Enjoying dogs of questionable lineage

[js4fn]

[Sharon]

Wow. What a beauty.

[Marker]

IMO breed is the first element to determine the dogs capacity, and pre-testing the pup at 8 weeks will determine the dogs ability. You will never get a Bloodhound to be a personal protection dog like a Mali can, with any amount of training. I have had both, and trained both but also worked with mixed breeds (not mine) which can do well but usually require more training to get there. I would never turn my nose up on a mixed breed, and my hat is off to any handler who can pass the same test as the pure blood lines do.

[KennyT]

The purists would string me up, but my dream dog is a Brittany/Wirehair mix. Both great noses, with a little more size for geese but not too much dog for my house.