Crossbreed Dogs Details

Crossbreeds are dogs of which one parent is of one breed and the other something different, but again both sire and dam are pure-bred dogs. Occasionally mistakes simply happen and a crossbreed is produced, but some people decide to crossbreed by design. This may simply be because a certain combination appeals, but unfortunately it can also be used merely as a vehicle for cashing in on puppy sales.

Selective breeding
Occasionally it happens that when selectively bred a crossbreed eventually gains official registration in its own country. The USA's Kyi Leo is one such example, a new breed which originally came about due to the accidental mating between a Lhasa Apso and a Maltese, but then became widespread and popular in its own right.

In taking on a cross-bred dog there should at least be some indication of what the puppies will grow up to be in adulthood, for both parents will be pure-bred and hence their phenotype (outward appearance) will be known. However if, for example, one breeds a Lhasa Apso which is long-coated to a Poodle which has a curly coat, the chances are that some of the offspring will resemble their sire and some their dam, while some will be a complete mixture of the two. It should go without saying that none of the puppies can be classified as purebred, even though it is possible that some may look like a fair representation of one of the two breeds. This is because genetically each puppy will carry genes of both sire and dam so that if they go on to produce puppies of their own their offspring may not resemble them, possibly looking more like the grandsire or grand-dam.