Editing Dog breed (section)

===Mixed-breeds===

{{main|Mongrel}}

A mongrel, mixed-breed dog or mutt is a [[dog]] that does not belong to one officially recognized breed but can be a mix of two breeds and is not the result of intentional [[dog breeding|breeding]].<ref name="Ultimate Morris">{{cite book|last=Morris|first=Desmond|title=Dogs: The Ultimate Dictionary of over 1,000 Dog Breeds|year=2008|publisher=Tralfalgar Square|location=Vermont|isbn=978-1-57076-410-3|pages=696–697|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IjG-LAAACAAJ|edition=First Paperback|chapter=Feral dogs|quote=The mongrel is not a true breed, but it is certainly a common category of domestic dog. It has been estimated that, worldwide, there are 150 million of them."}}</ref>

In the United States, the term ''mixed-breed'' is a favored synonym over ''mongrel'' among individuals who wish to avoid negative [[Connotation|connotations]] associated with the latter term.<ref>{{cite book |last=Witiak |first=Dr. Gene |title=True Confessions of a Veterinarian |publisher=Glenbridge Publishing Ltd. |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-944435-54-0 |page=11 |quote=Canines of unknown lineage used to be termed mongrels—how demeaning! Over time, the term 'mixed breed' was preferred.}}</ref> The implication that such dogs must be a mix of defined breeds may stem from an inverted understanding of the origins of dog breeds. Purebred dogs have been, for the most part, artificially created from random-bred populations by human selective breeding with the purpose of enhancing desired physical, behavioral, or temperamental characteristics. Dogs that are not ''purebred'' are not necessarily a mix of such defined breeds.<ref name="Budiansky">{{Cite book |last=Budiansky |first=Stephen |url=https://archive.org/details/truthaboutdogsin00budi/page/35 |title=The Truth About Dogs; an Inquiry into the Ancestry, Social Conventions, Mental Habits, and Moral Fiber of Canis familiaris |date=2000 |publisher=Viking Penguin |isbn=978-0-670-89272-3 |location=New York |page=35}}</ref> Therefore, among some experts and [[Fan (person)|fans]] of such dogs, ''mongrel'' is still the preferred term.<ref>{{cite book |last=Riddle |first=Maxwell |title=Lovable Mongrel |date=1954 |publisher=All-Pets}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cooper |first=Jilly |title=Intelligent and Loyal, a Celebration of the Mongrel |date=1981 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Patmore |first=Angela |title=The Mongrel |date=1985 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=White |first=Kay |title=Book of the Mongrel |date=1997 |publisher=HarperCollins}}</ref>