Should Purebreds Be Purebred?

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92 – June, 2025

By Caroline Coile

The AKC was established in 1884 with the stated purpose of protecting and advancing purebred dogs. Part of its charter states that its objectives are “generally to do everything to advance the study, breeding, exhibiting, running, and maintenance of the purity of thorough-bred dogs.”

The AKC maintains breed purity by guarding the sanctity of its studbook, which is closed to new entries sometimes after a breed is recognized and considered to have sufficient purebred founders. There have been exceptions, of course. The Kennel Club has similar rules but has allowed exceptions. Nobody cares anymore about the well-documented fact that of the 14 founding dogs of the Shih Tzu breed, one was a Pekingese. That cross occurred in 1952, which was 12 years after the breed was recognized in the UK. It’s said that the presence of this cross delayed AKC’s acceptance of the Shih Tzu, but they did ultimately accept them in 1969–even if they did have a pinch of Peke.

But of course, we all know perhaps the majority of breeds are crossbreds, created by mixing a bit of this breed with a smidgeon of that breed and a pinch of yet another. Creating a new breed was often the passion of the landed gentry, who produced such breeds as the Gorden Setter (originally Gorden Castle Setter, originating with the Fourth Duke of Gorden) and Weimaraner (from the Court of Weimer, the product of a concerted series of various crosses). Just as often, a commoner concocted a new breed, such as the Dobermann Pinscher (created by Louis Dobermann by crossing German Pinschers, old German Shepherd, Black & Tan Manchester Terrier, and likely Greyhound and Weimaraner, to guard him on his tax-collecting rounds), or the Cesky Terrier (created by Frantisek Horak by crossing Scottish and Sealyham Terriers to produce a good hunter that could get along in packs and not get stuck in burrows). A few breeds, such as the Black Russian Terrier (created by the Soveiet military by crossing Giant Schnauzer, Airedale Terrier, Rottweiler, and Moscow Water Dog, among others, in an effort to create an ideal military dog), even result from a planned vision carried out by a group or even government. However, what these breeds all have in common is they did not make themselves, but arose from purposeful crosses of various other breeds and dogs. In other words, in many cases, before there could be purebreds, there had to be crossbreds–made from purebreds.

Click here to read the complete article
92 – June, 2025

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