A call for older dads - Pedigree Dogs Exposed Day 2
One of my hero's American-based vet and behaviour guru Dr Ian Dunbar has linked to this blog and has come up with a great positive suggestion - only breed your dog with a mate who is over seven years old, unrelated and healthy....
He says on the blog: "Longevity is simply the very best overall indicator of health, fit genes and good behavior and temperament."
Click here to his blog and the article he wrote in 1990 for the American Kennel Gazette - Eugenics or Dysgenics.
And if you don't know who Ian is please click here, please read his brilliant books, watch his unmatched videos and be just thoroughly embarrassed - it's bit like not knowing who Leonardo da Vinci is! Just read a great article on why America thinks it currently loves Cesar Milan when they should be loving Ian - click here for that! Says a great deal about the way society is moving I'm afraid....)
Please read the other blogs about the TV show if you've only just joined us.
If you have a dog with a serious hereditary problem, please write in to Dogs Today or email me with your story. ( beverley@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk) Or if you are a breeder striving to keep your lines healthy please also do get in touch - our Furry Godmother service is designed to support you.
He says on the blog: "Longevity is simply the very best overall indicator of health, fit genes and good behavior and temperament."
Click here to his blog and the article he wrote in 1990 for the American Kennel Gazette - Eugenics or Dysgenics.
And if you don't know who Ian is please click here, please read his brilliant books, watch his unmatched videos and be just thoroughly embarrassed - it's bit like not knowing who Leonardo da Vinci is! Just read a great article on why America thinks it currently loves Cesar Milan when they should be loving Ian - click here for that! Says a great deal about the way society is moving I'm afraid....)
Please read the other blogs about the TV show if you've only just joined us.
If you have a dog with a serious hereditary problem, please write in to Dogs Today or email me with your story. ( beverley@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk) Or if you are a breeder striving to keep your lines healthy please also do get in touch - our Furry Godmother service is designed to support you.
Comments
In my breed, the basset hound, we don't have this control so one or two dogs (litter brothers!) dominate at stud which concerns me. Nearly every kennel has their bloodlines.
So as a concrete measure I'd like to see a universal "maximum" number of times a stud can be used.
And I have been thinking about the seven year rule thingy...nice idea but in reality, I am not sure this would really work.
I would imagine, like humans, it becomes increasingly difficult the older dogs get, to reproduce.
Now, I am no rocket scientist but if a dog can only be used, for the first time at the age of 7, then surely it becomes a little more difficult for a dog to produce a litter...after all, in human terms, the dog would be 49...
Moreover, we all know it takes two to tango. How old exactly does one want a bitch to be before she conceives her first litter?
Perhaps it would be a more realistic suggesition to study the the lifespans of the ancestors of any future breeding pair which, I am sure all responsible breeders do already.
In preparation for getting my first Bernese I watched Caesar Milan and Dog Borstal but I bought Ian Dunbar's book on puppy training. I decided that he was the very best person to listen to in relation to picking the right pup and its training. I have to say his toilet and Kong training has been a complete success due to following Ian Dunbar's advice. However, I was disgusted to see the hostile reaction to this article in the 64 comments left on the site. It appears that no-one is allowed to speak about Milan unless they agree with his methods. I did believe in him for a while, but when I saw him using metal collars with inturned spikes to control dogs I stopped watching.
It's a great pity there aren't more people to stand up for Ian Dunbars more gentle and humane methods.
I decided to look into training in such detail because my previous dog, a Lhasa Apso, was badly bred from a father with a vicious temper and a mother who had allergies. I only discovered this six months later. He was KC registered and, in my ignorance at the time, I thought that was a guarantee of a good dog. Obviously I have learned my lesson from that! The dog turned out to be plagued with ill health all of his life and in the last couple of years years he developed a nasty streak. This time I did my best to ensure I did not make the same mistake again and, touch wood, my Bernese seems fine.
I really enjoy reading Dogs Today and support all your stirling efforts to change the attitudes of the Kennel Club. You really must be bothering them if they won't give you information!!