Can all dog breeds interbreed with each other?

Dogs, regardless of breed, belong to the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris. Like their ancestor the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from which all dog breeds are derived, they belong to the Canidae family. Its domestication, which began in the Paleolithic, allowed it to adapt to our lifestyles. It was only from the sedentarization of the human being that the first breeds appeared, allowing a man to make the dog a working assistant.

The same species but different races

Since the animal belongs to the same species, all crosses are possible between males and females. The breed, therefore, does not prevent the procreation of viable animals that will themselves be able to reproduce, unlike the donkey and the horse whose hybrids are interspecies cross. The mullet, a cross between a mare and a donkey, is sterile because the number of odd chromosomes of its genotype prevents the viable reproduction of an embryo as for all marriages between different species.

In our canids, all of the same species, the number of even chromosomes makes it possible to marry the breeds without worry. Hybridization with wolves will even result in viable subjects capable of reproducing or even creating a new lineage. However, this interbreeding has not always proved practical in the socialization of the dog, the atavistic character taking over the genetic characteristics that worked for thousands of years by humans, including socialization.

It is therefore quite possible to mix different breeds of dogs. This is even how the races we know today were born. The purpose of a cross between two different breeds is then to:

• Improve a breed;
• Absorb genetic traits in another to increase one's work or beauty capacities;
• Create a new breed.

The obvious dangers of crossing too distant dog breeds

There is therefore nothing to prevent subjects with different genetic characteristics from being married together. However, dog breeds have morphological diversity and especially obvious size differences that can lead to dangers to the health of the female and her litter.

The size factor: which mainly prevents the crossing of all breeds with each other
It is quite obvious that crossing Mrs. Spitz with Mr. Saint-Bernard risks neither more nor less than killing the dog:

• Even if the selections made by men have created dogs of very small sizes, it should be known that brains and genitals are not impacted and retain their natural size most of the time. However, their genitals can suffer serious injuries for both males and females if the anatomical difference between broodstock is too great.
• Natural farrowing can lead to complications for the puppies that can be lethal. The puppies' heads are sometimes too big to pass the pelvis, a cesarean section then becomes essential. This is already the case for the reproduction of Chihuahua and some brachycephalic breeds where this surgical act is mandatory. In addition, there is no guarantee that the young will be born viable and healthy in the case of this fertilization between anatomically very distant breeds. Abortion is then recommended especially if you do not know the breed that has bred your small dog.
• Mating is simply impossible between some breeds of doggies because of their morphology.

It is true that if Mr. Dachshund pales in front of Mrs. German Shepherd, the female will run no risk from reproduction to birth. The problem will rather be for the male to succeed in protruding the.

Genetic traits that will not necessarily make a beautiful marriage

It is not a question here of questioning the beauty of the subjects of the future scope. This is far too subjective. It is more interesting to look at the traits developed over 1000 to 2000 years by breeders to imprint genetic traits specific to a breed. Working one breed for the guard of the home and another to make the dog an adorable pleasure pooch and then crossing them will lead to the arrival of a first litter with different characteristics of guarding or pleasure against one puppy to another. If the breeder wishes to create a new breed for pleasure or guarding, then he will probably work on consanguineous marriages to fix this trait to the newly created breed.

Far from being an exact science, genetics does not ensure the morphological aspect or character traits that puppies from a marriage between two individuals whose breeds have very different appearances and traits. Breeders then prefer to cross progenitors with similar morphologies and phenotypes to have fewer unpleasant surprises at the birth of puppies both from the point of view of their physique and their character traits.

Crosses have made it possible to create different breeds of the canine species

The selection of physical and mental abilities to generate different dog phenotypes and genotypes has been around for thousands of years. In the Middle Ages, the most common breeds of the canine species were mainly greyhounds, mountain dogs, spitz, brakes, or mastiffs. If the Pug or the Dalmatian appears only around the eighteenth century, it is only in the twentieth century that the different breeds we know today will emerge. Depending on the country, there are between 200 and 400 dog breeds. In France, to determine the criteria of a breed, the Société Centrale Canine and the Book of French Origins (LOF) rely on a list of morphological criteria to certify the belonging of your pooch and its parents to the LOF. Breeders passionate about utilitarian breeds such as hunting, guard, herd, or draft dogs select broodstock so that the dogs meet these recognition criteria. The low number of breeders and the inbreeding required to fix certain traits, however, lead to health concerns for some breeds. This is especially the case for brachycephalic dogs such as bulldog which has acute respiratory problems and vertebral abnormalities that can lead to paralysis. Procreation with a dog with similar anatomy is then essential to mitigate genetic traits that pose dangers to the health of our four-legged companions. According to many veterinarians, some man-made artificial breeds do not survive in the wild. The others would mix and quickly return to the morphological types of a few thousand years ago, thus ensuring their survival.




Currently, some breeders are still working on the creation of new breeds such as:

• Pomsky, Borsky, or Samsky: mix between the Husky and the Pomeranian Loulou for the first, Border Colley / Husky for the second, and Samoyed / Husky for the last.
• Bull-Boxer: cross between a Bull Terrier and a Boxer.
• FrenchTon: from a mixture between the French Bulldog and the Boston Terrier, it is also known as Froston, Frenchbo or Faux French.
• Golden Shepherd: breeding between the German Shepherd and the Golden Retriever, the animal is not recognized as a breed in France.
• ShiChi: Chihuahua + Shih-Tzu is also a hybrid breed not recognized by the official dog federations of France. Some American breed clubs have recognized the breed but not the American Kennel Club.