People often ask "why should I spend the money to buy a purebred when there are lots of puppies out there that are mixed breed and would make a good pet?"
Genetics and breeding play an important part in what you get as an adult dog. So put simply, if you have two dogs that have good temperaments, the odds are 98% your going to get a litter of puppies with a good temperament. Selecting for a Service/Therapy/ESA dog requires even a higher level of great temperament, intelligence, and ability to connect to humans.
Below is an article that Meryl Cohen (dog trainer and Cane Corso owner) wrote addressing this subject.
"Let’s take a moment to talk about genetics. I just got off a call with someone who got a Cane Corso and his dog bit the gardener who came into the yard unannounced and a friend who did the same. Now he wants to rehome or euthanize the dog. He said, “We didn’t raise him like that”.... There’s this little catch phrase that gets thrown around, “it’s all how they’re raised.” Well, that’s not quite true. Look at 8 week old Kelpie or Border Collie pups herding ducks or lambs without any training, or pointers naturally on point when they see a bird. These are things that breeders have carefully selected for over time.
Genetics also greatly impact a dog's nerves and environmental stability. Sure, you can do a lot as a handler to try and shape and guide a dog’s genetic drives or tendencies to a certain degree, but in my opinion when it comes to breed specific traits and solid or weak nerves in a dog, genetics will always win and come through. When selecting a dog, please don’t choose the Cane Corso because it looks bad ass, or the Border Collie because you heard it’s the smartest breed, or a Malinois because it’s a police dog breed. These dogs have real needs and drives that must be satisfied, and if you can’t provide those things, select a different dog.
When rescuing, remember if you get a puppy there’s no telling how the dog will end up by 3 years of age, so be prepared for unknown genetic drives and traits to be expressed as a dog develops. I truly believe if people talked more about genetics, people might be better matched with the dogs they either purchase or rescue."
