Tag archives: Breeding

Nearly everyone espouses the belief that we should produce puppies that better a breed. However, ‘better’ is a subjective term; what it means to one person is completely different than what it means to another. ‘Better’ is something that’s often based in our ultimate goals, the end results of which are sometimes dictated by success in the dog game we play.

What isn’t subjective is sound genetic health. Science seeks objective and discernable answers regardless of the subjective nature of an issue. Genetic screening therefor is the cornerstone of bettering a breed, regardless of the game being played. While we should always strive for proper and acceptable form and function, the perfect dog does not exist – we do the best we can with the sires and dams available to us.

When deciding pairings, we should seek dogs that complement each other in form and function so as to produce consistent puppies. We should also seek to strengthen weaknesses in both parents' conformation by pairing them with a dog that offers a contrast to the flaws in each. With the randomness of how genes combine in all aspects of puppy's physical, mental and psychological attributes, it’s a tough order ...

Paw Print Genetics is setting the industry’s benchmark for customer service, support and communication. We strive to make ourselves readily available - you can contact us by telephone, email or social media. We also give you the best genetic testing you need to breed or buy the healthiest canines possible.

Our user-friendly website is full of valuable information. It is also the epicenter of interactions with Paw Print Genetics. Through it, you can create and manage your account, track the progress of your dog’s sample in the testing process and view your final results.

You can make changes to your dogs at any stage! At Paw Print Genetics, we realize that changes take place – names change (“Puppy One” becomes “Larry”), pups are registered and they may receive microchips before they go to their new homes.

You can change your dog’s information prior to the laboratory receiving the your samples. Just click the edit button found on each of your dogs’ pages. After the lab has received the samples, you can still have information changed. All you have to do is submit a change request through our website and the data will be changed at no cost to you. The change ...

Breeding dogs and producing puppies is no easy task. It’s not a lucrative endeavor, either. The costs associated with breeding can add up quick. Genetic screening of a sire and dam, however, should be a calculated cost of doing business.

Just as going into debt to afford college is considered “good” debt (because it will pay off in the end), genetic screening is a “good” cost that can be recouped and will also pay higher dividends in the end.

As a breeder, genetic screening for inherited diseases helps ensure that you’re producing sound, healthy puppies. It’s a cost that can be passed on to the puppy buyer, and one that underscores your health guarantees. It puts proof in your hands as to your dog’s genetic health, and shows that you’re making breeding decisions and offering guarantees based on the most current scientific data, as well as other goals such as performance or conformation.

The costs associated with genetic testing are minimal compared to the potential damage to your reputation and costs of replacing, refunding or caring for a sick dog that a puppy buyer returns; those costs are easily recovered.

For some breeds, only a single genetic mutation has been ...

Just as with your breeder page in Paw Print Pedigrees, the publicly accessible database of canine test results performed at Paw Print Genetics, your dog page(s) allow you to securely display your dog’s test results. It also lets you to highlight everything about your dog.

While your breeder page allows you to display overview information about your kennel or breeding goals, as well as your website, contact info and dogs, each specific dog page lets you go more in depth about each individual dog.

The dog page starts with the dog’s name and gives you the option of uploading a photo. If your dog is panel tested (meaning it has received all of the known mutations for the breed offered by Paw Print Genetics), a blue panel with a trophy denoting the accomplishment will appear between the name and photo.

Down the left side of the page, the dog’s personal information is listed: call name, registered name, its Paw Print Genetics laboratory number, its registration number, breed, sex, date of birth, microchip number and tattoo identifier.

In the middle of the page appears your name (or the name of the person who tested the dog). If you created a ...

A yearly NFL tradition is about to take place: the draft. Professional football is big business, with big money involved. In 2013, the NFL topped $9 billion in revenue, and commissioner Roger Goodell has a goal of annual revenue surpassing $25 billion by 2027.

Who a team selects with specific draft picks represents an investment of millions of dollars and can affect their on-field success for years to come. A bona fide star can spur a team to victory, packing a stadium, which increases concession sales, parking revenue and more. When merchandising is considered, a $20-million investment in a player can pay off.

Conversely, when a team selects the wrong player, it can cost them dearly. Not only do they miss out on a game- and franchise-changing personality, the investment in time and money the team makes on the wrong player is lost as well. Reaching for and overpaying a player can continue to impact a team years after the player washes out of the league.

When millions of dollars are involved, nothing is left to chance. College players hoping to break into the professional ranks undergo profiling that would make the NSA proud. The dossier a team collects on ...

Since early in canine domestication, humans have been selecting individual dogs with desirable behavioral and physical traits to be founder breeding animals for the hundreds of dog breeds we have today. Early on, the traits selected for were often of great importance for their role as working animals. With time, as the world of dog fanciers took shape, dogs with particular physical traits of aesthetic value began to be the chosen bearers of future generations regardless of their ability to work. Unfortunately however, there are multiple examples of selected physical traits that are significant risk factors for disease.

One important example is a disorder seen in Rhodesian ridgeback (RR) dogs known as a dermoid sinus that has been associated with the characteristic “ridge” trait in the skin overlying the spine. In 2007, a large genetic duplication on canine chromosome 18 was identified as the underlying genetic cause of the ridge in this breed.² Unfortunately, the same genetic duplication responsible for ridge formation has also been found to predispose RRs to formation of dermoid sinuses.^1,2

Dermoid sinuses are tubular to round shaped cavitations in the skin often filled with hair and keratin that are present at birth. It ...

When you’re looking for a new puppy, buy from a breeder that offers a written health guarantee. The guarantee should cover the many aspects of canine health and the recourse taken by both parties in the event of a sick puppy.

But how do you know the guarantee is worth the paper it’s written on?

Here are a few tips to keep in mind the next time you (or a friend) start looking for the breeder that will produce your next puppy: 

• Always get a guarantee in writing. A verbal agreement won’t do any good should you need it.

• The guarantee should stipulate what exactly is covered: are all physical and genetic disorders covered or only specific ones (i.e., hips, eyes and heart)?

• The guarantee should stipulate for how long the dog is covered: two years is the standard length, but they vary by breeder and sometimes upon the condition. This gives the dog time to mature, and its bones, eyes and other organs to form completely. Additionally, many late on-set diseases manifest by this time. 

• The guarantee should stipulate what happens in the event of a sick puppy: does the breeder ...

Many people underestimate the ongoing financial burden of responsible dog ownership when considering a puppy, and instead focus on the upfront price of the dog.

The cost of a well-bred dog will be the least amount of money you ever spend on it. In an AKC survey of more than 1,000 dog owners, one-time costs (crate, neutering, bowls, leash, purchase price) averaged $2,100, while ongoing costs averaged $2,500 per year for items such as food, routine veterinarian care, boarding, treats and training. With the average lifespan of a dog being about 13 years, using these averages, you can expect to spend nearly $35,000 on a dog over the course of its lifetime. Even cutting these estimates in half, you can still expect to invest close to $20,000 in your pet.

The difference in paying for a $50 dog or a $1,000 is, in the long term, a negligible difference. Your upfront costs will always be the least of your financial worries.

That said, you should look for the best puppy you can find. A puppy whose parents were genetically tested prior to breeding and that come with a written health guarantee might cost a ...

Degenerative myelopathy (DM) can be a devastating disease. Some breeds with this disease will lose the ability to walk in their later years – certainly after the age most dogs are bred. The mutation has been found in more than 70 breeds, which indicates that the original mutation might have occurred hundreds or thousands of years before many of the modern dog breeds emerged.

However, the frequency of the mutation varies between breeds and certainly the risk of developing the clinical disease seems quite distinct and breed-specific. For example, the frequency of carriers and homozygous mutation (affected) dogs in the Kerry blue terrier is about 52%(1), while carriers and affected dogs make up 91% of Pembroke Welsh corgis in Japan (2). Although wire fox terriers have a similar combined carrier and at-risk frequency of 90%, none have ever developed the clinical signs of DM (3).

In a 2001 study by Moore et al., German shepherd dogs had nearly twice the risk for death associated with spinal cord diseases, compared with Belgian shepherd dogs among military dogs (4). Although we don’t know for sure if the spinal cord disease was DM, certainly DM is one of the more common causes of this type of disorder ...

Recently the Paw Print Genetics team attended the AKC Canine Health Foundation’s 2013 National Parent Club Canine Health Conference in St. Louis. The conference was held at the Hyatt Regency and consisted of three days of presentations, studies and the future of canine health across many topics.

Presentations and speakers included: “Inherited Cardiomyopathies” by Kathryn Meurs, DVM, PhD of North Carolina State University; “Regenerative Medicine for Soft Tissue Injuries in the Canine” by Sherman O. Canapp Jr., DVM, MS, CCRT of Veterinary Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Group; “Application of Physical Therapy Techniques to Our Canine Patients: The Current Science and Research Opportunities” by Janet B. Van Dyke, DVM, DACVSMR of the Canine Rehabilitation Institute; as well as breakout sessions covering cancer, nutrition/GI/bloat and, of course, genetic testing.

This is a chance for AKC Canine Health Foundation grantees to show how the monies from the organization are being used, to update parent breed clubs on their findings and what they still need to investigate, as well as to receive feedback from the clubs themselves.

While taking a quick break, I ran into Susan LaCroix Hamil, who is on the Board of Directors for both the AKC Canine Health Foundation ...