Mutt is one of the many terms for a mixed-breed dog. It derives from the word muttonhead, suggesting stupidity. The term may be used in a derogatory fashion, or in an affectionate way. A mutt might also be termed a bastard. This is inaccurate, since the word bastard merely implies that one’s parents were not married when one was born. Since no dogs bred together are married as set out by the law, the term could theoretically be applied to all dogs.

A mutt may be the result of a deliberate cross between two breeds, or may be the result of generations of mixed breed dogs. Some people believe that breed is very important, and thus find it important to identify the deliberate cross. Such crosses include the labradoodle, a poodle-labrador cross, and a peek-a-poo, a poodle-pekinese cross. There are numerous others.

Some maintain that mutts tend to be hardier dogs than specific breeds because they will not be inbred. This is highly dependent upon the breeding cross. Breeding two dogs that have the same predilection for a certain type of disease is likely to result in a mutt with the same risks for that disease. However, mutts that are the results of mutt parents may be less likely to have inbred characteristics for disease. They may in fact be less prone to certain conditions than their distant progenitors.

Adopting a young mutt of unknown parentage can be a little risky. It is hard to tell in the first few months what types of behavior might be inbred. For example if the dog comes from two breeds more likely to be aggressive, it may show tendencies toward aggression. It is also hard to tell what the mutt will ultimately end up looking like, or to what size it might grow.

For those who wish a predictable outcome in appearance or size in an older dog, it may be better to adopt an older mutt, whose behavior, size and appearance is already known. Usually these types of dogs are the least likely to be adopted, since so many favor a particular breed.

Those who own one mutt or more, usually praise them. Unknown parentage does not stand in the way of the loving and faithful nature of most dogs. In fact many find they prefer a mutt to a breed dog, since it does offer some surprises in appearance, and it lacks the difficulties of certain inbred species.

Most dogs that are now recognized as breeds would once have been thought mutts. Since most breed dogs developed from one or two sources, variations in appearance and behavior are due to crossbreeding and selection of desirable characteristics. Theoretically, anyone who owns a breed dog owns a mutt, or at least the distant ancestor of one.