What Are We Doing to Our Breeds?

Some breeders are losing sight of what they are breeding for.  In many breeds, the dogs are moving away from what is described in the respective AKC standards to extremes that are eye-catching in the show ring or field, but do not represent what those breeds were established for.   In some breeds, the field and conformation lines have so diverged that there is, essentially, a separate gene pool for each group, and it is next to impossible to have a dual (field and conformation) champion.  Then there are dogs that scoop up ribbons in agility because they are obsessive-compulsive to a degree that makes it hard for them to function as household pets.

In some breeds it has become unusual for puppies to be delivered without a cesarean section.  In other breeds, genetic disorders are just considered “normal” for that breed.  Conversely, some breeders are so concerned with correcting health defects that they stop focusing on breeding a whole dog and they lose breed type.  A healthy but mediocre dog does not enhance any breed.

Even as breeders continually debate the philosophies behind linebreeding and outbreeding, we must recognize that every dog is different; even two dogs with the same pedigree will not be alike.  Regardless of the system of mating used, breeders must chose mates based on the individual dogs involved, not just the pedigrees.

Prioritizing

When considering which of our dogs we are going to breed, and which dogs we want to breed to, many factors should be considered.  These include conformation traits (topline, shoulder assembly, color, earset, and so on), breed-related health aspects (hip dysplasia, eyes, heart, and so on), temperament, and performance traits.  As reported on page 27 of the July 2002 AKC Gazette (“News on Genetic Health Industries”), the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) is recording data on individual dogs.  The choice of what to test for in each breed is being determined by the respective national breed clubs that have been participating.  The lists should be a benchmark for health checks in your breed.

After listing the factors to be considered, the breeder should rank them in order of importance for the next mating.  Health factors that cause death or pain or are not treatable should have a high priority.  When prioritizing traits, it is helpful to know the mode of inheritance, as well as how responsive a trait is to selection.  This is where mentoring advice from experienced breeders can be important.  A trait with a simple, one-gene inheritance can be corrected in one generation, whereas it may take several generations to correct or obtain those that involve multiple genes (polygenic or complexly inherited traits).

Breeders can make a list of the positive and negative traits possessed by each of their prospective breeding dogs.  This should be compared with a list covering the same traits among dogs that are possible mates.  In this way, breeders can look for traits that they desire to bring into their breeding program and which are not currently present in their breeding stock.  No breeding will fulfill all of a breeder’s goals, and some goals may have to be put off for another generation.  If the breeder is selecting for too many goals in one generation, the power of selective pressure for rapid change of each individual goal will be less than the breeder might hope for or expect.

As more genetic tests become available, breeders are beginning to understand that dogs which carry recessive disorders but are otherwise of good quality can be bred to normal-testing dogs.  Affected dogs will not be produced.  The availability of genetic tests alleviates the need to remove quality carrier dogs from the gene pool.  As soon as possible in future breedings, these dogs should be replaced with quality noncarrier offspring so as to not continually propagate the defective gene in the population.  Breeding and spreading defective genes can produce healthy dogs, but it does not produce a healthy gene pool.  If breeders do not ultimately create a situation in which they can select against carriers, it will become less feasible to pick quality breeding pairs in which both dogs do not share some of the same defective genes.  This is especially true in breeds that have several genetic disorders.

In less populous breeds, some breeders believe that all dogs and all lines should be propagated or unique genes might be lost and genetic diversity compromised.  This is misguided.  Undesirable representatives of a breed should not be bred.  If nature puts a collection of mediocre genes into one dog, we should be smart enough not to use it for breeding, regardless of the size of the gene pool.  If better siblings cannot be found, or offspring from other or even repeat matings cannot produce any quality breeding dogs, then you must ask why this line exists in the first place.

Popular Sires

The overuse of popular sires is the greatest threat to genetic diversity in breeds.  It also tends to establish breed-related genetic disorders or strengthen already established ones.  This has been shown to be a considerable factor even in the most populous breeds.  If a quality stud dog is being overused, do not join the flock.  His genes will be present in great numbers in the next generations.  If he produces quality, healthy offspring, there will be some to choose from out of bitches whose genes you might also like to use.  The owners of popular sires must limit how much breeding goes on.  It can be difficult to say no to other breeders and to friends, but you have a responsibility to the future of the breed and the gene pool.

Every dog has some faults, but breeders who use any excuse to breed a dog with severe faults are not doing their breed a service.  We’ve all heard such justifications as “Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water” and “Dogs of such quality in this trait don’t exist anymore, and that overrides all his other faults.”  Along the same lines, reasons can be found to not breed any dog, even one with many good points and few negative ones.

When breeding, we must focus on the breed's best interest, not that of the breeder.  If a breeding produces mediocre puppies and does not create that perfect "Fido son," then the puppies should be placed in pet homes.  Fido can always be bred again in another direction - if he should have been bred in the first place.  If breeders base their breeding choices on objective measures and the breed standards, then the health and quality of our breeds should improve.

This article originally appeared in the “Healthy Dog” section of the November, 2002 AKC Gazette.  It can be reproduced with the permission of the author: Jerold.Bell@tufts.edu