Optimal Selection Genetic Breeding Analysis: A new genetic breeding tool on the horizon.

Abstract

Many breeders face difficult decisions when choosing potential breedings. You have many things to consider in terms of health, physical, and behavioral traits in your quest to produce the best possible puppies. While you can consider what a dog looks like and acts like, and even what their relatives are like, you may still have some concerns about potential health issues that could arise based on your breed and family history. Certainly there are genetic mutations that have been identified for some diseases in particular breeds; however, there are still many unknowns that remain making your breeding decisions still very difficult. Thankfully, recent advances in veterinary genetics have expanded our ability to look at the DNA of breeding dogs and provide you with a better understanding of the specific chromosomal patterns (haplotypes) your dogs carry, allowing you to use that information in your breeding decisions and work to maximize the genetic diversity or heterozygosity in your puppies.