Purebred does not always equal well bred. So then, what makes a dog well bred?
It is a question that will get you varied answers depending on who you ask, what breed you’re asking about, and likely even what country you are located in, but there are a few unifying themes among every answer.
First and foremost, being well bred means that they dog came from a reputable breeder. This in short means that the dog came from a well titled pedigree with a family tree of all applicable health clearances for the breed in question. (There is so much more that goes into being a reputable breeder. See a previous post on the subject). A titled pedigree shows that the breeder is doing things with their dogs to prove they’re worthy of being bred to an unbiased third party, whether in conformation, sport, or work ability. A family tree of health clearances shows that the breeder is working to breed away from the most common heritable illnesses that plague the breed, which in turn creates a healthier next generation. Coming from a reputable breeder also means that meticulous care went into examining both the sire and dam and their pedigrees before deciding to breed them, so that the chosen breeding pair complimented each other nicely with the ultimate goal of producing more structurally and temperamentally sound and to standard puppies.
This leads to the next unifying theme: fitting the standard. Each breed has a standard that describes the conformation and temperament expected by each dog of that breed that tend to relate to their original purpose. It is part of what makes getting a well bred, purebred dog such a great and easy decision because they are predictable so you know which breeds will fit your lifestyle. Take my breed, the Siberian husky, for example. I know to expect a friendly and outgoing dog who would make a terrible protector based on their standard. Someone producing aggressive Siberians would not be breeding to the standard. Breed standards also outline the ideal structure of a dog. Looking at Siberians again, you would expect a medium sized dog of balanced proportions with a dense double coat of medium length, so if you were to find overly large Siberians with long and shaggy coats they would not fit the standard and likely would not be well bred as these features are not in line with their purpose.
Another component of a well bred dog is how well it is able to do the job they were originally bred for. Of course, not every dog in every litter will make a good working dog, but ideally you would see consistent results of at least some puppies from each litter that go on to be able to do what they were meant to. As far as work ability, a breeder should be able to produce Siberians able to be trained in harness to pull, even if only recreationally, they should be able to produce Aussies with herding instinct, and they should be able to produce Labradors that make good game retrieval dogs. If the breeder is producing dogs for sport, then they should consistently be producing dogs that excel at rally, agility, lure coursing, flyball, etc. If it is a breed whose main purpose is companionship, then it is still vitally important that they are of a stable temperament appropriate for a pet home, showcasing traits such as friendliness and trainability.
In summary, a dog is well bred if it:
- Is one that has been bred with the utmost care in order to better the breed through extensive knowledge of pedigrees.
-Comes from a line of health tested breeding pairs to prevent common diseases and disorders in the breed from being passed on.
-Fits the standard of what is structurally and temperamentally expected of the breed.
-Has work ability related to its original purpose, or at least the purpose it is currently being bred for.
As I mentioned before, there are likely additional things to be considered depending on what your breed is and where you are located, but of all the people polled, these themes were unanimous among them.
The more you learn about a breed and the more well bred examples of each that you see, the easier if becomes to quickly differentiate from those that are structurally correct and to standard from those that are not. I will provide a few examples comparing well bred versions of various breeds compared to their backyard bred counterparts in order to demonstrate why correct structure is important as it often can make all the difference between developing horrible joint disorders and injuries and not.