Isn't that how you get a dog breed?
Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
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Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#22Why not cross different dog breeds to increase total diversity instead of trying to protect what's left?
Some people want a specific breed for generally aesthetic reasons. And some breeds exist almost exclusively for aesthetics (vs working and sporting breeds). Sadly, some working breeds have degenerated to the point they can barely work - GSDs with short rear legs and hip problems come to mind.
Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#23Why not cross different dog breeds to increase total diversity instead of trying to protect what's left?
Because capitalism. People want to buy “pure” dogs which causes this.
Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#24Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#25This is well known. Sometimes people breed the grandfather with the bitch or even the father. I think 'Pedigree certificates' has a lot to answer for in this regard. It doesn't encourage any kind of genetic diversity and people are actively discouraged and punished for trying to introduce new blood into lines. Another group to blame are 'puppy farms', people who breed merely to make money and take no responsibility for the genetic mess they make.
I have a family member that breeds dogs quite seriously - one of their goals is to reintroduce good health traits back into the (working) breeds and undo the awful effects of inbreeding. Sometimes this involves reading the breeders notes from over a hundred years ago and trying to reproduce the same result (it's not easy). Often it seems to be enough to introduce a few closely related healthy breeds and after three or so generations you can get back to something healthier and a good representative of that breed.
There are a few breeds that are in desperate need of serious dedication - namely short-nose breeds (i.e. Pugs, British Bulldogs, etc). Pugs are by far the worse I've encountered in terms of physical health defects, a significant number of Pug puppies are culled early on due to spine defects of breathing issues. Those that end up getting sold are almost guaranteed to end up with breathing issues.
One of the healthier dogs you can own tends to be a mid-sized Mutt (cross-breed). From annecdata, I've found that a Bulldog (typically strong working dogs, dumb but loyal) crossed with something smarter but mid-sized tends to yield good temperament, long-life dogs with average intelligence (which is a good thing [+]).
[+] Generally you want your dog to be smart enough to read your queues and work around you, but not so smart that it's getting bored or trying to figure out how to escape.
Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#26Is there a pair of dog breeds who is so different from each other such that no offspring is possible between them?
Genetically, they should all be able to interbreed, also with wolves and coyotes.
However, there are quite a few breeds that are known to have breeding and birthing problems. Some unable to properly mount each other and breed. Others with hips too small to properly birth and need close to 100% C-section delivery. I can imagine these problems could be exacerbated by attempts to breed with other larger breeds.
Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#27Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#28It's sort of strange that everyone thinks that an aggressive eugenics program for animals is completely normal and morally acceptable (just because it's been going on for a long time).
In my opinion, purchasing a purebred pet is cringeworthy at best.
Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#29Is there a pair of dog breeds who is so different from each other such that no offspring is possible between them?
Yes. The pairing would probably be a male from a bigger breed and a bulldog bitch as the latter often can’t give birth without a C section. So, sans technology, I can imagine there are at least a few pairs where offspring wouldn’t happen.
Re: Study: Most Dog Breeds Highly Inbred
#30Why not cross different dog breeds to increase total diversity instead of trying to protect what's left?
I’m not personally a big fan of “purebreds”, but breed was important to me because I had small children and needed an extremely predictable and fairly easily obtained behavior profile.
Specifically, I wanted a dope of a dog that was a living, breathing stuffed animal but with enough intelligence to be trained on the basics easily.
So I bred my goldendoodle with a bernedoodle and got exactly what I was looking for!
You do get more variation in the litters, which can be a double edged sword. For example, one of the pups ended up being shedding, where non-shedding was a desired and expected trait for me.
Overall, breeding and getting to help deliver and raise a litter was one of the most fun & rewarding activities my family has ever done, and when we get holiday cards every year from all the families that got a pup with those dogs featured, it is just the best feeling.