I'd rather take in a shelter dog and give it a good life at my own expense than get, say, a purebred pug that can't even breathe or regulate body temperature properly because of their breathing passageways. Or eyes that dislocate. Or infections from unclean facial wrinkles. I can go on and on about the problems with pugs, there's nothing magical about a breed. I know you mentioned avoiding hip dysplasia, so you clearly know there are purebred dogs that as a breed have problems, but I'll stick with the shelter, thanks.

Actually, most of the illnesses from dogs are caused by recessive genes which pop up when the dog mates with those genetically similar to it (ie, the same breed). It's true, one generation of interbreeding won't do much in terms of genetics for the dog but already in the second interbred generation (4 different breeds) you will see a more robust dog. Also, the dog having twice as many illnesses is pretty rare except in specific "designer dog" circumstances. Sure, you won't get a nice picture saying exactly what to expect from your new purchase but with the right love and care, any dog can be the right dog. Don't make people afraid of buying mutts, they really are wonderful (my little one is 12 years old and the vet can't believe it) and a good vet can check for a variety of potential problems as well.

I commented but my comment seems to have been lost... Why does any of this matter? What does it matter if my dog is "purebred" or "mutt" or "mixed breed" or anything else? Why does it matter if this certain breed is prone to one type of disease/illness versus another breed being prone to another type of disease/illness? Either way a dog is going to die at some point, they were not made to live forever, and as long as you love and nurture and care for the dog then none of that really matters. A dog is meant to be a companion, friend, and someone to share your life with, someone to love and care for. So I don't really care if my dog breed is more susceptible to a certain type of something where as another dog is more susceptible to something else, as long as I love and care for my dog and give him the best type of care and life I can while he is living then none of this matters in my opinion. No reason to judge anyone for picking a certain breed of dog or judge a dog for the breed it is or for its imperfections. Just love the dog and give it the best life possible. And hey, why not love other dog owners for the love & care they have for their dog as well, no matter what breed they have or how they choose to make that dog apart of its family. Just my opinion.

I adopted a mixed breed dog from the shelter and he has alot of medical problems. I assume he originally came from bad breeding in a puppy mill. Skin and eye issues, behavior...etc Responsible breeders dont randomly breed dogs. They get them examined and tested for any diseases and behavior issues. If they have any, they do not breed them which will pass the issues down to the puppies.

They were mutt puppies. Only people who would want them are idiots who want "designer dogs" and don't look into what they're getting.