Page 25 - Chow Life - Spring 2017_Neat
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pedigrees. The first is called depth a shallow acetabulum. HD occurs a desired trait are considered the
of pedigree which is the study of most commonly in rapidly growing better breeding candidates. This
the 14 ancestors in the first three large breeds, but it can also occur example demonstrates the principle
generations. Analysis of these in small breeds. It affects the young of knowledge-based breeding using
relatives is important even though (<1yr) and older (skeletally mature) depth and breadth of a pedigree to
they only represent a small sample dogs. Lameness is a common make improvements and manage
of a dog’s ancestors. The second symptom which is attributed to risk.
is called breadth of pedigree. This joint laxity. Other clinical signs BREEDING TOOLS
approach includes the study of include a bunny-hopping gait.
the littermates of the 14 direct Symptoms include difficulty rising Knowledge-based breeding also
ancestors. They significantly expand and exercise intolerance. HD affects includes using tools some of which
the number of relatives and the both genders and is diagnosed via are listed in Figure 1.
amount of information collected. x-ray evidence.
As the number of relatives studied To better illustrate the importance FIGURE 1. BREEDER TOOLS
increases so do the chances for of expanding information, we will • My AKC - Free, offered by AKC
making improvements (Hovan, take two dogs. Call them “A” and (tracks dogs and offspring)
2005). Of all the relatives that could “B”. In the first three generations
be studied, those appearing in the both have 14 ancestors. If dog “A”
first three generations are more has 9 of 14 ancestors that are known • Pedigree software, speeds up
likely to have the most impact on a to have normal hips but little or coding and tracking traits
litter. nothing is known about the hips of
To better illustrate this point the littermates of these ancestors, • Continuing education -
See breeder site : www.
hip dysplasia (HD) will be used “A” would be considered a good breedingbetterdogs.com
as our example. This is a disease a candidate for producing sound
that results in an abnormality of hips until another dog is found
the hip joint. The hip assembly is with a better pedigree. If Dog “B” • DNA tests – Diagnostic
made up of a ball and socket joint has 10 of 14 ancestors with normal tests , posted at : www.
in which the head of the femur (the hips and several other ancestors breedingbetterdogs.com
“ball” at the top of the thigh bone that have littermates with normal
fits into the socket of the pelvis hips, “B” would be considered a • Orthopedic Foundation for
(the acetabulum). better candidate than “A” for Animals (OFA) – This paper
In dysplastic producing normal hips.
dogs the joint Dogs that are known • Canine Health Information
fits loosely in to have ancestors Center (CHIC) – This paper
and littermates
(depth and • Mating Probability Table - This
breadth) with paper (Keller, 2006)
• Desirability Checklist – This
paper (Keller, 2006)
• Three pedigrees - Traditional,
Stick Dog Color Chart, Symbol
(Battaglia 2009)
• AKC registrations and
microchips - Positive id, tracking
and recovery
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