What's the best way guesstimate what a mix will mature into?

[tricollie4me]

Recently, I confessed my absolute love for our new dog and have considered a second adoption. A rescue a few counties over has a gorgeous Alaskan Malamute/Border Collie mix. There's both a male and a female available, but from what I've read, a male would be better suited to join us than a second female (our tri collie is all girl, lol!). The male is all white with dark eyes and nose.

When considering a mix, do I simply accept that the dog might have all the traits of both breeds and factor that into our decision? If so, this mix might be a strong-minded character!

What have your experiences been in adopting mixed breeds where there is limited history/information about them? I've done the reading on both Alaskan Malamutes and Border Collies and they both seem like fantastic dogs, but I want to be sure that this guy would be as happy with us as we would hope to be with him.

(As background, we're an active family with kids -- big yard with a park across the street and open suburban roads, very dog-oriented neighborhood; lots of dog parks, cold, snowy winters, etc.)

Thanks for any insights! Oh, and here's the requisite pics of my little baby girl (now almost 5 months old):

http://iblinkedyougrew.typepad.com/photos/everywhere_a_pup_pup/dsc03169.JPG

http://iblinkedyougrew.typepad.com/photos/everywhere_a_pup_pup/dsc03242.JPG

[sammy101]

adopting a male is better than another female.With 2 females,theyre can be dominance issues between the two.But they could become the best of friends! and not have any issues.
That mix sounds great for you,since Border Collies and Malamutes tend to be more active.I think,as long as you give them the love and care they need,they will turn out to be a wonderful dog.Just think about the good traits of both breeds,and he will most likely have good traits from both breeds.
I adopted both mine without knowing about theyre breeds.Since Kodie has bloodhound in him,he's very stubborn and hard to train:rolleyes: but he's very smart!And Lucy is Spaniel and or Flat-Coat mix,and really dont know much about spaniels and flat-coats.She's been easy to train so far.

Is theyre any pictures of this boy you might adopt:D ;)

[Cincy'sMom]

It is hard to know, when adopting apuppy, what you are getting. If you if adopt a purebred, it may have the exact temperment of the breed, but it may not.

In general, many people say adding a dog of the opposite sex is the safer bet. We had one female, who was 13 months old, when we got out second, dog, anther female. They were and are the best of friends. A few years later, we added a 2 1/2 year old male, and they are all the best of friends. My sister has 3 females, and they get along great as well.

It is really hard to make generalizations about what will and won't work. It sounds like an active dog, would fit in with your family. If you feel good about it, go for it!

[aly]

It is really tricky to try to guess what personality a mixed breed will have. It varies so greatly too. A Malamute/BC mix could have distinctive traits of each breed, or none at all of either breed! Since you have experience raising a puppy already, I'd say go for it if you're interested in the pup. As long as you give him loving guidance, things should go great.

Your collie girl is gorgeous :)

[stacwase]

I prefer to adopt young adult dogs for many reasons - but one reason is that I know what I'm getting, much more so than if I were to adopt a puppy.

On the other hand, if you're a good owner you'll raise a great dog. I wouldn't worry too much about trying to accurately predict the pup's temperament - whatever it turns out to be like, you'll love him.

[Denyce]

Your collie girl is just stunning! I love collies having grown up with one as an only child from the age of 3.5 to 17 years. I still miss her and I am almost 43. Of course I named her Lassie...*L* She was sable and white. As far as temperment so much of it depends on environment...but I am sure that any pup you pick out and work with will turn out fantastic.

[cyber-sibes]

i think getting a male is a good suggestion, depending on how dominant your collie is. My two females got along very nicely for a couple years, but when my rott-mix female matured, they had some very nasty fights. Of course, other times they were best of friends. It was very sad that she got hit by a car when she was only 3, but then we got a male because two breeders told me females can fight really nastily and often.
Everythings been quiet ever since!
I really think it just depends on their personalities. It's wonderful that you're getting a second dog!

[GraciesMommy]

Well I have a mix...Yorkshire Terrier/Toy Poodle

so far I have been extremely lucky..

EX:
Yorkies are very hard to house break...Poodles are very easy..and Gracie was a piece of cake to housebreak. So thankfully she got the poodle part in that!

Both breeds are super smart with learning new things and I am not exaggerating...Gracie can learn a trick in less than 30 minutes.
And her recall is amazing. She remembers everything.

Both breeds are very loyal....she is super loyal

Both breeds tend to be barkers...and Gracie ONLY barks outside...she never barks in the house..lucked out there! She could care less if someone knocks on the door...she just wants to them to hold her once they come in!

Yorkies are very fast runners and love to run at full speed...she certainly does that..

It "seems" that she got the best of both breeds...I like to think so anyway...

[Adopt_One]

One would assume a Husky mix would be high energy, but my boy is pretty lazy. He'll sleep all day as long as he gets food, a morning walk, and a toy to play with! It's so hard to say what a dog will turn out like (even in purebreds), and as stacwase said, I'm sure you'll love him whatever he turns out like! :D

[tricollie4me]

Here's the Alaskan Malamute/Border Collie mix I've been watching over:

http://www.petfinder.com/fotos/WI120/WI120.4073888-2-x.jpg

I would dearly love to adopt this little guy but I'm wondering if it it might be too much for us to manage two pups. Bijou, our tri collie, is doing beautifully (she's very smart and is learning her commands as well as becoming quite bonded to us) but she's still a pup herself at almost five months. This little AM/BC is evidently 11-ish weeks (sometimes the description isn't up to date -- he might be 14-ish weeks by now...). The AM/BC will probably be bigger at adulthood (est. 60 lbs?) than our collie (est 45 lbs?). However, since I'm home full-time it's not as much of a hardship re: housetraining, etc, and that really makes things easier on our household. In addition, considering that these are intelligent breeds (aren't they all, lol), they'll grow up together learning the same rules which might eliminate some stress/dominance issues later on.

Whether we decide to adopt this little guy or not, I just thought I'd share the photo so you could see who I've been dreaming of! ;) I'll let you know how things pan out! Thanks for all your feedback thus far.

[cyber-sibes]

:D He is ADORABLE!!!!:D
What a cute puppy - no wonder you are dreaming 'bout him! Boy, I know what my decision would be if I was in a position to add another one ........ :D
(I just added one last week - definitely NOT in the market today!)

[Karen]

He's a very handsome boy, and having two collies (one collie mix, but still) might be perfect - they can herd each other! With Bijou already doing well with the training, he can learn by her good example. Let them meet on neutral territory, but they would be a striking pair, don't you think?

You never know what characteristics of a breed mix will end up with, but starting with a pup, you - and Bijou - can train him well!

My brother has a Husky-Lab mix - he's blonde like a Lab, pulls like a husky, and will happily fall asleep in a blizzard. He's great with kids like a Lab, and just a touch goofier and of blockier build than a Husky. But all they knew when they got him was his color and the goofiness!

[chocolatepuppy]

OMG! He's adorable! Being as you are at home full time I'm sure you could handle two pups. My Lacey and Mandy are 10 months apart, Lacey was one when we got Mandy at two months. It was busy around here, but fun, and I work full time. I lost ten pounds the first few months after I brought Mandy home! ;) Good Luck! :)