Hybrid VS Purebred

Originally posted by shepaluteprez on September 30, 2007.



I just found a hybrid dog registry that has been in existance for 35 years! I did not know that these hybrid dogs actually had a registry. But, I wanted to discuss these hybrids and how they are different than an actual purebred dog.

First of all, many discussions that I've read on dog forums talk about a distaste for these hybrid breeds and the sentiment is that the people who breed them put fancy names to mutts and sell them for higher prices. They also feel that it is much more ethical to get your "hybrid" from the pound or Humane Society. Furthermore, these same people talk about the ALSATIAN SHEPALUTE as if it, too, belonged among the hybrid dog category.

Well, no matter...

Here is the Merriam-Webster dictionary's take on...

breed: (n.) 1 : a group of usually domesticated animals or plants presumably related by descent from common ancestors and visibly similar in most characters.
purebred: (adj.) : bred from members of a recognized breed, strain, or kind without admixture of other blood over many generations.

Even though the National ALSATIAN SHEPALUTE Club dog owners are not interested in registering this breed with AKC, nonetheless, they are the largest and most recognized breed registry in the USA. So, what they say bears weight for others. Here's a quote from their Foundation Stock Service online..."A minimum of 300-400 dogs with complete three-generation pedigrees, owned by many different individuals residing in various parts of the nation, must be recorded as part of the criteria for approval to move to the Miscellaneous Class." Moving to the Miscellaneous Class means that your breed of dog is recognized by AKC and can then be shown in confirmation rings around the country. Anyway, it is interesting that AKC, again the largest, most widely recognized breed registry in the USA requires only three generations back and a few hundred dogs to be pure of breed.

Here's Merriam-Webster's definition of:

hybrid: (n.) 1 : an offspring of two animals or plants of different races, breeds, varieties, species, or genera

So, having stated all that background, ALSATIAN SHEPALUTE is indeed a purebred dog and not a hybrid. We have well over three generations of dogs dating back to the mid-eighties (18 generations at this point) as well as over 500 dogs with three generations of ALSATIAN SHEPALUTES in their pedigrees residing all over the country. What we don't have (and hopefully will never have) is recognition from an outside all-breed registry. We recognize ourselves through the ALSATIAN SHEPALUTE Registry and stand by the beauty, pose, dignity, and courage of these gentle ALSATIAN SHEPALUTE dogs.

Shepaluteprez

Originally posted by shepaluteprez on October 21, 2006.



Here's why I agree with the desire of the club to keep our club out of the nationally recognized all-breed dog clubs...

1. We, the owners and club members of ALSATIAN SHEPALUTE dogs, are the only ones qualified to speak to the advancement of the breed.

2. Giving over authority of the breed to a large corporation soley to become "recognized" by the public is not enough reason for me to join an all-breed dog club.

3. I like the small town, everyone chips in to help one another, feel of this small but dedicated breed club. I don't want to lose that by joining a breed club with big visions.

4. We can keep all the money for our club instead of handing a majority over to the fancy all-breed club just so they can put on better shows. I'm not about showing off my dog so that other people can say how great they are. I love them for the greatness they are without having to be validated by others.

5. I don't want the publicity an all-breed dog club would bring to this breed. I'd rather take it slow and methodical so that the breed doesn't lose integrity by many breeders getting on the band wagon to over breed and populate the nation with bad specimens of the breed. It's happened too many times already. We don't need it.

6. We are a new enough club with few enough members at this point to not need to be governed by a huge conglomerate. But, even if we were larger and more heavily represented or globally involved, I'd still not want to go to them, because these dogs can speak for themselves. We don't need fancy shows and public recognition.

7. Our dogs are ever evolving and I don't feel we need to have them taken over by breeders who don't share the same vision as our founder.

8. There are other rare breeds to have recently been recognized by different all-breed dog clubs in North America and some of them have experienced rifts between members and down-right ugly exchanges. We are not a club about hatred and fighting. We are a loving club who helps one another and trusts in our standards and the breed founder. May it always be so. We are not immune to the vindictive sad behavior of those others who've unfortunately had the opportunity to go through that kind of battle and so we have to keep our minds open to growing slowly and with lots of support and care for one another.

9. We don't have to and there has never been any good reason to.

10. I don't need to prove anything to anyone. I love these dogs and that's all I need to know.

If you find yourself having negative thoughts about owning a dog that is not nationally recognized by an all-breed dog club, then this dog is not for you. If you find yourself thinking that this dog is great and you'd like to be the next person to promote this breed to any all-breed dog club you can think of, this is not the dog for you. Choose another breed. We are not interested. We know our dogs' worth and don't need validation or recognition for anyone else. We recognize this breed of dog for ourselves. Again, may it always be so.

Shepaluteprez

Originally posted by Lois Schwarz on October 21, 2006.



gee you are sounding more and more like me every day ! lol

Lois Schwarz

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