Dogs

A Quick Guide to Dog’s Lover’s Lingo

A Quick Guide to Dog’s Lover’s Lingo

Know your dog terminology

Do you know your Mongrel from your crossbreed? A Cockapoo from a Schnoodle? No? then have a quick read our five-minute guide and pick up a little of the lingo.

Hybrid Dog Jargon

Most people probably know that for a dog to qualify as a purebred it will need registration papers issued by a breed club that is affiliated to a national kennel club. The papers will need to confirm that both the dog’s parents are of the same breed and that they are also both registered with a breed club. However, how well do you know your dog terminology?

 

Mongrels, mutts, and mixed-breeds

A mongrel, mixed-breed dog, or mutt all refer to a dog that does not belong to any officially recognized breed, nor is the result of intentional breeding. These dogs have no pedigree and more often than not, are the result of accidental matings. Mixed-breed is the term preferred by many people in the canine world since both the words mongrel and mutt are recognised as offensive ‘slur’ words when applied to people. As far as the English language is concerned, mixed breed and crossbreed technically mean the same thing, however in the dog world they differ as much as the latter is intentionally bred. Mixed-breed dogs are viewed as being less susceptible to genetic health problems associated with some purebred dogs as they are obviously drawing on a much wider gene pool. Estimates place the number of mixed-breed dogs at 150 million worldwide.

 

Crossbreeds, designer breeds, and designer dogs

A dog that has purebred parents, registered with a breed club, from two different breeds is generally referred to as a crossbreed, designer breed, or designer dog. These dogs are the result of a deliberate decision to create a specific crossbred dog. Unlike a mongrel, mutt, or mixed-breed dog, its entire pedigree and ancestry can be fully tracked.

A recent and popular example of a designer dog is Labradoodle. These dog has been purposely bred to inherit the low-shedding qualities of a Poodle along with the Labrador’s favourable temperament. However, since Poodles come in three sizes, Labradoodle pups also vary in size and may often look as if they have inherited more traits from one parent than the other. Other popular designer dogs include:

A Puggle pup

 

 

Yorkie Poo (Yorkshire Terrier and Poodle)

Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel and Poodle)

Chorkie (Chihuahua and Yorkshire Terrier)

Schnoodle (Miniature Schnauzer and Poodle)

Puggle (Pug and Beagle)

Hybrid dogs

A hybrid animal is one with the parentage of two separate species, differentiating it from crossbred animals, which have parentage of the same species. Thus, a hybrid dog would most typically be the result of crossing a domestic dog with a wolf, but it could be any other wild dog species. They may be intentional pairings or could occur naturally in the wild, however, such animals are generally not recommended as pets, being half-wild animals.

In the UK, hybrid wolfdogs are legal as pets if they are at least three generations away from their wolf ancestry. However, they fall under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, which will require a special license if you want to keep them at home. In America, 21 States permitted ownership of wolfdogs, whereby they fall under the same rules of domestic dogs. A further 16 States permit ownership of a wolfdog as long as special restrictions are observed, but in the remaining 14 States, it is completely illegal to own such an animal as a privately owned pet.

Anyway now you have some idea about the terminology why not check out our growing dog’s directory and learn a bit more about the various breeds.

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