Mixed breed dogs in sports

Mixed-breeds can succeed in dog sports such as command execution (obedience), speed obstacles overcoming (agility), flyball (ball search with barriers) and Frisbee (flying disk catching with barriers).

Frequently the most vigorous mixed breeds stay in shelters or group rescued from killing waiting for their owners, who can train them for dog sports with care and patience turning unwanted dogs into healthy, mentally and physically prepared potential winners.

Until the early 1980s mixed breeds were generally excluded from the command execution competitions. However, since the period when the American Registry of Mixed Breeds Obedience and Mixed Breed Dogs Clubs of America created a special places for sport events in which mixed breeds were also able to participate, more opportunities were discovered for all dogs in all sports competitions. Most organizations, majoring in flyball and dog agility allowed mixed breed dogs to participate. At present, mixed breed dogs have proved their value for multiple sport achievements.

In conformation shows where dogs’ appearance conformity to the breed standards is estimated mixed-breeds usually cannot compete. Physical characteristics of purebred dogs are measured according to a single standard of a breed. Mixed-breeds are not so easy to be classified (MBDCA), except in accordance to their height; here there is an enormous range of physical features such as hair type, skeletal structure, gait, the location of ears, eyes color and shape, etc. When conformation standards are applied to the hybrid dogs, for example, in the events held by the MBDCA; here standards are generally common to all participants: health of a pet, absence of physical abnormalities, symmetry and dog’s personality.