Mr. Bo Jangles was a wonderful Mixed Heritage Dog that Deron and I bought in an Amish Area in Mid WI. We were told he was Labrador Retriever mixed with Border Collie. I never thought that to be correct. But we knew he was a Mixed Breed and that was all we needed to know....or was it?

Mr. Bo Jangles was a GREAT all around dog. And our only dog that would go out with Deron, in WI when we heard Coyotes, or was it wolves, howling in WI. Our other dogs remained silent and wanted to disappear. Bo Jangles, as we called him, NOT BO!, could pull a wagon, pulled me many miles on an Adult Sized Scooter, Played a great game of Frisbee (I would have competed it I had found any competitions around us then), he did all kinds of tricks, wore all sorts of silly outfits, marched in Parades, ran in a Sled Dog Team, Backpacked..... He was wonderful. However, if Bo Jangles had NOT been owned by two dog trainers, he would have been looking for a new home. He was NOT an "easy" puppy.

Is it more training than anything? Yes. And No. When you take home a Mixed Breed Puppy, you really do not know what you have. You do not know how the parent's temperaments were, what type of working dogs that pup was out of (remember most working dogs need a job to keep busy, or they get busy on their own), if the parents were guard breeds (you might find you have an aggressive puppy and do not know why), you do not know if the parents were out of a breed that is more shy (many people love to pretend that a dog was mistreated before they brought it home, not knowing that there are shy breeds and a shy gene in dogs). The list goes on and on and on. So when you take home a Mixed Breed Dog, or better BEFORE you take home a Mixed Breed Dog, do the research, as well as you can, on the breeds it might be mixed with.

I am sure not saying that there is anything wrong with or about a Mixed Breed Dog. I have through the years seen toooooooo many Mixed Bred Dogs end up in the Pound because the people who thought they were cute when they were little put too little time into the dog, or worse, did not know what they were getting into and the dog's breeds were more than that person or family could handle.

In this photo there is an AKC Labrador Retriever on either side of Bo Jangles. They too were mine and I was training the three together.

There are so many WRONG or misconceptions about Mixed Breed Dogs. One of the biggest is that "They make better pets." Why would this be true? Better than what? Better than a dog breed that was bred to be a pet? "They make better pets.", is certainly not a true statement. Most dogs that are raised by the owners and family members with love, respect, and if those owners also did the TRAINING it takes, those are the dogs make the best pets; Pure AND/OR Mixed Breeds.

Then there is the really stupid one: "They are healthier because they do not have the problems Pure Bred Dogs have." I ask you?, how could this even be possible? Only if two dogs of the same breed were bred with problems, and two dogs or mixed breeds that DID NOT have health problems could this even be possible. DOGS ARE LIVING CREATURES. PURE BRED OR MIXED BRED THEY ALL, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER LIVING THING, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO HUMANS, HAVE THEIR PROBLEMS! And more, a Mixed Bred Dog can carry problems from both parents, or bad temperaments of both parents just like a Pure Bred Dog can and often does.

Do I not like Mixed Breed Dogs? Did I not love my Mr. Bo Jangles? Heavens! That is not my point at all! My point is, do your research and be careful of all the "Political Correct" Bull that is being passed around about Dog Breeds. Good and Bad. My point is do not buy a Mixed Breed thinking because it IS a Mixed Breed it will be this, "never gets sick", "does not have health problems", "more loving and smarter" than a Pure Bred Dog. And be ready for either or both or multiple breed traits, both good and bad" to come out in/from your Mixed Breed Dog.

That said, let me tell you a little more about my wonderful, sorely missed Mixed Breed Dog, Mr. Bo Jangles...

I had this dog named Marna's Merry Mary , an AKC Registered Labrador Retriever, a little sweetheart with correct conformation and a heart as big as her chest. Mary was my "once in a life time dog", the Bench Mark of any dogs I see or own. Like all dogs, Mary did not live forever and one day she died. I still tear up over it. I missed her terribly. So. It was time to get another dog. But what would I get? Another Lab? One more Siberian Husky in the house? What? So I started looking. Nothing suited the bill.

Then...... I found an ad for Lab x Border Collie Pups. Could we go and look? They were over 100 miles from where we lived. We went, we looked. I did not want one. That is, until a few days later. I had thought about that one pup in the litter and thought about it. A male. A Mixed Breed. Yes, I like his look, I liked him fine. Annnnnnnd, my husband who loves me drove me all the way back to buy this puppy.

Was Bo Jangles my only Mixed Breed. No. Was he my best Mixed Breed? Let's just say I put a lot of time and training into this dog and by golly, he was a well behaved, well mannered, working dog. And he was so loved! And he loved us so! I also owned a smaller Mixed Breed named Rover. What a dog he was. As well as Apple Jack, 1/2 GSD and 1/2 Doberman Pincher, what a handful! But with daily training, a dog I loved dearly!

Now let me tell you a bit more about Mr. Bo Jangles. He was not an easy puppy with all the hand chewing a huge no no at our house. Oh My Goodness. I thought this pup would never stop biting my hands. Not biting mean, biting to play. Where did he get that? I wanted a dog to Compete at Frisbie/Disc Dog. So when training him, I had a lot of training to do. He had a "hard mouth" too. Bo Jangles was a very well behaved dog. He learned his manners very well. But the Frisbee, he would get toooo excited. But with continued training, with many many days of consistent training, I had a wonderful, high jumping, disc catching, trick doing dog.

Bo Jangles learned everything else very easy and fast. But you know. He sure got my mind off Mary. He took me forward. He was delightful. I wish dogs could live longer.

I never believed he was Lab/Border Collie, but maybe he was. He was the bravest of them all. I was sure he had Platt Hound in him. What is Platt Hound? A very popular Bear Hunting Dog in N WI. Dogs that run to hunt, run, as in off leash, as in could have stopped by a bitches house and bred her on his way. I will never know. But he sure showed the trates.

One beautiful Spring Day my dear friend Sally and I were out on a logging trail with our goats taking a hike. Bo Jangles and two other dogs came with us. Bo Jangles had a habit of skirting me. He would run ahead of me on the trails, then show up behind me. He did this all the time. We lived way out in N WI and owned 80 acres with many many many 1000's around us we had permission to be on with our animals. This day as Sally and I were a ways out, we heard a baby bear holler! Sally, brave as she is, wanted to go and see the babies. I wanted out of there quick! That baby has a mama with it who would not take kindly to us being near it. ALL of the goats and the other two dogs came and got real quiet as they got as close to us as they could. We are talking so close they would trip us is we were not watching.

As we got almost to the top of the trail we had come in on, here came Bo Jangles from what would have been behind us. I like to believe he was clearing the trail and checking it for us. I hope I never forget this day or this dog. He was one of a kind for sure.

-- The Working Big Dogs Team
Mon, 15 Jul 2013 10:52:53 -0400