There are many different types of inherited retinal degenerative
diseases in purebred dogs, and discussing these are beyond the scope of this article.
Diagnostic lab service and information for genetic
diseases in purebred dogs, parentage testing, DNA profiling, and coat color prediction.
CERF publishes an informative pamphlet, Eliminating Heritable Eye
Disease in Purebred Dogs.
But the cloning of the canine genome in 2005, coupled with the multi-generational pedigrees available in purebred dogs and the close genetic relatedness of dogs within a given breed gave scientists powerful tools to study genetic
disease in purebred dogs.
Linebreeding practices expedite the appearance of recessive
diseases in purebred dog populations.
Not exact matches
Inherited
diseases, for example are a serious problem
in purebred dogs.
It is no wonder that joint
disease is on the rise
in dogs, especially
in the most aggressively vaccinated subset:
purebred dogs.
It's possible you won't have to deal with complications later
in life with
purebred dogs, dealing with higher risks of cancer or tumors, heart
disease, and neurological
diseases.
PRA is an inherited
disease and is most commonly seen
in purebred dogs.
While mutts usually don't have the genetic
diseases that are prevalent
in purebred dogs, they are just as prone to health issues as a
purebred dog is.
A lot of
purebred dogs have special diet requirements: years of selective inbreeding, necessary to achieve the desired «look» of some breeds, have resulted
in terrifically unhealthy
dogs that are prone to a variety of debilitating and painful
diseases.
(PLL - Lens luxation
in the
dog is not limited to
purebred dogs or any one breed even though it is a hereditary eye
disease.
Since these
dogs are not
purebred, they may be able to avoid genetically passed down
diseases that are commonly found
in purebred dogs.
Even though mixed breeds tend to be hardier than
purebred dogs, without knowing what breeds are
in your
dog's makeup, you can't know what
diseases to which he might be genetically predisposed.
Welcome, the AKC Canine Health Foundation was set up
in the mid 1990's
in answer to Time Magazine's article «A Terrible Beauty»
in which they talked about the increasing genetic
disease inherent
in purebred dogs.
If you have heard otherwise consider this - is there a difference between mixed breeds and
purebreds in the rate the
dogs are tested or checked for genetic
disease?
Because it is known that autoimmune
diseases are linked to genetic predispositions
in the MHC — this is yet another reason why potential
dog owners of
purebred dogs should only deal with respected and reputable breeders who are aware of, and employ breeding practices designed to limit genetic disorders.
It is primarily a
disease of
purebreds although it can happen
in mixed breeds, particularly if it is a cross of two
dogs that are prone to developing the
disease.
Her research has focused on
diseases of
purebred and mixed - breed
dogs,
in an effort to develop more breed - specific screening tests and educate breeders, veterinarians, and owners.
Purebred dogs are often predisposed to certain genetic and hereditary
diseases and this has become evident with the stark difference
in appearance between
dogs of the same breeds a hundred years ago as compared to today.
Some speculate the
disease may be genetic, as it presents most commonly
in purebred dogs, particularly larger breeds.
Those for crossbreeding
in this way claim that it will result
in the widening of the gene pool, eradicating or at least reducing inherited illness and
disease found
in a significant number of
purebred dogs.
However, such a return to the wild is not going to happen, and
in spite of assertions that they are healthier than
purebreds, crossbred and mixed breed
dogs are subject to the same
diseases, structural problems, joint dysplasias, allergies, and genetic abnormalities as their blue - blooded cousins.
Blood was collected for DNA extraction from a) privately owned crd3 - affected and non-affected
purebred GIT
dogs; b) mixed breed
dogs derived from GIT founders and maintained as a study colony as part of an NIH - sponsored project (EY006855) at the Retinal
Disease Studies Facility (RDSF)
in Kennett Square, PA; and c) from 80 privately owned pedigreed
dogs from breeds not known to segregate crd3 (Table 1).
In the same way that inbreeding among human populations can increase the frequency of normally rare genes that cause
diseases, the selective breeding that created the hundreds of modern
dog breeds has put
purebred dogs at risk for a large number of health problems, affecting both body and behavior.
The reasons given for a reduction
in breeding are legion: There are too many homeless
dogs dying
in shelters,
purebred dogs have too many structural faults,
purebred dogs have too many genetic
diseases, even well - bred
purebred puppies take homes from shelter
dogs, generic
dogs are healthier than
purebreds because they have «hybrid vigor,» man should not manipulate
dogs for his own purposes, etc..
While some purpose - bred guide, service, or ranch
dogs may be immune to infertility
disease as a result of less exposure to the general population, the crashing fertility rate
in quality
purebreds can not be ignored.
Like many
purebred dogs, Great Danes are genetically predisposed to certain health conditions,
in addition to common canine ailments like hip dysplasia, eye
diseases, allergies, and skin irritations.
If you have a
purebred dog, ask your veterinarian about genetic testing for any
diseases that run
in your breed.
EARLY THYROID
DISEASE (THYROIDITIS) COMPENSATORY AND CLINICAL CANINE HYPOTHYROIDISM Most of the confusion about the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease in purebred or mixed breed dogs today stems from the expectation that affected animals must show clinical signs of inadequate thyroid hormonal production (i.e. hypothyroidism) in order to have the d
DISEASE (THYROIDITIS) COMPENSATORY AND CLINICAL CANINE HYPOTHYROIDISM Most of the confusion about the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid
disease in purebred or mixed breed dogs today stems from the expectation that affected animals must show clinical signs of inadequate thyroid hormonal production (i.e. hypothyroidism) in order to have the d
disease in purebred or mixed breed
dogs today stems from the expectation that affected animals must show clinical signs of inadequate thyroid hormonal production (i.e. hypothyroidism)
in order to have the
diseasedisease.
If we disqualified all of the
dogs with the slightest elbow issue, we would lose 31 % of the breeding population
in every generation, compounding a genepool problem that is historically present
in purebred dogs, and far more dangerous to the
dogs than any heritable
disease.
For each disorder, healthy controls seen at the hospital during that same time period were matched for age, weight, and sex to each affected
dog to determine risk of
disease presentation
in the
purebred group as compared to that of the mixed - breed population.
The present study illustrated that certain subpopulations of the
purebred dog population were more likely to display certain conditions while other subpopulations were not statistically different than mixed - breed
dogs in terms of
disease prevalence.
This study suggests that subpopulations of the
purebred dog population are more likely to exhibit certain inherited conditions while other subpopulations do not differ statistically from mixed - breed
dogs in terms of how common these
diseases are.
The inherited conditions of aortic stenosis (a narrowing above the aortic heart valve or the aortic valve itself), atopy / allergic dermatitis (skin allergies), gastric dilatation volvulus (bloat / stomach dilation), early onset cataracts (a clouding of the lens inside the eye), dilated cardiomyopathy (enlargement of the chambers of the heart and thinning of the muscle wall), elbow dysplasia (abnormal growth of tissues that leads to malformation and degeneration of the joint), epilepsy (brain seizures), hypothyroidism (underactive production of thyroid hormones), intervertebral disk
disease (problems with the disks between the vertebrae of the spine leading to neurological problems), and hepatic portosystemic shunt (an abnormal blood circulation where blood is diverted around the liver rather than into it) are more prevalent
in purebred dogs than
in mixed - breed.
We recently have reported that for 13 inherited disorders, there were no statistically detectable differences
in risk of
disease presentation between the
purebred and mixed - breed
dog populations and one condition was more prevalent
in mixed - breeds [6].
For ten other inherited conditions, the
purebred dog population had greater prevalence than that seen
in mixed - breeds: aortic stenosis, atopy / allergic dermatitis, gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV), early onset cataracts, dilated cardiomyopathy, elbow dysplasia, epilepsy, hypothyroidism, intervertebral disk
disease (IVDD), and portosystemic shunt.