Revised November 2011 [note: Some of the following is composed of excerpts from my book, “The Total German Shepherd Dog,” which has some 17 of its 20 chapters suitable for all breeds, including many on genetics. It is available from Mr.GSD(at)netscape.com . Inquire about foreign shipment postage. Also available: the giant book on orthopedic disorders. …
Dog breeds are usually grouped—often arbitrarily or erroneously—into from five to ten categories based on function, superficial appearance, or geographical origin, depending on the registry organization. Just because it may make more sense to assign them to groups based primarily on ancestry and then on historical function, does not mean that such will be the …
Revised 2012 INTRODUCTION I am frequently approached by people who have bought “the love of their lives” or a show- or working-prospect puppy, only to find out it does not have what most responsible fanciers would call “breedable” hips. I am asked what should or could be done about it. Nearly half of the inquiries …
Many people label any problem that appears to be inherited a “genetic disease.” However, though there are legitimate genetic diseases, there are also a variety of problems that have an inherited component but are of a fundamentally different nature. Dealing effectively with any genetic problem requires an understanding of …
Continued From Part 1 62. Conjunctivitis: an inflammation of the conjunctival membrane of the eye. 63. Conus septal defect: a developmental abnormality of the right ventricle of the heart. 64. Copper storage abnormalityin liver: (see #2.) 65. Corneal dystrophy: an abnormality of the cornea usually characterized by shallow pits in the surface. 66. Corneal leukomas: …
Published by The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, P.O. Box 208, Davis, CA 95617-0208 First printing: August 1994 Special thanks to: W. Jean Dodds, D.V.M., Susan Hall, D.V.M., Kay Inks, and Phil Maggitti Directory Section I A list of 148 purebred dog breeds, each of which is accompanied by a number or series of …
WORKING THE AFFECTED DOG Often, the dog that is diagnosed with mild ED of one sort or another belongs to someone active in the sport end of the dog game, having no plans to breed but wanting to do obedience or schutzhund work. Caution must be advised here, but it …
Though it is not practical to eliminate all deleterious mutation, the incidence of affected individuals may be significantly reduced through a combination of intelligent breeding practice and the development of DNA tests. Why do we have mutations? Mutations are changes in an organism’s DNA that potentially affect the correct functioning of genes. They occur naturally …
Continued from PART 2 FY = 0. This example emphasizes a point made earlier: inbreeding is dependent on relationship. In small breeds, it often happens that there are a few very influential individuals to whom most of the population is related. These elevated levels of relationship can make it difficult to plan matings free …
Continued from PART 4 MORE ON INBREEDING The dog world seems unwilling to learn from science in some respects, and inbreeding-linebreeding is one of those areas. I say “one” because there is no real difference or dividing line between the two terms; linebreeding is simply descriptive of inbreeding on animals a little further back in …