The “Pet Care” column, as the name suggests, involves itself in all those areas which impact on the health and well-being of our companion animals. Inbreeding/ Incest relative to animals, unless it is carried out under strict supervision and involving much scientific approaches, usually would result in deleterious effects on the future offspring and generations. I suppose that it is for this reason that all religious tomes and beliefs shun any practice of close relatives mating and producing progeny which usually exhibit serious defects and ailments.
We will therefore today commence with a whole new chapter in our discussions on the well-being of our companion animals, as it relates to breeding.
Sex and reproduction in our dogs and cats (the pets people mostly keep) would have been manipulated since the day man decided that he wanted to promote specific traits in the animals he had desired to share his home with. This manipulation of the reproduction system in order to derive specific characteristics in the offspring is a simple definition of breeding.
The wild ancestors of dogs lived their social lives in packs. Humankind took these animals and made them into beings which share our households, and which cannot even greet and get along well with other members of their species anymore. This is especially true if a dog lives in a house with friendly humans and is isolated from members of his species. Some dog owners argue forcefully that their dogs actually believe that they are humans. It is not a seldom occurrence that dogs firmly attach themselves to their owners and form less lasting bonds with other dogs.
Breeders have been able to rearrange the reproductive system in such a way that dogs reach the age of puberty and maturity very early in life (less than a year in most cases). We have selectively bred dogs to be small (e.g., the Chihuahua) or large (the St. Bernard, Great Dane, and Irish Wolfhound), to be guard dogs, hunting dogs or lap dogs. We have bred them to have “smashed-in” faces (e.g., Pekinese) or long jaws (e.g., the Doberman).
Be that as it may, if you must get into the business of breeding, you should not do so willy-nilly. Breeding is a serious business, and you must be quite sure in your own minds what it is that you wish to achieve. If it is a pure breed you want, then you must start with a pure breed stud dog and bitch. Anything else is a mixed breed (a mongrel). So often we see advertisements that state the seller has pure breed German Shepherd/ Doberman dogs for sale. Well, once two different breeds are involved in the mating exercise, then the offspring would be nothing else than mixed breeds.
The object of any breeding programme is to preserve the essential qualities and physical attributes of that specific breed. Consequently, a thorough understanding of the breed standard is a fundamental requirement. But I will hasten to add that, beyond the knowledge of breed standards, there is a little something extra, an elusive special sense (almost an extra-sensory perception) which allows some good breeders to have an unerring eye which allows them to have one breeding success after another. This is especially true in breeding racehorses. Generally speaking, however, genuine breeder must work diligently to acquire – over years of trial and error – the proficiency of a true breeder of dogs. Breeders have to research the animals’ bloodlines (the heritage or pedigree), and they be knowledgeable about the required standards of the breed. Breeders should visit kennels several times to carefully select the required breeding stock, and so on.
It is always advisable to take along a tested and proven breeder when going to select your base stock. It would not harm to ask your vet to accompany you. Also, one should have the good sense to breed the ‘whole’ dog and not put emphasis on any one single attribute. It makes no sense to choose a dog which has a beautiful face (according to the breed standard), but which has awfully skinny legs and a hunched back. Also, it may be good to keep in mind that two beautiful dogs must not necessarily produce a show-winning offspring. Genetics works in mysterious ways. It is not a singular occurrence for a “carthorse” to win great races on the track.
We shall continue with this interesting theme next week.
