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by John Armstrong How would you determine the impact of a famous Champion on his breed? A dog who has won many shows and earned many titles may have been quite popular as a stud and may have sired more winning progeny than other contemporary males. However, that does not guarantee that he will have … Continue reading →

by John Armstrong Introduction Most of you are undoubtedly aware that color and certain diseases such as progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) are inherited — that is, passed down from one or both the parents. However, you may wonder how a trait that does not appear in the dam’s pedigree can suddenly turn up in a … Continue reading →

by John Armstrong Early genetics When Mendel’s work was rediscovered at the beginning of the twentieth century, the new field of Genetics went in several directions. The T. H. Morgan (1) school quickly got tired of crossing green to yellow peas and moved on to discovering white-eyed fruit flies, linkage and genetic maps. The Garrod … Continue reading →

by John Armstrong This is a story about Standard Poodles. In the Poodle, we are fortunate to have a breed with ancient and diverse origins. They are intelligent and versatile, and a recent German study has suggested that they are among the longest lived. My own study, though not complete, suggests that a Standard Poodle should live … Continue reading →

(The Poodle and the Chocolate Cake) by John Armstrong The Nature of Diversity Think of genes as recipes. They carry the instructions for the various components that go into making up an organism. Each recipe specifies a particular component, and different individuals may carry different versions of the same recipe. (In the jargon of genetics, … Continue reading →

by John Armstrong Though it is not practical to eliminate all deleterious mutation, the incidence of affected individuals may be significantly reduced through a combination of intelligent breeding practice and the development of DNA tests. Why do we have mutations? Mutations are changes in an organism’s DNA that potentially affect the correct functioning of genes. … Continue reading →

by Jeffrey Bragg From http://www.canine-genetics.com/tide.htm The tide of concern about genetic health continues to swell within the purebred dog fancy, driven on by scrutiny from without. The threat of punitive legislation, already a reality in Europe, is widespread in the USA and the contagion seems certain to reach Canada as well. Conventional screening methods appear to … Continue reading →

C.A. Sharp “Inbreeding was once a valuable tool in shaping today’s breeds. As these have now reached a high degree of homogeneity, it has lost its importance and turned into a fatal and disastrous habit.” Hellmuth Wachtel, PhD Inbreeding (which, for the purposes of this article, includes “linebreeding”) has been the rule in dog breeding … Continue reading →

C.A. Sharp Consider the hypothetical case of Old Blue, Malthound extraordinaire. Blue was perfect: Sound, healthy and smart. On week days he retrieved malt balls from dawn to dusk. On weekends he sparkled in malt field and obedience trials as well as conformation shows, where he baited to–you guessed it–malt balls. Everybody had a good … Continue reading →