Archives for April 21, 2014

In the world of human genetics, stories related to hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes have recently made quite a splash in the media.  For example, actress Angelina Jolie made a very public decision to have a double mastectomy in order to reduce her breast cancer risk.  There are other popular stories as well.  Although hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes are not as common in the canine population as they are in the human population, knowing a little information about these genetic conditions and how they work may impact breeding practices. 

What exactly is a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome?  Those are a lot of complicated words.  Let’s dissect that phrase: 

                  Hereditary – inherited, genetic, passed from parent to offspring. 

                  Cancer – uncontrolled invasive abnormal cell growth. 

                  Predisposition – tendency towards or gravitation to. 

                  Syndrome – a group of symptoms with a single cause.

A hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome gives the affected individual a tendency to develop cancer.  Cancer, for the most part, is multifactorial.  That means there are genetic and environmental influences.  However, hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes have a much greater genetic influence than environmental influence ...

One of the most intimidating dogs, the Doberman is also one of the most intelligent. Created in the 1890s as a guard dog, the Doberman has a storied history as protector but is now considered a great family and companion dog in addition to being one of the best guard dogs.

Developed by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann in Germany, Dobermans were created to protect their owner. Dobermann himself was a tax collector who also ran the town’s dog pound. His access to dogs allowed him to mix and match various breeds to create a dog that was intimidating and aggressive enough to fight off bandits and others that would seek to harm the money-carrying tax man. It’s believed that he used German shepherd, Weimaraner, German shorthaired pointer, Manchester terrier, Great Dane, German pinscher and greyhound, among others. 

The result was an intelligent dog with enough trainability to keep it under control, yet a dog that would aggressively protect its owner on command. It maintained these traits, as well as being athletic, strong, fast, loyal and ferocious, and has been employed as a war dog, police dog and personal protection dog. 

Like many breeds, the war and post-war eras ...