Understanding Recessive Genes

The aim of any control measures must be simply to prevent any clinically affected animals being born and eventually to eliminate the defective ‘x’ from the breeding population. With the development of laboratory tests for the recessive genes that cause the two conditions (tests of L-2-HGA are already available) the first step must be not…

The Breed Today

Most show fanciers these days simply won’t admit that the breed has changed quite a bit from the original types, and such an attitude isn’t hard to understand when one realizes the very people who are supposed to give them guidance encourage the breeding and perpetuation of the trendy, exaggerated type. Usually these are the…

Puppies For Christmas

Every year hundreds of puppies are mass produced to supply the demand that pet stores have. Hundreds of poorly bred, poorly treated unsuspecting innocent animals are crowded into unfit conditions and shipped all across the country. Puppy mills are at their highest production rate and unscrupulous breeders start planning their litters just at that time…

The Genetic Pedigree

The only really effective way to attack the problem of genetic disease is to actively select against the defective genes, rather than trying to select for the most normal dogs you can find. It’s a way a thinking about breeding that seems counter-intuitive, until you realize that if you know who the affected and …

Ask TSK – Q&A Singletons

My personal experience has been with two very different singleton pups. The first had a very “stable” easy going mother. As this pup grew up his basic genetic make up was confident and low key. I have a very large multi-dog household so the “family” provided him with lots of social interaction within my family…

What Price Glory

As with the stock shows, the intent was to showcase fine breeding stock. But over the years the emphasis has changed from providing a showcase to a major criterion for determination of “breeding quality.” The old adage “breed the best to the best” has subtly changed in meaning toward breeding the best-looking to the best-looking….