Are mutts really healthier than pure bred dogs?

Yes. For the same reason inbred humans have more problems.

The theory of hybrid vigor suggests that as a group, dogs of varied ancestry will be healthier than their purebred counterparts. In purebred dogs, intentionally breeding dogs of very similar appearance over several generations produces animals that carry many of the same alleles, some of which are detrimental. If the founding population for the breed was small, then the genetic diversity of that particular breed may be small for quite some time.
Wiki

Yes.
We had a Cocker Spaniel that had problems with her eye. We were told the reason was she was pure bred. If she had been a mix, she wouldn’t have had this problem.

Overall yes, the hybrid vigor theory is more true than not, however, any dog can have issues mixed or not, with eyes, ears, hip/joint issues in larger breeds.
Any dog with large floppy ears are prone to yeast and other ear maladies.
Droopy eyed breeds like hounds, St. Bernards etc, can have eye issues.
I had a mixed hound years ago that had no issues of any kind but my friends purebred Bluetick was plagued with chronic yeast infections in his ears.

Some purebred animals are known for their low risk of health issues as well.
I have a purebred Ragdoll cat and they are known to be long lived, have little matting issues with their long coats and are extremely docile in personality.

It depends on the mixture of breeds and also the parents. If you mix two unhealthy (whether physically or mentally) dogs then chances are these faults will be passed down to the pups regardless of whether they are pedigree or mongrel. Even if only one of the parents has a faulty gene, it can be passed down which is why we recommend that people do not breed from their dog if they have any mental, physical or temperament problems. People tend to assume that when you cross two breeds you get the best of both but they seem to forget that you can also get the worst of both or the best of one but the worst of the other.

I am a dog trainer and I am seeing more and more unhealthy cross breeds due to the rise in “designer breeds” such as the Poodle crosses (Cockerpoos, Labradoodles, Shitpoos teehee etc) so I don’t think the blanket statement that cross breeds are healthier is necessarily true anymore.

But why are those cross breeds unhealthy? I saw an article about that, and that’s actually what prompted the question.

@Leanne1986 The rescue org said that Frodo was a Havanese-Shih Tzu mix so I say he is a Hava-Shit.

@Dutchess_III If you mix together two breeds that are prone to hip problems (for example) without doing the relevant health checks on both parents (and Grandparents as far back as possible), chances are you are breeding this same problem into your litter of mixed breed pups.

Sadly, with such high demand for cute cross breeds (at work I see more Cockerpoos, Labradoodles and Puggles than anything else) these checks are often not being done and back yard “breeders” are mixing all sorts together without any consideration for health, temperament or welfare just to make a fast buck. Even the original breeder of the Labradoodle is claiming to regret doing so.

When mating any two dogs together whether they are both the same breed or two different breeds it is important to remember that you may be lucky enough to get the best of both parents/breeds but chances are equally as high that you will get the worst of both or even a mixture of good and bad. It’s pot luck.

According to one study cross breeds tend to have a stronger immune system than purebreds so you could argue that they are better equipped at fighting infection but this has no effect on genetic health issues such as hip problems or even mental issues leading to poor temperament.

My argument is, when looking to bring a dog into your home do not a) assume that a cross breed is healthier or b) assume that the “breeder” has used the healthiest two dogs to create healthy puppies. With the rise in designer cross breeds, sadly, there is a rise in unhealthy dogs.

It should also be said that, generally, the term cross breed is used to describe a mix of two specific breeds (usually deliberate mating). Mongrel or mutt is used to describe the more Heinz-variety-my-bitch-got-caught-by-the-neighbours-horny-male-dog-of-questionable-breeding-himself type situation!! Same rules should apply though, take a look at the general mental and physical health of the parents and you can only hope for the best.

We also need to take into consideration what we are comparing the life spans/general health of a crossbreed with. Take a small crossbreed (let’s say a Cocker Poo) and a Great Dane for example, the small crossbreed is probably more likely to live longer than the Dane. On the other hand, take a Yorkshire Terrier (the last one I worked with lived until he was 21 years old!) and a Labradoodle. Generally the Yorkie’s life expectancy will be longer. Now, take a Cockerpoo and a Yorkie, which one has the longer life expectancy? I believe the Yorkie still wins but I don’t think the Cockerpoo has been around long enough to make a really educated guess yet, only time will tell as they say, they may be fairly equal but I will put money on the Yorkie!!!

This is based on my studies in Canine Health and Welfare and my work as a dog trainer. I would be really interested in a vets opinion based on what they see on a day to day basis with the rise in crosses.

@janbb I work with a couple of Jack Russell x Shih Tzus AKA Jack Shits!!