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Originally Posted by gemy  Phil one more question for you: I have heard that with designer breeds, it is difficult to develop genetic tests for, and if done, there are not the same degree of reliability with? Do you know if this is an accurate statement or not? And if it is on what basis is it so difficult to develop genetic tests for designer breeds.
Is their a quick mathematical formulae, that can be constructed that would take say the stats of diseases that the offa records by breed type - let us say the Yorkshire Terrier and the Maltese and develop what would be the risk of a disease when you cross a YT with a Maltese?
Say as the offa shows YT as the number 2 breed for LP at I think 46% and off hand I am not sure with the Maltese at IDK say 30% is there a way to project what the cross is at risk for?
This is important I feel if scientifically there is some reliable way to offset the highly touted *fact* that designer breeds are healthier than most purebreds etc etc. |
With respect to genetic testing of designer breeds, I'm going to speculate that the reason that it is difficult to design tests for them is because they are not a pure breed--they are a cross between two other breeds. Therefore, you'd have to have a test that works for both breeds that make up the designer breed. Let's use Labradoodles as an example, which are a cross between a Labrador and a Poodle. If you have test that works in a Labrador and not a Poodle, you might be out of luck testing a Labradoodle.
The answer to your second question about taking the risks of a disease in two separate breeds to mathematically determine the risk of disease in the hybrid is definitely no. There are far too many unknown interactions that would occur between the genes in the two separate breeds once they are brought together in the hybrid to make a simple determination. Maybe someday when all of the genomes of the different breeds are sequenced, they will come up with a complex formula to figure it out, but I bet it will take a supercomputer to do the math.
You are right, it's definitely
not a "fact" that designer dogs are healthier than the individual breeds. This is a generalization based on outdated concepts of hybrid vigor, and it does not take into account the interactions between the genes of the breeds going into the cross. Designer breeds are like a box of chocolates--you never know what you'll get
.