Dad & Daughter!

[Shasha]

Hi
Can i have your opinions on breeding dad and daughter? Have had some conflicting answers over here in the UK. Is it ok to breed them?
Thanks

[AMD]

Only if you want to bring out all the faults.

[Shasha]

Dad is perfect,no faults whatsoever, and mum is great,though has dropt ears?

[chachi]

Originally Posted by Shasha

Dad is perfect,no faults whatsoever, and mum is great,though has dropt ears?

the floppy ears are a fault

[maggiesmom_2007]

PROS AND CONS OF INBREEDING

Copyright 1996, Sarah Hartwell

Adapted, with permission, from Cat Recourse Archive and edited by Dog Breed Info.

Inbreeding is the mating together of closely related dogs, for example mother/son, father/daughter and sibling/sibling matings. For breeders, it is a useful way of fixing traits in a breed - the pedigrees of some exhibition dogs show that many of their forebears are closely related. For example, there is a famous cat by the name of Fan Tee Cee (shown in the 1960s and 1970s) appeared in more and more Siamese pedigrees, sometimes several times in a single pedigree, as breeders were anxious to make their lines more typey. Superb specimens are always much sought after for stud services or offspring (unless they have already been neutered!) having won the approval of show judges.

However, inbreeding holds potential problems. The limited genepool caused by continued inbreeding means that deleterious genes become widespread and the breed loses vigor. Laboratory animal suppliers depend on this to create uniform strains of animal which are immuno-depressed or breed true for a particular disorder e.g. epilepsy. Such animals are so inbred as to be genetically identical (clones!), a situation normally only seen in identical twins. Similarly, a controlled amount of inbreeding can be used to fix desirable traits in farm livestock e.g. milk yield, lean/fat ratios, rate of growth etc.

NATURAL OCCURRENCE OF INBREEDING

This is not to say that inbreeding does not occur naturally. A wolf pack, which is isolated from other wolf packs, by geographical or other factors, can become very inbred. The effect of any deleterious genes becomes noticeable in later generations as the majority of the offspring inherit these genes. Scientists have discovered that wolfs, even if living in different areas, are genetically very similar. Possibly the desolation of their natural habitat has drastically reduced wolf numbers in the past crating a genetic bottleneck.

In the wolf, the lack of genetic diversity makes them susceptible to disease since they lack the ability to resist certain viruses. Extreme inbreeding affects their reproductive success with small litter sizes and high mortality rates. Some scientists hope that they can developed a more varied gene pool by introducing wolfs from other areas into the inbred wolf packs.


Another animal suffering from the effects of inbreeding is the Giant Panda. As with the wolf, this has led to poor fertility among Pandas and high infant mortality rates. As Panda populations become more isolated from one another (due to humans blocking the routes which Pandas once used to move from one area to another), Pandas have greater difficulty in finding a mate with a different mix of genes and breed less successfully.

In cats natural isolation and inbreeding have given rise to domestic breeds such as the Manx which developed on an island so that the gene for taillessness became widespread despite the problems associated with it. Apart from the odd cat jumping ship on the Isle of Man, there was little outcrossing and the effect of inbreeding is reflected in smaller-than-average litter sizes (geneticists believe that more Manx kittens than previously thought are reabsorbed due to genetic abnormality), stillbirths and spinal abnormalities which diligent breeders have worked so hard to eliminate.

Some feral colonies become highly inbred due to being isolated from other cats (e.g. on a remote farm) or because other potential mates in the area have been neutered, removing them from the gene pool. Most cat workers dealing with ferals have encountered some of the effects of inbreeding. Within such colonies there may be a higher than average occurrence of certain traits. Some are not serious e.g. a predominance of calico pattern cats. Other inherited traits which can be found in greater than average numbers in inbred colonies include polydactyly (the most extreme case reported so far being an American cat with 9 toes on each foot), dwarfism (although dwarf female cats can have problems when try to deliver kittens due to the kittens' head size), other structural deformities or a predisposition to certain inheritable conditions.

[Ladyhawk]

It sounds like you need to do some studying on the different breeding systems. Your male can't be perfect, no dog is. Unless you know the line very well and what recessive genes may be lurking in there I wouldn't dare take the chance. I know of a breeder who bottle necked with 2 studs and ended up with several litters of liver shunt puppies. You don't want to bring heart ache to your pups or to future owners. Do your homework and think about leaving the inbreeding to the pros who have worked with their lines for 20 years or so. It's really not worth the risks.

[sandybobb]

I grew up with a family of horse breeders out west. In that venue it is very acceptable to breed a daughter back to her father. However, the specimins must be perfect as possible... because the inbreed to bring out the good qualities, also doubles up on any faults or recessive genes. Thus, you would need to know and understand your lines - not just the one generation or so back. With yorkies & all the health concerns regarding their health in strong, solid outcrosses; I believe this close inbreeding would not be desirable. Too high of a percentage of creating defects. It would be better to try a cousin or uncle, if you desired to try to set the trait and even that is very close.