# Mixed Breeds



## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

How reasonble do you think it is to have mixed breed dogs acting in the capacity as PP tools? Doesn't matter the mix...I have seen too many mixed and show lines critters not showing the foundation to do this type of work. Yes, there are mixes out there and some can out do the "pure" varieties. What mix do you see making the grade? I think just about anything with a Lab, Golden, or Collie washes it out...


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Fila Brasileiro x Landseer

No kidding!! I had both pure breeds and they protected me (not to the end - I'm still here) but not far off.


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## Dan Long (Jan 10, 2008)

We've had a corso/neo mix training with us. About 18 months old and 150lbs. You can't train him the way you train a herder, it takes him longer to "get it", but he's now carrying the sleeve and is enthusiastic about doing the work. It's a totallly different approach than how you'd start a young herding dog. Plus, the guy who catches him says he bites like a lion, harder than any dog he's caught.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

One of the nicest mix breeds I've ever see, both physically and mentally was a Chow/Collie mix. I might add that the mom was a working farm Collie. Not one of Lassie's leftovers.


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## Nathen Danforth (Feb 12, 2009)

I really think my mal/akita mix is going to do well in the sport arena. Don't know for PPD. My TD seems like the kind of guy who would tell me if he's a total shitter...at least I'd hope so...course the pup being only 15 weeks old, maybe he's just being patient.I'll get some video next rag session of him and you can all tell me what YOU think.


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## Howard Gaines III (Dec 26, 2007)

Dan Long said:


> ..., the guy who catches him says he bites like a lion, harder than any dog he's caught.


Yipes, sounds like a Siegried & Roy event. Lions and Tigers:-o OH MY!:razz:


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## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

For us the mixed breeds work very well. Almost all of our dogs are mixed breeds, including both of our stud dogs and most of the best breeding females we have ever had. The mix of course is Dutch Malinois X Dutch Shepherd. 
I have also had a few very nice Mali X GSD and Dutchie X GSD mixes.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

Howard Gaines III said:


> What mix do you see making the grade? I think just about anything with a Lab, Golden, or Collie washes it out...


I am not trying to pass myself off as knowing a great deal about PP dogs, but seeing what some call PP dogs....I am sure that there are the odd mix that can do the job...even with some Lab or Collie.

My favorite dog is a Mal x GSD/Lab/Collie from an oops litter. The bitch was the Malinois and the sire was a farm dog cross next door that slipped in there. 

It is my sister's dog, but lived with me for a couple of years.

This dog has been acting as a defacto PP dog for my sister's family for years. She has two young boys. Never trained in bitework, but has great drive, super stable personality, and great instincts. Could this dog have been a man killer, couldn't say, but as a PP dog for a family with kids, this dog has proven himself valuable his entire life. I have no doubt that some bitwork could have been put on this dog. 

This dog would have been too much for the average family pet, but my sister is one of those people that are natural leaders that people and dogs don't eff with so she pulled it off with him.

If people are looking for a dog to do a job obviously they will have the best chance by choosing a planned breeding for the type of work (pure bred, or like Mike's examples), but that is not to say that the odd mutt couldn't do it.

He is an old man now...but a couple of pics anyways, wish I had some nice ones to do him justice:
http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t214/farwesttoller/?action=view&current=farbod006.jpg

with some slobber on his face:
http://s161.photobucket.com/albums/t214/farwesttoller/?action=view&current=farbod003-1.jpg


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## brad robert (Nov 26, 2008)

Can mike or anyone shed any light on the crosses that mike spoke of the malixgsd and the dutchie xgsd they sound like awesome mixes do these dogs seem to have increased drive or health or are they never quite as good as there purebred cousins?


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## Paul Fox (May 25, 2009)

brad robert said:


> Can mike or anyone shed any light on the crosses that mike spoke of the malixgsd and the dutchie xgsd they sound like awesome mixes do these dogs seem to have increased drive or health or are they never quite as good as there purebred cousins?


I have a GSDxMali. She looks like a Mali, but bigger. She is also less likely to have the hip problems some pure GSD get. She also has a mouth as long as a Mali and as braod as a GSD so quite a big gob.


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## mike suttle (Feb 19, 2008)

brad robert said:


> Can mike or anyone shed any light on the crosses that mike spoke of the malixgsd and the dutchie xgsd they sound like awesome mixes do these dogs seem to have increased drive or health or are they never quite as good as there purebred cousins?


The usual outcome from a Mali X GSd cross or a Dutchie X GSD cross is a dog that is a little lower in drive and less heathly than an Mali or Dutchie. I have experimented with this cross and not had a lot of luck. Sometimes I buy good Mali X GSD or Dutchie X GSD crosses, but I dont breed them anymore.
When I do the GSD X I get a very small % of good dogs in the litters. I think with that type of a total outcross you get some really good ones, and a lot of shitters in each litter.
For me it is best to buy the good ones from other breeders, that way I dont have to deal with 75% washouts from our own litters of that cross.
The Mali X Dutchie cross works 100% better form me.
I hate to say it, but for what I want in a dog, the addition of the GSD really only hurts our chances of getting what we want.
But like I said I have had some really nice Dutchie X GSD crosses imported from Europe. I just dont have the majic formula to know how to correctly breed that cross, so I stay away from doing it myself now.
Remember this............A GOOD DOG IS WHERE YOU FIND IT!! Maybe it comes from the Championships in Den Bosch, or the WUSV, or maybe it comes from your local animal shelter in the form of a breed that you can not even recognize.


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## Nathen Danforth (Feb 12, 2009)

"............A GOOD DOG IS WHERE YOU FIND IT!! Maybe it comes from the Championships in Den Bosch, or the WUSV, or maybe it comes from your local animal shelter in the form of a breed that you can not even recognize"Great statement!


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