Thanks for the post, I am so glad that this documentary is being discussed here. Here we can to our part to turn the tide of opinion against inbreeding were it counts, among those who love and breed purebreeds or any dog.
Fifteen years or so ago, my family had our collective hearts broken by a purebred. It was a purebred boxer from generations of championship lines. Looking at his lineage chart is how I discovered line breeding to "set the breed". Our poor (or should I say puredog) dog was beset by allergies his entire life and he was barely ten when we had to put him down because he was crippled from a chronic, uncurable, degenerative disease of the spine. His gait became like the gait of the German Shepards in the documentary. I do believe it comes from breeding for a certain topline. It eventually leads to a totally paralyzed and suffering dog. The kids grew up with him we all loved him, losing him was like losing one of the family and made me very wary of purebreds. We all learn in basic Biology that inbreeding is limiting the gene pool which statistical increases the possibility of genetic based disease in ANY creature.
I now have two dogs, one is a mix between a westie and a maltese. The other is her son, from an accidental breeding with a purebred yorkie named Baxter I rescued from an abusive home. Baxter is how I came to join this forum. I would have kept dad too but Hubby insisted that we had to reduce the number of canines in the house, so I let my cousin, who positively loves dogs, have Baxter.
Sammy, their son, looks like a teapot Yorkie, I even have to tell the groomers he is not a big Yorkie (with floppy ears). Both are truly wonderful dogs and very healthy. Neither of them (so far) have any of the inherited maladies know to any of the three breeds they are mixed from and I hope they never will. Sam's father had slipping kneecaps, but Sam does not. I am glad of the designer "breed" movement, not because I believe in a name or think these are breeds at all, but because it is away to increase the gene pool for purebreds. Izzy is considered a "Highland Malty" to me she is just my Izzy and I do not care what she is.
After saying ALL of that, let me be clear I love the Yorkie and if my Dear Husband would let me I would have three dogs (I am working on him about that) the last would be a Yorkie! However, I would ask my breeder about the health of the lines the dog comes from, I would ask to see the lineage chart to check for inbreeding.
Let me also express my gratitude to responsible breeders, after just one liter, I see what they go through to breed these dogs we love and my hat is off to them that do it right! Izzy was immediately spayed and Sammy will also never be bred! Baxter is an example of a badly bred Yorkie, in no way does he approach the breed standard. The original owners purchased him from a slimy pet shop that buys puppy mill pups (I know the shop). That shop is a perfect argument for responsible breeding practices. Now we need to convince those that bred that inbreeding is a practice that is detrimental to the breed. Those who bred and those how buy must decide collectively that the health of these dogs is a paramount issue that must take precedent over appearance. That has got to be a part of our responsibility as dog owners and lovers. |