Golden Retriever
I don't know what happened to the golden retriever, but it's sad that such a wonderful breed has so many health issues. In the 1970s goldens lived about 17 years, today it's around 9. Our Haylie die...
Forum Discussion
Why do some dogs get cancer while others do not while being exposed to the same environmental conditions? Clearly, some dogs are more predisposed (i.e. genetics) than other dogs. Open your eyes to just how much genetics are causing the issues we are seeing in our dogs. It's not "responsible breeders" that are the source of this; it is the system of closed registries.
Excluding dogs (even based upon DNA health tests) lowers the genetic diversity in the closed gene pool (increasing inbreeding). This is from the link above to a website by a group of genetic researchers (I highly recommend you read it and other info on the website).
As more and more genetic tests are developed for each breed, more and more dogs will be excluded from the closed gene pool leading to an acceleration in the rate of inbreeding. This will lead to more discoveries of genetic diseases (increased odds of mating two with the same recessive mutation). Genetic testing is a band-aid for the genetic issues in breeds; careful outcrossing (opening of the closed registries) will be the ultimate solution.
Excluding dogs (even based upon DNA health tests) lowers the genetic diversity in the closed gene pool (increasing inbreeding). This is from the link above to a website by a group of genetic researchers (I highly recommend you read it and other info on the website).
5) You cannot remove just a single gene from a population. You must remove an entire dog and all the genes it has.
6) You cannot select for or against a single gene, because genes tend to move in groups with other genes (this is called "linkage"). If you select for (or against) one, you select for (or against) them all.
As more and more genetic tests are developed for each breed, more and more dogs will be excluded from the closed gene pool leading to an acceleration in the rate of inbreeding. This will lead to more discoveries of genetic diseases (increased odds of mating two with the same recessive mutation). Genetic testing is a band-aid for the genetic issues in breeds; careful outcrossing (opening of the closed registries) will be the ultimate solution.
