Fri 14th Dec: What's in a multibreed?

Gorgeous Dribble was one of today's litter

As planned, I went to AFCD today to take out what I thought were going to be ten puppies, but three were held back (don't ask because I don't know) and I ended up with a litter of seven.   At least I think it's one litter but it's always hard to know as mixed breeds can look very different and also have varying characters, even if they come from the same mother.  The reason for this is the very fact that they are mixed breeds, so the genes passed down to each pup can come from the mother, the father and either grandparent, and if they also came from a mixed heritage then there are dozens or more variations possible.    It's also possible for one litter to have two or more fathers, as the mother can mate with multiple partners during the period she's fertile.  This is also true of humans, but for obvious reasons it's quite rare.

Jumble is from the same litter as Dribble

Many of today's mixed breeds may only have a few known breeds in their DNA make-up, but it's impossible to say unless there is a very distinctive look.  DNA testing for dogs is available if you want to have it done, but I dont know if there is a Hong Kong-based company offering this service and I believe it's important that such tests are relevant to the area.  Hong Kong is a small country so we see the same type of mixed breed looks occurring over and over, and it's highly likely that the "Black Fluffies" for example share at least some of their DNA with each other.  DNA tests from America, say, won't have the "Black Fluffy" genetic code in their database so there would be unlikely to be a reliable result.  When DNA testing was first offered in Hong Kong it was totally unbelievable what was being given as the breed breakdown, so I have always been suspicious of the tests.

Tiny Tilda just had surgery for patella luxation and she needs a foster home please

Another beautful baby labalike

However DNA testing is valuable for checking the breeder dogs to make sure that they aren't being inbred, which results in all sorts of health problems the same as it does for humans, or to identify dogs that are being sold as purebreeds when they're clearly not.  I have heard so many stories about breeders taking microchips out of one dog and implanting into another to get round licensing issues and other identification requirements, and knowing what these breeders are like really nothing surprises me.  There's so much money to be made out of selling puppies that they will stop at nothing, and we see all of the genetic problems surfacing in so many of the ex-breeder dogs.  Things like luxating patellas and hip dysplasia are two of the very common problems that are inherited from the parents, but the worst of all are the breed issues which are now part of the common genetic make-up.  I've noticed so many King Charles spaniel puppies recently so it's clear there is someone breeding them, but how many of the buyers know about the terrible brain condition that afflicts this breed and causes such suffering?  Not many I bet. "It was found, in a recent study, that 70% of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels showed syringomyelia by six years of age – the presence of fluid-filled cavities in the spinal cord of the neck. ... This condition is known to be very painful in humans and affected dogs may show signs indicative of head and neck pain."

That's why mixed breeds are in general much healthier and sronger than any purebreed, and that's a fact.   You can meet our beautiful multibreed puppies at Concordia Pet Care in Happy Velley on Saturday afternoon, and Whiskers N Paws of course on Sunday 2pm to 5pm.