I’ve mentioned previously in one of my posts – namely, ‘The Breeds- DOG – #1: The German Shepherd’ – about inbreeding and how it spoiled the breed. But, I didn’t really explain anything about HOW it spoiled the breed, so I decided to explain in a bit of detail as much as I know about it myself.
To begin with, for those who don’t know it, what really is inbreeding?
Inbreeding is where you breed an animal with its close relative(i.e. mother, brother, father, sister etc…).
Below is an example of trying to produce a black LEOPARD in captivity. Please keep in mind that the melanistic gene is recessive in leopards, so two spotted parents can produce a melanistic cub. (That’s not possible in Jaguars, they have to be black parents to produce a black cub. Not possible for a spotted jag to produce a black cub.)
Quick guide to the abbreviations used in the example below:
- A = Spotted leopard, with one gene for black. he is a carrier for a fatal disease.
- B = Spotted leopard, with one gene for black. She is a carrier for the same fatal disease as A. She is A’s daughter.
- C = Melanistic leopard. dies quickly because of the disease. A and B’s son.
The zoo really wanted a melanistic leopard, however, they had two males who were confirmed carriers of the black gene and only one female, who was A’s daughter. They had the highest chance of producing a ‘jet black’ leopard, as opposed to the other male whose lines didn’t carry a good, deep black. They decided to breed A and B. They resulted in C, a fine, deep, jet black leopard. But before he could make it over 7 months he died, because both his parents were carriers of the fatal disease. Had they bred B to the other male, the cub would have been healthy despite not being a deep jet black. He would have been a carrier, but for examples’ sake, let’s just say that the disease would NOT affect a carrier. In other words, both the mother and father had to be carriers to have a cub who is affected.
So that is one threat from inbreeding; limiting the diversity, so to speak, of the genetic pool. Therefore, if you have got a carrier father whose daughter is a carrier too, breeding the two together will only make things worse, even if the carrier daughter bred to an unrelated male wouldn’t. Chances are quite low for an unrelated specimen to be the carrier of the exactly same recessive disease.
Now you probably have an idea of how come it spoils numerous breeds. Another example follows with rottweilers. Rotties have got a genetic hip dysplasia issue, but with correct breeding, such as X-raying prior to breeding to ensure the specimen doesn’t have it and therefore can’t give it down if bred, can curb the issue. However, since most breeders who breed purebred Rotties are after the looks of the breed, the typical characteristics required to register them.
A was a dog with hip dysplasia but perfect characteristics for the breed, and so did his daughter. When bred, they produced a top-class animal with major hip dysplasia. When A was bred with a stranger female, they had a healthier puppy but not top-class.
Another thing to keep in mind is reverse selective breeding. Selective breeding is well-known, choosing specimens who have similar traits and great appearances. In most such cases the chosen specimens are closely related, but not always.
Reverse selective breeding is only what I have named this thing, but I’m almost certain it has no other proper name. You don’t really reverse selective breeding, which would mean you would randomly just select any dogs and breed them, which is not my point. It is supposed to mean that you should further specify your criteria. If you’re looking for specific characteristics for a breed, by all means, search for such specimens but, don’t choose a specimen that:
- Is closely related to the other specimen
- Has a genetic health issue.
If they are or have any of the above, better not breed it.
But that’s it for now. See you next time!