Originally Posted by
captainobvious
Meh, there's an argument to be made for both sides of that coin. Pure bred done right is specifically to ensure you're breeding the finest examples with the least chances of typical health concerns inherent to specific breeds. Some breeds have totally different tendencies and personalities than others and some have different needs in order to be a good member of the family. While a mutt may (sometimes) have less of a specific risk of a certain issue than one that may be very common in a specific pure breed, you also have less chance of predicting how the dog will interact and what their tendencies may be.
We've owned dogs (many times multiples at the same time) over many years of my life. I can say that there are some breeds that are an absolute breeze, some that require very little of their owners time to make them happy and some which are far more needy and in different ways. It really all depends on your lifestyle, what type of companion you're looking for and the family you have (kids, age, etc). Our Golden Retriever has been absolutely amazing and is a tremendously sweet dog with a loving personality. She is a pure bred and we wanted that, and selected our breeder carefully to ensure that they were breeding healthy dogs with the proper certifications and the right temperament.