Dispelling the Myth that Purebred Dogs Are More Disease-Prone

Mixed breeds are just as likely to have health problems—very often the same ones as purebreds.

Published: June 25, 2024

A Purebred Standard White Poodle Dog Sits On A Green Lawn And Wa — © graohicphoto, fresh-house | Bigstock The purebred standard poodle is no more likely to have medical problems over the course of his lifetime than the mixed breed. The medical issues that do befall them will tend to overlap.

It’s true that certain medical conditions are more prevalent in particular dog breeds. Dachshunds are more likely to have problems with the discs in their spinal column than other dogs. A Yorkshire terrier is more likely to have a collapsing trachea, and a cavalier King Charles spaniel is more likely to develop a kind of heart disease called mitral valve disease. But a new study looking at more than 27,000 canines enrolled in the Dog Aging project—roughly half purebred pets and the other half mixed-breeds—found that the pedigreed pets were no more likely to have medical conditions in general over the course of their lives than the mutts.