I am totally flabbergasted by last night’s BBC documentary about Pedigree Breeding. I mean, I knew some of this and felt it anyway – breeding a very flat-faced dog, for example, is bound to cause health problems in the eyes and with breathing. I always felt it was wrong to breed dogs that way. But it turns out that even breeds that have it in them to be healthy are being bred in such a way as to cause severe health problems. I did want a Cavalier, but with a 1 in 3 chance of heartbreak I think I will steer clear.
I did want to create a new breed myself. Miniature Border Collies. How cute would that be? But I knew that it would take a long time to get right, and a lot of out-crosses to widen the gene pool enough. After watching this programme, I would not create a new breed, because of the potential for some rabid dog-breeder down the line trying to perfect my vision and creating a whole load of unhealthy, suffering animals in the name of a breed standard I have started.
It’s a difficult argument in terms of the whole brother-sister thing. I mean, yes, it’s wrong in humans. But animals seem to cope with it okay, up to a point. However, if it happens once, every few generations, that is one thing. If it is deliberately done on a regular basis – which seems to be the case with dogs – then it is, of course, going to reduce the gene pool. Some knowledge of genetics is a dangerous thing!
In the very old days, before there was any understanding of genetics, dogs were bred by phenotype. This means you look at a dog and a bitch, and if they both have the look you want you put them together and the puppies will stand a good chance of looking like the parents. Simple. And of course the dogs could be unrelated, because no-one was worried about the genetic aspect, only what they looked like. Then some understanding of genetics came about and breeders went “A-ha!”
Genetics meant that they could take a dog and a bitch and look not only at their phenotype, but at their gene history (pedigree) and see what marvellous specimens were there and now they knew that it was likely that this dog or bitch carried the genes of that historical ancestor, and so they would put them together not just on the basis of their looks, but on the basis of the fact that they both had the same great-grandfather and therefore a proportion of the puppies ought to come out looking like him! I mean, this was obviously something that was done to an extent before, or why keep a pedigree, but it was done purely on phenotype. So not to the same extent.
Unfortunately, although breeders try to breed out “faults”, their idea of faults is somewhat different to what yours or mine might be. A hock that does not follow the ideal line, a poor set of markings – these are the things that they try to get rid of. Health is secondary – after all, we look after these animals, we can afford to care for them. But it isn’t right that they should have them in the first place.
I had a mongrel bitch once, and she was the most healthy dog I have ever owned. I will mate my bitch and have puppies, because I enjoy the experience, selfish I know. But I will not be so selfish as to breed a small gene pool. I will breed crossbreeds and mongrels to my hearts content now, in the knowledge that I am widening the gene pool and creating healthy dogs. And health being my priority, I will see how one litter goes and if my dear doggy doesn’t cope with it she will be spayed and there will be an end to it.
There goes my dream of miniature collies…..but here comes a sense of self-respect I never realised I needed.
