If you think your mixed-breed pup is naturally hardier than the neighbor's purebred, you may want to think again. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, indicates that mixed breeds don't necessarily have an advantage when it comes to inherited canine disorders.
[...]
The data also indicated that the more recently derived breeds or those breeds that shared a similar lineage were more susceptible to certain inherited disorders. For example, four of the top five breeds affected with elbow dysplasia were the Bernese mountain dog, Newfoundland, mastiff and Rottweiler -- all from the mastiff-like lineage. This suggests that these breeds share gene mutations for elbow dysplasia because they were descended from a common ancestor.
In contrast, disorders that occurred equally among purebred and mixed-breed dogs appeared to represent ancient gene mutations that had become widely spread throughout the dog population. Such disorders included hip dysplasia, all of the tumor-causing cancers and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a heart condition.
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The example cited does not refute the benefits of hybrid vigour. Because the conditions described are in all breeds (the ancient mutation) hybridizing will not reduce its occurrence. Just as hybridizing corn doesn't make the crop immune from freezing.
Hybrid breeding works. The result of two heavily inbred types being crossed yields the best of both. Dogs are not different from corn or cattle.
Or the elbow problems are the result of owning a very large dog with an accelerated growth rate (being the proud owner of a bouncing 150lbs Newf).
Whenever I hear folks spout off about the hardiness of mutts I laugh at them. My breeder has given a 10 year life insurance on my dog....wonder how many owners of mutts have the same guarantee?
The Gord's point, inbreeding is a problem with all species and a good breeder will ensure that he/she is maintaining adequate variety in his/her line. Couple this with QUALITY food and good care and you'll eliminate 90% of the problems imo.
I just put my mutt down last weekend, she was 17 and had a good life, her sister is still in good shape. Their mother, Ratturd, made it to 18.
Nonsense, pure nonsense.
Hybrid vigour works if you're eating dogs and need enhanced weight gain. When it's applied to an animal bred to perform specific tasks, not so much.
Simply not true. Hybridizing in cattle is done to address lots of issues besides meat volume and quality. Calving ease, temperament, milk supply, ruggedness of hooves and legs and on and on. And it works.
And it works in dogs too. The key difference between breeders of cattle vs dogs is that cattlemen use sophisticated statistical analysis to plan breeding programs and thus get much better results from hybridizing than the loosey goosey methods dog breeders use. What dog breeders need is artificial insemination as it would improve the breeds by leaps and bounds. But like horses the market and he breeders won't pay for it or allow it to cut into revenues.
Except defective mongrels are not religiously inbred, so the defects die out or vary more.
So the inbreeds have identifiable common defects, the crosses often never manifest.
After all what is a pure breed if not a successful exercise in inbreeding.
Gord.... dog breeders use AI in all its forms, and have for decades. And dog breeders (at the level where it counts) don't base breeding decisions on revenues, as the enterprise is inherently unprofitable.
John - many of the later onset defects in dogs aren't caused by recessive gene defects, but by dominant or incompletely dominant genes. Thus, it takes only one parent to pass along the disorder to the offspring. If defects "died out" through outcrossing, they would have done so millions of years before dogs were domesticated.
Heh, is there a shortage of dogs?
Why, I was just remarking the other day how my old purebred Greater Glengarry Moose Hound, Jerome, (who was buggering a tamarack stump at the time) was displaying remarkable hybrid vigour.
I'm glad to know this. On my next visit to the east coast I was going to get myself another Labradiddle.
"...I was going to get myself another Labradiddle..."
Like Turdo la Doo? I thought that breed was called Labrawiddler.