Pedigree Dogs Exposed - avoiding inbreeding for those who can't do the math

Moving forward...

Here's a very simple idea from Professor David Balding of Imperial College London. This is great for anyone struggling to calculate the coefficients of inbreeding.

How not to buy an inbred pup.
Check any prospective dog's pedigree and make sure all of the dog's grandparents are different and that they are not descended from each other, either.

Any duplication - simply walk away.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I didn't look at my dog's pedigree until I got home. I was a bit shocked by the repetition of names, but didn't study it in too much detail as a friend told me that line-breeding was considered OK.
That was 12 years ago and since then I have become very worried about the state of my dog's breed, especially when I compare him with the working strains of spaniels.
I got the pedigree out again recently and started to make a note of the names that appeared more than once.
It got so difficult I had to put it on the computer using a table with different columns.
This is what I found, and I wonder if this is a record.
It was a five-generation pedigree, which should consist of 62 different dogs.
There were only 29 dogs in all and 11 of those appeared on either side of the pedigree (ie, both the father's and mother's side).
I am the owner of Zak, he is the boxer in the pedigree dogs exposed film, I agree with eveything that Jemima has done for this programme, she should be named woman of the year, she has put her heart and soul into this documentary, I too did not realise that ZAK was inbred until i looked at his pedigree, he has the same grandparents on both sides dam and sire. so please please support Jemima and lets hope and pray that the K.C. comes to its senses and do something about this, but i very much doubt they will unless they are pressured to do so by us, the people who love and cherish our dogs.
Jontus said…
As a dog breeder myself I worry when I see dogs with so many close relatives.

Personally, I've chosen to always outcross (breed dogs not related as much as possible) but pet owners never ask me about my breeding plans.

It's imperative the general public learn how to question breeders they're thinking of buying a pup from. Hopefully the momentum generated by the documentary and Beverly's magazine will go a long way to achieving that.
@I toltally agree with you, in my zaks case he had one set of grandparents that was on both the sire and dam, i just wish i had known more about inbreeding when i bought him, but after saying that, i would,nt be without him, you definetly have the right approach, what a pity that more breeders do not do what you do, jo. x

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