Should Chow Chow be bread?

i think breeding mutts is fairly irresponsible because there isn't much market for them.  more and more people are choosing pedigrees because a) they like knowing the size, grooming requirements and exercise needs of the dog they bring into their home (which i think is sensible).  and b) because the breed is fashionable at the time [:'(]  What im trying to say is i think that there are even less homes available for mutts than for their purebred counterparts, so why make more?
 
dont even get me started on crosses (designer dogs).

Ideally, a pit would make a HORRIBLE guard dog. 

Houndlove hit the nail on the head for me, which is that it makes sense to carefully breed for different types of companion dogs, because not everyone wants the same qualities in a dog. 

illegal jobs aside... the pit bulls have are higher risk with hunting. most are used for catch work and either their owners put special collars and protection on them or they dont... even with that protection they can still die from a hog cut.
and it still doesnt change the fact that english bulldogs are unhealthy AND designer dogs... they have pug outcrossing, among other things to make them less gladiator like and better suited for companions. why? why not just keep pugs instead of cross breeding them into bulldogs?

i dont have a problem with companion breeds but i do have a problem with breeding working dogs for pets. i dont want that to sound like a blanket statement, but it probably will... if you can see to that working dog's needs and not get mad at him for being himself then thats great, but the majority get dumped because their owners liked the looks but were not prepared for the whole package and either failed to train or lost control of it. If i were to become a breeder tomorrow i wouldnt sell working dogs as pets. if someone came to me asking for a bulldog as a pet i would direct them to the nearest animal shelter and wish them luck.
 i like pit bulls but i dont think i want one for a pet, even though many people say they make great pets and i dont dispute that, but thats not what I want my pet to look like... i like American Bulldogs, but not for a pet. my dogs are guards and protect my family and property - its their instinct and i dont discourage them from doing. but if i want a pet dog to spoil and take with me everywhere and let everyone pet and hold then i'll get a chihuahua or a shih tzu or some other small breed. if i want a dog to take hiking, hunting, or on a road trip then i'll either have an American Bulldog or a Doberman. that breed can keep up with me and will not leave my side and if there is trouble then i have a good dog to back me up. i hardly expect a companion breed to scare off a would be rapist.....

and i still say you cant make a breed extinct. as long as we have dogs we'll have breeds.
the problem with mixed breeds is the craziness of say... mixing a poodle with a german shepherd. so it will have some interesting puppies.. now what? and which dog do you have? a shepherd with poodle hair or a poodle with pointy ears? and what about their attitudes? will the fluffy shepherd fetch and swim? or will the pointy eared poodle herd and guard? what if you want a pointy eared poodle that fetches but there isnt a puppy in that litter that will do that? do you breed again in hopes of getting that specially designed dog?
THATS what i see happening with designer dogs.

and getting back to Chows... i like them well enough, but not the show standard.... i dont feel comfortable around them because of the way they look.... that coat looks too hot - i live in Florida - and they look like they would have a hard time breathing.. (breathing problems is also one of the reasons i dont want to own an English bulldog)
if i wanted a chow TYPE dog i would go to the shelter and look for one. they're a dime a dozen in florida. i used to have a chowXhusky/shepherd and he was an amazing dog and would love to have another one like him but i probably wont unless i see one in the shelter that has his EXACT personality. but you could breed those three breeds together a hundred times and still not get that personality.

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

but the pit bull can still hunt and work and guard and protect.

Alright I'll put in one more thing, [] 
But how many DO the above? How many are "just companions" or have a "job" that is illegal? Do we have numbers on that? I don't think we do.
 
It comes down to this being a statement based on personal preference..you consider xxx breed to be 'this way" so it is less valueable and viable to you. Others may feel that way about your breed of choice (where you put "unhealthy" someone else will put 'mean, "ugly", "dangerous",  "common", "boring", "too small', "too big") so again...where will it end?
 
IMO dog people need to support one another and not pick on one another because guess what...your breed is not everyone's favorite either...and the tribe of "dog" is more important than what faction of that tribe you are in.
 
Laurelin...I agree. Proving the dogs, showing you have an aim for them and your programme aside from making dollars....it truly vitally important in my book as well. Plenty of "purebred' breeders and mills out there, and most all designer dog breeders, fail to meet that most basic criterium.

 
You make a very important point Gina. Exactly who gets to decide which breeds are worthy of being bred and who gets to decide on which breeds should go extinct? I'm sure we could all find reasons to justify why our chosen breeds should be allowed to continue on while condemning another breed who is probably dear to someone else's heart. I mean, the Chow Chow was mentioned and it's suggested that there's no use for it. The Pit Bull was mentioned and it's suggested there is a use for it. That's rather interesting as BSL would say that a LOT of people feel there's no place for a Pit Bull in this world. As you can see, these are very subjective things.

I think all breeds, including non-working breeds do serve a purpose as companions.  Pure bred dogs breed true and you pretty much know what you are going to get.  There is a breed to choose from for just about any lifestyle.  If you are active and have a yard than a lab is a great choice for you, if you are sedentary and live in a apartment  than a pekingese is for you.  So I do believe purebred dogs should be bred, even if just for pets as long as they are responsibly bred.
 
Breeding mutts serves absolutely no purpose than to make $$.  When you breed "labradoodles" you don't know what you are getting so what is the point?  Just so you can say you own the latest, hottest "breed"?
 
I also agree with the statement that shelter dogs are not for everyone.  When I was looking for a dog, there were a lot of strict requirements I had to follow based on my situation and lifestyle.  To find a shelter dog that fit those requirements would have been a very exhausting search, and even if I found such a dog, he probably would have been the type to be adopted very quickly by someone else anyway.  One day I hope to be in a situation to save the life of a very needy dog but that time is not now.

ORIGINAL: meilani

ORIGINAL: DumDog

but there are more loving pets than there are loving homes. i think the market is saturated with unwanted loving pets.

Tis true but that doesn't mean that there isn't a place for a responsibly bred dog. While shelter dogs can make great pets, they aren't for everyone.

yes but for every puppy being bred there is a dog being PTS. how do these people know a shelter dog isnt for them? there is somethign for EVERYONE in a shelter... you just have to wait and look for it. if you are too impatient to do that then DONT get a dog, OR have kids... anything worth having is worth waiting for.
but people are going to do what they want anyway and we cant stop them.

No breed will ever become extinct.... it isnt possible, not with genetics. you can recreate any breed through selecting the right dogs for the right purposes.

That's not necessarily true as some breeds that were used to create some breeds are extinct.

it is true because with genetics you can make almost anything... come on... MINI saint bernards? Pocket Pit Bulls?
the bloodline may be gone but the BLOOD didnt go anywhere.. dogs can still interbreed with each other. therefore breeds cannot become extinct. just the bloodline. who cares? start over again, people already are.

thats why people dont like designer dogs.

I don't have a problem with designer dogs as long as the people breeding them are doing so responsibly and with the intentions of creating a new breed.

yes but what about the designer dogs already in the pound? if people dont have such a dire need for working dogs.. and there are so many good companion dogs being killed for lack of homes, where is the sense in designing a new breed?

Pit bulls... ok you recreated the original English Bulldog....

If I recall correctly, the English Bulldog was never used as a pit fighting dog. And if I'm not mistaken, the Pit Bull didn't arrive until well after bullbaiting was made illegal.

there is a long drawn out history with bulldogs.... i wont get into that here.. but pretty much the bulldog was the SUV of the dog world... and they used the EB to create the pit as well as terriers and other hunting/game breeds.

The english bulldog has no purpose now except for a companion. but the pit bull can still hunt and work and guard and protect. why do we keep breeding the unhealthy english bulldog?

Pit Bulls as guard and protection dogs? If the Pit Bull was bred to be dog aggressive yet human friendly I highly doubt they'd make good guard and protection dogs. I've yet to meet a responsible breeder of Pit Bulls who would suggest they would make good guard/protection dogs.

i didnt say i agreed with them being guard dogs, but they ARE. i will show you right now several protection trained biting pit bulls that guard homes and dare you to break into that house while one is on duty. but THOSE pits are doing the American bulldogs job, and the doberman's and many other breeds.
no i do NOT agree with it. but its a fact that is what people are doing with them NOW.

"Unhealthy" English Bulldog? Not all of them are unhealthy and even if they are only bred as companions, I fail to see the problem in that as long as there are people who are responsibly maintaining them.

granted, people go out and buy any breed they want, but evolution was not kind to EBs... ask the vets who tend to them.

As I will restate...those are your personal preferences and opinions...and in no way are they more or less valid than someone else who likes EB's or Chows. Thankfully too...I shudder to think what might happen if a few people's opinions on a breeds "validity' were the grounds for making rules on what breeds were allowed to exist in a given space. Well I should shudder...because well...Denver, Co. Enough said.
 

and i still say you cant make a breed extinct. as long as we have dogs we'll have breeds.

 
Dog breeds most certainly CAN go extinct and really if you know your dog history plenty of breeds HAVE done just that. Not sure where this opinion comes from. Rootstock for many ancient breeds is long long gone for heavenssake...lol. Other breeds like Mastiffs are themselves rootstock for other breeds....when the Mastiff is gone..and those other breeds...how praytell would you recreate them?
 
The only way your comment makes sense is if you refer to freezingsperm eggs, cloning, DNA extraction from skeletons, etc. Is that what you meant?
 
Anyhow...we can agree to disagree...I do so most happily.

Why is it more responsible to breed a pure breed dog that is meant for companionship then to breed a mutt for companionship?

 
I'll take this one.[]
 
It is more responsible to breed pure only IF health certs are in place and the betterment or preservation of the breed is the reason for breeding.
 
With a purebred dog one can research lineages for health problems, one has many contacts to do so, as well as a registry of pedigrees which allows one to know temperment and health issues that develop later in life. 
 
As an example of this:  Our Akita developed Sebaceous Adenitis around the age of 2-3 years.  We contacted the breeder-who volunteered to take him back (which were not interested in at all) but also made note so she would not to a repeat breeding of that sire and that dam.
 
Another way of looking at this situation is to see how many mixed breed dogs exist in our shelters.  Is it better to populate the world with 5-12 mixed breed pups when there are 5-12 mixed breed dogs waiting in the wings for the right family to adopt them?

What is the difference between a deisgner dog that people want for a pet or a pure breed for a pet?

 
I don't see any difference. What most of us object to about designer dogs is not that they aren't "purebred", but the irresponsible people breeding them without doing full health checks or proving their breeding stock is of excellent temperament. 

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

As I will restate...those are your personal preferences and opinions...and in no way are they more or less valid than someone else who likes EB's or Chows. Thankfully too...I shudder to think what might happen if a few people's opinions on a breeds "validity' were the grounds for making rules on what breeds were allowed to exist in a given space. Well I should shudder...because well...Denver, Co. Enough said.
 

and i still say you cant make a breed extinct. as long as we have dogs we'll have breeds.

Dog breeds most certainly CAN go extinct and really if you know your dog history plenty of breeds HAVE done just that. Not sure where this opinion comes from. Rootstock for many ancient breeds is long long gone for heavenssake...lol. Other breeds like Mastiffs are themselves rootstock for other breeds....when the Mastiff is gone..and those other breeds...how praytell would you recreate them?
 
The only way your comment makes sense is if you refer to freezingsperm eggs, cloning, DNA extraction from skeletons, etc. Is that what you meant?
 
Anyhow...we can agree to disagree...I do so most happily.

exactly.. the ROOTSTOCK... but not DOGS.
if a breed goes extinct woopdy doo.. he went extinct because he lost his purpose or he was dumbed down into a companion breed.
The terrier used to create the bull terrier is extinct as an individual breed but it STILL exists today in the Bull Terrier. with selective breeding you could change the BT to look and act like his ancestor. Lord knows they changed the look of the BT so many times its insane... they had apple headed BTs (like chihuahuas) and many of the old photographs of the BT looks like today's BYB pitbulls

and who decides who goes extinct? supply and demand.
we're always reading about the most popular breeds, the smartest, easiest to train, easiest to groom... that all has an impact on every breed. freezing eggs and sperm has nothing to do with it.
The REAL Irish Wolfhound is extinct as far as i'm concerned. once they started outcrossing great dane and Scottish Deerhound the breed no longer existed, but a shadow of his formerself DOES.

there was once a breed called the Russian Lap Dog.. looked like a poodle the size of a chihuahua and weighed three pounds. how hard would that be to recreate by crossing those two breeds and selectively breeding down?
yes the bloodline and rootstock is gone, but the canine species is so maliable you can recreate and create breeds all day long every day.
extinction doesnt mean neuter all chows and chow crosses because they have no purpose. it means people no longer require that service so the frequency of breedings becomes less and less - such as the Irish Wolfhound. once all the wolves and deer were killed off (REAL extinction) then the dog lost his job. no one needed a large savage longdog to course wolves and stags... why keep breeding them?
back then people didnt care about the history of a breed. they wanted a dog that could work because it was life or death if the deer ate your crop and the wolves ate your stock. once the threat was removed.... so was the dog's purpose. the remaining few just hung around until old age took them.. or they found other work by passing on their genes to smaller sight hounds to course rabbits and fox.
this is why we have the variety in breeds. its why we have fifteen different types of herding dogs, retrievers, pointers, guard dogs, etc.
the only thing becoming extinct is a bloodline and that doesnt matter because there are still several other breeds just like it.
i cant say it enough i guess.... if collies became extinct no one would notice because we still have border collies. no they have a different herding style? so what... train your dog to do what you want.. its not impossible.
if my grandad can get a chihuahua to hunt squirrels and an airedale to hunt and point pheasant, track raccoons, and deer, then its possible to do the same with other breeds. i know of a guy who hunts pheasants with a doberman just to prove he can.

Dogs want to please us. as long as they keep wanting to please us then they wont become extinct.

Lol...sorry you've totally lost me.
 
No one said DOGS (canis (lupus) familiaris) can go extinct they said BREEDS can go extinct...LOL.
 

if a breed goes extinct woopdy doo.. he went extinct because he lost his purpose or he was dumbed down into a companion breed.

 
WOW...this rather a not nice comment, IMO. You talk about the above like there are no feelings or emotions wrapped up with the people who care about their breeds. 
 
"Your breeds extinct...who cares? It served it's purpose and now it's gone...quit crying and do like me...make up a new one?"
 
...wow...

WOW...[sm=eek.gif]  I have got to say THANK GAWD I don't have a chow or a bulldog or any other breed that OTHERS wouldn't care if they went extinct. 
 
I think some people on this thread need to take a look at what they are saying and how hurtful those words can be to someone who actually owns and LOVES the breeds that are being suggested need to be "disposed of".  [8|]
 
just my [sm=2cents.gif]

if a breed goes extinct woopdy doo.. he went extinct because he lost his purpose or he was dumbed down into a companion breed.

 
That's a bit of an extreme attitude.  I actually DO care tremendously about breed extinctions.  I don't own a typical companion animal, and don't care to at this point.  The dogs I like and am attracted to don't have much of a purpose anymore, but they have a tremendous history, cultural influence and have worked with, not for, man at almost every step of the way of his development.  There are too many breeds to name, but some of the ones that come to mind are the Saluki (over 10,000 documented years with man) and the Asian Spitz type dogs (Akita Inu, Shiba Inu, Jindo.)  There are the dogs of the Eskimo, the Russian Wolfhound (Borzoi,) the Cirnecos, the Podengos, the Sloughis, Azawakhs, and the Greyhounds, the Keeshunden, Mastiff, Karelian Bear Dogs, Portuguese Water Dogs and countless other breeds-that all played pivotal roles in the life of man.
 
There was a Korean lap dog that was made extinct by the Japanese invasion during the early WWII.  All the dogs were slaughtered.  I would think that some of those families that had their dogs ripped from their hands care tremendously about that breed.
 
It just pains me to think that someone could be callous about the extinctions of breeds that have either historic or cultural significance in a positive light.   

Dogs want to please us. as long as they keep wanting to please us then they wont become extinct.

 
This tells me you've never met a true hound.[]

Things are getting a bit off track.  The question I am asking has to do with what is responsible.  The fact that you thing a particular breed is neat does not make is irresponsible for someone else to think mutt's are neat.  I have yet to see an answer.  The only one I see so far is that there is less of a demand for mutts.  The same could be said of many breeds as well.

I can see the argument that too many dogs are being breed.  I do not understand why some feel it is acceptable to breed pure breeds but not mutts.  There are many pure breeds in the shelter as well.  It seems like some are saying I hate that so many dogs are put to sleep so I am against breeding mutts.  However I am really into my breed so I think it is okay if dogs are put to sleep as long as I can get the dog I want.  All those pure breed dogs being breed are just as much part of the over population problem as the mutts.

Can anyone explain why it is more responsible to breed a pure breed dog instead of a mutt?