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26-10-2018
Column: Living with Dogs - PEDIGREE, CROSS BREED OR MIXED BREED
Column: Living with Dogs - PEDIGREE, CROSS BREED OR MIXED BREED
SHOW PEDIGREE: Until quite recently the amount of variation in the domestic dog was sufficient to maintain genetic health. Most of this variation lives on today in street dogs and mixed breeds.

Pedigree dogs have lost a further 35 per cent of genetic variation; in some breeds it is difficult to find two parents that are not closely related.

I listen to a proud dog owner telling me how their dog’s sire was a show champion, yet I know there are likely to be thousands of dogs with the same sire.

The current rules for breeding pedigree dogs are causing profound and accelerating harm to their genetic viability. Health and welfare arises as a result of the deliberate selection for exaggerated physical features, such as the short muzzle breeds like the pug/chow/boxer/shih tzu where the skull size is reduced but the amount of soft tissue in the muzzle is not. Some of these dogs require surgery to alleviate breathing difficulties.

There are problems with nearly every breed, too many to list. One hundred years ag

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