The pointing Labrador is just one of many exceptional dog breeds. Versatile in their ability to point, flush and retrieve, pointing Labradors may be the perfect hunting companion. How a specific dog breed has so many desirable characteristics is not a mystery. All domesticated dogs were bred for specific behavioral or physical traits that were required for certain jobs – whether it was for chasing and catching varmints, retrieving the evening’s dinner, or bringing in the herd, dogs are the perfect species for a variety of tasks.
All of these traits, behavioral and physical, have a genetic component and are determined by an accumulation of genes with modifications, or mutations, that result in some outcome. Whether the traits are pointing, coat color or skull structure, humans chose founding stock to create the various breeds and bred these dogs for the traits they desired. However, undesirable, even harmful genetic mutations were carried along in these breeds. The most ancient mutations can be found in many breeds of dogs, whereas those mutations that arose more recently maybe found in only one or two breeds.
With the advent of molecular genetic technologies and the sequencing of the domestic dog (Canis ...