Clearly I have offended some of you, and that was not the intention. I was asking what I felt to be a legitmate question, to which I received a barrage of dog snobesque responses. I would however like to thank Brainless for her advice, which was not condescending, but sound advice. What you must realise, is that I was simply asking for advice, and whilst in your minds the question may have appeared stupid, at least I asked and got the answers I wanted to hear.

I already indicated that I am relatively new owner of my dog (being only 5 months old), and I would have hoped that you might have given me a bit of slack with your responses.

Never mind, but thanks for the info anyway.

Julian

Unfortunately Julian there have been quite a few trouble makers around recently, and it is often difficult to tell the difference between the genuine poster, and the troll :(
Well done you for asking advice, why not join the forum? I've not been here that long, and have learnt so much in a relatively short time.

Regards

liberty :)

May i be the first to sincerely apologies for my troll jibe. I will be more carefull in future who I barage with my so called wit. Being slightly closer to Friday my judgement is slighlty cloudy.
Emma

Hi Julian,
Nobody meant to offend, but I'm sure you realise that people are passionate about their various breeds (which is why they keep them, after all!) and the idea of someone randomly crossing them with other breeds is anathema.

Why don't you register and join the Forum, then you can ask as many questions as you want.
:)

Sorry Julian, but whatever the breed I can't understand why anyone would even consider deliberately breeding a cross breed, with the exception of perhaps those bred for a particular purpose like lurchers. If you or anyone else wants a crossbreed then there are plenty in rescue centres up and down the country there are also plenty of pure breeds too, so what is the point of thinking about breeding more.

If I was rude I'm sorry I don't remember but I never intend to be rude but I can remember being very cross. If you really want to bred then get a nice pure bred bitch who’s background you will know and then in the fullness of time have done the health tests and shown or asked experienced people to verify if your bitch is a good example, then would be the time to ask that bitches breeder who they would consider a suitable stud.

Hi Julian
I like Brainless and Jackie own elkhounds.I have 2 at the moment and have been waiting for my third for a long time.We are all very passionate about our breed and cannot understand why you would want to take an elkhound and cross it with a mongrel or any other breed.There are far too many mongrels out there in rescue centres without people breeding them deliberately.
The only way you will get an elkhound for this purpose is to go to one of the puppy farms which is not recommended since they are not registered and have no health checks.There are few elkhounds born a year in this country and their breeders are very careful about where they go.They are a wonderful breed but not an 'easy' breed and so breeders are all the more cautious about who they sell to.
Also after only owning a dog for 3 months I think you should learn more about dog owning before even thinking of breeding
Archer

Julian,

Don't feel too upset, it can seem very attractive to mate two very much loved companions together to have something of each in the new "baby". If dogs only had one pup there would be no problem but because they produce whole litters it becomes an issue not just for you and the puppy you want but for the other 7-8 pups as well. Generally people don't want cross-breeds and mongrels they are sold cheaply or given away and they are very hard to find good homes for, lots of friends and neighbours are keen for pups until the time comes to have them then they all have an excuse. Personally, my best friend is mongrel and I adore her, I would never breed from her becuse I have far too much respect for her uniqueness (she is far too old now anyway) and because I could never guarentee good homes for her children. When we breed pedigree dogs we put a huge effort into producing what we consider to be very typical (not always outstanding - as some people will insist, but typical) examples of the breed. We try to breed out hereditary diseases as best we can, we try to get temperament and physical characteristics produced as closely as we can to the standard of the ideal for the breed (as agreed by the community of breed enthusiasts) it is a lifetimes work!
So when someone suggests taking all that work and using it to deliberately produce mongrels, those who have worked so hard with our breeding for a lot of years get upset and very worried.
The rescue societies work mainly wth cross breeds and mongrels, they are cheap buy and easy to dump, they are the most vulnerable of dogs and the world does not need any more.
This is my first post and I am new to these forums, I hope this doesn't sound snobbish or exclusive, I think your question is very understandable but I think the answer is that too many wonderful mongrels need good homes already for the world to cope with any more.

Hi Julian
Sorry if you were offended, but you must realise that breeders go to an awful lot of trouble and expense to improve on every generation of dogs they breed. They also strive to get the best possible owners for their puppies and would not entertain the thought of their hard work, love and sometimes heartache being used in what they perceive of a frivolous way to produce cross breeds. I would suggest that out of interest you attend a couple of dog shows, or Discover dogs to see for yourself just how seriously a committed dog breeder takes their breed. I apologise if I offended you, but you should appreciate that we want the best for our dogs, and this does not mean indisciminate breeding.

Many thanks to you for taking the time to respond to my previous posting. I am (you will all be happy to hear) taking no more steps in pursuing the idea of getting a male Elkhound pup anymore. Instead I will continue to enjoy the time I am having with Marley the Collie, watching her grow up day by day, learning new exciting things around her, and of course harrassing Frazzle (5 yr old Tom Cat)!!! When I'm not looking though, they do enjoy a sleep together......but not in that sense....of course!

As you can see I have now registered, so will no doubt be asking frequently daft questions in the future, to further develop my somewhat limited knowledge of finally living with a real bitch!

Julian

Welcome, Julian! We're not terribly fierce really!
:)

Hi again Julian
You've made a good decision.Enjoy your pup and your cat and love them for what they are.
We were not trying to put you off owning an elkie-just put you off adding to the numerous unwanted little x breeds in the rescue centres.
The dog world is a wide and wonderful one-showing,agility,obedience etc...Why not pop along to some events and maybe something will take your fancy!!!But beware its addictive.Dog owning is much more than having a pet and producing pups...if you want it to be
Good luck and look forward to hearing from you again
Archer

Hi Julian

Welcome, and I'm glad to hear of your decision. I hope you enjoy your many years with your pup. I have 4 dogs at home and my mum and dad also have one of my dogs. I have a 7 month old lad who is a total joy to own and I'm sure that you'll also enjoy yours. As someone else said there are so many things around that you can participate in. I do almost everything with my dogs and they love every minute of it and so do I.

All the best and I'm sure that people here will try and help you as much as possible.

Regards.
Diane