades]

Such a good thread you've started, it highlights so many important things we should all look out for.

First, those DNA profiles are fun but should not be relied on for determination of breed. Many a known purebred has come back with mixes in the profile. Most pure breeds did have some other breed mixed or introduced way back when and those other breeds can show up in a profile. Some DNA profiles are an outright scam. some require a photo of the dog and you have to wonder why. You CAN rely on DNA to determine if the said parents of your dog really are it's parents.

Second, the breeder investigation is the most important thing you need to do when searching out a purebred dog and you must, you must, you must do it BEFORE you get the dog. Each breed will have a breed club that sets the standard, explains health concerns in that breed, clearance tests that should be done before a dog is bred, life span, often tracks competitive awards. some tests we have gene tests for, others, like good hips and elbows, all we can rely in is that the parents had good ones as per Pennhip or OFA. Most breeds require eye and heart clearances. Some breeds have peculiar ailments common to only them.

Conformation competition will compare the dog's structure to others of it's breed.

Structure is important for a dog to do activities it may have been bred to do without undo risk of injury. GSD and Malinois often compete in Schutzhund. There have been some of each breeds in Obedience, Rally and Agility trials I've been to.

Sadly, you need to check with the registering agency that the dog parents you are shown really are the dogs with the AKC or CKC registration or the hip or elbow clearances, etc.. And you have to watch that someone claiming CKC registration means Canadian, not Continental. If you want to compete in activities where such titles are tracked by the registering agency then not only do the parents have to be registered but your dog does too.

It sounds like you have fallen prey to a Backyard Breeder. A BYB. Your dog looks lovely. Does his possibly being a mix (I'm not sure it is clear he is a mix, I would not rely on that DNA test myself) prevent you from doing the things with him you had planned? Which did you want, the GSD or the Mal?

Sadly people deliberately lie when they sell their car privately and say it was never in an accident. You can check such things these days. BYB can be hard to suss out because many are good hearted but naive dog lovers who don't know what they are doing harms the breed. Not all are deliberately scamming you. Some really think just because they love their dog she'll have great pups, not even knowing to look at the horrible elbows she is passing on to unfortunate pups.

No, we were fortunate to know several people involved in our breed and knew the checks to make before we settled on a breeder for our pups. sometimes you can approach a breed club for an evaluation of your dog and sometimes a kind of registration number that allows you to compete in performance venues can be issued. Good luck, I know you love him to bits regardless.

PS: There are a couple of BMD in my village and one is a champion show dog. Your dog does not have the coat of a BMD at all.

http://www.ckc.ca/en/Choosing-a-Dog/...e-Mountain-Dog

[Terrie]

Thank you for that information. To be honest with you, I think he falls more in the Mali family than GSD, however if you look at his coat it looks like a Bermese coat. I believe I fell prey and should have walked away when the breeder seemed insulted when I asked if he had papers, and he told me to get a DNA sample. Now you have me thinking also about the DNA company who asked for a pic so they can put it on the certificate. My other dog who was a purebred GSD had a tattoo and a CKC certificate from the breeder. When I picked up Shiloh, there was a huge tree in the front yard and 7'different types of dogs from Dalmations to Dutch GSD's. I think it's good to know the family history because this guy, even though I've had him since he was 6 weeks old, has severe separation anxiety and I have spent more on vet bills on him that I have on my last dogs.

[Barkingdog]

I have heard of breeders sneaking a puppy into a littler and saying is
a 'pure bred ' puppy. And the puppy is a mutt . I met a couple that thought was buying a toy poodle according to the breeder and grew up to be a mini poodle , which was bigger than the people wanted. They kept the dog b/c they loved it but they was not happy about being lied to.
I personally think people should rescue a dog from a kill shelter and save their life.

[Terrie]

I believe my next fur baby will be a rescue, on a trial basis because I rescued a dog from the shelter once and some how got out if his crate and totally destroyed the house. I had to replace shears, blinds, carpets, speakers, phone etc... So it's a flip of the coin persee. Thanks for your advise though. I will do my homework in the future for sure )

[Longblades]

Unfortunately there are good rescues and bad ones too. Check out the rescue you use carefully. Rescues have been known to not disclose health or behavioural problems, even those that are known.

Our own rescue dog was a private deal through a family member who took a dog from a sad situation and pawned her off on us. It was a match made in heaven but we did have extensive Vet bills, a lot of them due to, our Vet's thinking anyway, that the dog was heavily hunted in very cold conditions and that led to her asthma. Her lungs were a mass of scar tissue. Nevertheless, she lived to 14 and a half, ten wonderful years with us. We still miss her.

[Barkingdog]

Marty had a lot of health issues and has trick knees and I was not told this . He was seen by the shelter vet before put up for adoption and
I am not sure how that was missed . Marty ran up a $600 plus vet bill when I brought him home , I was told he kennel cough at the shelter .
The woman that worked that shelter 'did not hear' Marty coughing while she was doing the paper work . I did hear him cough and I was the one hard of hearing . I was given some meds for his cough and to made long story short he had more health issues so the shelter paid for his vet bills
b/c they did not want Marty back.