Genetic Problems In A Cross Breed Dog.?
Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at
3:14 pm
I just watched Pedigree Dogs Exposed on BBC. I didn’t realise King Charles Cavaliers had so many genetic health problems.
My dog is half Cavalier and I was wondering if she is likely to suffer from any of them?
She has epilepsy but I’m not sure if that’s due to genetics.
Her father is a collie cross, not sure if that’s important.
Tagged with: Breed • Cross • Dog. • Genetic • Problems
Filed under: Dog Health Problem
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Much of what you saw on that program was just trumped up animal rights nazi’s propaganda. If there’s nothing wrong with your dog now, there’s little chance she is going to suddenly develop defective genes. Don’t let the extremists scare you.
I watched the programme too, and was disgusted with the attitude of the Kennel club, and Cavalier breeders. Absolutely shameful!!!
I have a good friend who recently bought a Cavalier puppy, and they have noticed strange behaviour, and she says the pup has “funny turns”
I have printed this link out for him to have a look at, as it’s likely his puppy is also affected.http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/health/…
If the parent of your “little girl” is affected, it could explain her epilepsy, as it doesn’t really matter if her other parent isn’t a Cavalier, it won’t stop her being affected with the “bad” gene.
Have a look at the link, and compare symptoms. If your little dog shows other symptoms of the disease. have a vet look her over.At least YOU can be safe in the knowledge that you won’t be passing this genetic fault onto further generations. Good luck.
Edit… I am amazed at the attitude of some of the answerers. My friend had to have her last Cavalier put down, because it suffered from severe epilepsy, and had trouble standing, and co-ordination. It is highly likely, from watching this disturbing programme, that it was suffering from Syringomyelia, only the irresponsible breeders “forgot ” to mention it. My friend has bought her NEW puppy from the SAME breeder, who has probably used the same breeding pair. Breeders should be FORCED to have their breeding dogs tested, and should be stopped from selling puppies from affected animals.Shows like Crufts should also be shut down, as it promotes this awful “gene perfecting” Disgusting!!!
Another edit…….Pawprint……..
As much as I agree with you about “backstreet breeders” It’s ACTUALLY the proper breeders who are selling sick puppies, and interbreeding. The puppy my friend recently bought was from a “respectable” breeder, as was her first dog.My friends puppy is from Crufts winning stock, and she paid £700-00 for her latest puppy. NOT a back street breeder.
I’m sorry, but I disagree with chalice, vetinary nurse or not!!!
My Sister has a Black husband, his family have a history of sickle cell anaemia. My Sister, (like me) is half German, and half Irish. 1 out of 3 of my Sister’s children suffer from Sickle cell anaemia, INHERITED from the child’s father. It’s EXACTLY the same for dogs. Just because one of the parents is a mixed breed, doesn’t mean those bad genes won’t be passed down!!!
If she’s half Cavalier, she’s still at risk, but not as much as if she was a purebred.
If you’re really concerned, there are DNA tests for certain diseases, and maybe you could ask your vet about it. You should probably do a little research on those health problems, so later on, if she does have/get something, you can catch it early. You probably don’t need to be an expert in all Cavalier/collie ailments, but a little knowledge never hurt anyone, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
In my opinion, it’s helpful to research a breed and its genetic issues before you get a dog, just to know what to look out for.
Actually – most dogs that are halfbreeds, cross breeds, or mutts actually have fewer genetic problems.
Purebred dogs are, to some extent, very inbred. So, problems that are common to the breed just get worse and worse generation after generation.
When a dog is mixed with another breed, it has a chance that it won’t “display” those genetic flaws (instead it’d just be a carrier or have that in its dna). It’s kind of like if your mom had blue eyes and your dad had brown eyes. If you end up with blue eyes, you still have brown eyes in your DNA, it’s just not showing. Same thing vice versa.
Whether your individual dog is more or less likely to have any one condition is hard to say… but it is better that she’s not all one breed.
Hiya, I just watched it to, its awfull I felt sorry for the pugs aswell, I would say after watching that your dog might have a genetic fault- as the program did say out of 10,000 dogs only 50 have no genetic faults! But saying that hopefully its not genetics as her fathers a cross.But who’s to say he wasn’t inbreed? I have a doberman and he has a small growth- bin wondering the same thing but what can you do? Have her screened that’s all the advice i cld give you,hope this helps x
If your worried about your dog, Mayb get her checked out.
But because she is crossed. There is a chance that she doesnt have the genetic health problem.
But i have to say, Your dog has epilepsy, and fits like the boxers did on that program. Being honest, i dont think its fair at all to keep the poor dog alive when its suffering like that.
But thats my personal thought.
But back to your question and knowing your dogs father is cross collie, there is a high chance that your dog doesnt have the gentic problems like the dogs on that program did.
It all depends on if the mother of your dog carried it and had it and back through her breed lines had it.
I watched it too btw
Mixing breeds does reduce the chances of getting many genetic problems but it will not eliminate them completely. There is a very didtinct possibility that the epilepsy is due to genetics.
for more info on at least 1 half of your dog you could look here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalier_Ki…
Epilepsy is present in many different breeds and has a number of different causes – not all epilepsy is inherited. If yours has inherited epilepsy, it could have come from either or neither parent.
This is a statement put out by the Cavalier Club in response to the programme:http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/health/…
Now you know why people on YA tell everyone to buy from a responsible breeder, and to do health testing before breeding their little pets. The people on YA who breed their pets for the heck of it, are those same people who continually produce your breeds with all those health problems. Stop supporting puppy mills and bybing, and leave the breeding to those breeders who are responsible and doing the right thing.
Good old ‘Auntie Beeb’ at her best, scare mongering again.
I’ve had Cavalier King Charles Spaniels for 25 years and never had any problems. They’ve all reached into their early teens, and nearly all died of ‘normal’ age related conditions.
One died of cancer three years ago.
All died of the same things that humans die from – and we don’t make scare mongering programmes about that – or do we?!!
I’ve seen the program too and its something to think about.
Check where you got the puppy from and ask owner of any health problems also take your dog to a vet to have it looked at.
Am glad this program has came on television and to make people aware of the health problems with dogs.
Mixes can have ANY of the health problems that are seen in their breeds.
You dog could display health problems seen in both cavaliers AND collies.
Mixing breeds doesnt automatically remove bad genes.
I to watched this,how sad,maybe you should have your dog checked,I dont know what else you can really do.
The program was mainly about inbreeding with sisters and brothers
She’s far less likely to suffer from any of these. She has a wider gene pool and is unlikely to have come from any line, on either side, that has been ‘properly bred’ i.e. inbred to create a ‘perfect example’ of a dog.
She’s a cross breed basically, a mixture of more than two breeds, and that’s lucky for both of you.
People always argue on here that crossbreeds have just as many of the ‘bad’ genes from all the different breeds as the ‘good’ genes but it doesn’t work like that. Fact of the matter is, cross breeds have longer life expectancies, like into their teens unless they’re giant size.
There’s a reason insurance premiums are ALWAYS less for crossbreeds – they’re far less likely to suffer congenital health problems!!
Chalice
EDIT: Yup, there are people answering this very question who don’t get it, so I’ll reiterate:
Being a crossbreed doesn’t mean you’ve inherited all the likely problems of each breed you’re crossed with. The likelihood is a crossbreed has come from lines that are not ‘show standard’ i.e. inbred.
Your dog does NOT have all the breed problems of cavvies and collies to contend with! Fact of the matter is, your dog has a nice wide gene pool, and the bigger the pool the less likely you are to find problems in. It’s doesn’t go breed A problems + breed B problems + breed C problems. It doesn’t work like that.
And to anyone who disagrees that crossbreeds are generally healthier, answer me this: why ARE insurance premiums so much lower for crossbreeds?
EDIT: Nice link from anwen, v interesting. Bet the BBC are going to get in a fair bit of trouble for that prog, they’ll LOVE it. Prob have to give an official apology – more publicity!! Well, I’d say it’s the Kennel Club’s dodgy standards and they way they’ve been warped by dodgy people that have resulted in a dodgy, if not horrendous, situation for a lot of breeds – including cavvies. I know there are PLENTY of people who wouldn’t hesitate to breed from inappropriate specimens – and that’s just the people who breed on purpose!!