CANINE GENETICS

The internet's first information on canine phenotype, genotype, DNA, and the importance of dietary and environmental influences when performing health tests and genetic screenings.

OUR FUTURE IN DOGS

Vickie Haywood, Dog Sports Editor, SAAB Member

Have you thought about what the future may hold for dog breeders, dog shows, canine health, genetics, and how we use things like DNA, computers, and science?

I am not known to be a deep thinker, although I have some "not normal" beliefs, probably because my father was involved in science technology with the Navy. He worked on a sonar project in the 1950's and believed we would one day harness magnetic energy. He was right!

With the advanced technology of DNA mapping and animals that can replace their own body parts (like sharks making extra teeth and lizards that re-grow tails) the future also holds the possibility of re-growing human organs and limbs. They have already made great strides in mice.

The future is here already, like those individual food tubes like they make for the astronauts. The space program also gave us TANG and space blankets and the government gave us MRE (for the non-military, that’s "meals ready to eat"). Now you can buy MREs online from the same companies that supply the military. Wonderful things to have around when the power goes out.

So, what is the future on dog breeding and dog shows?

Actually, what about acreage for dog breeders and livestock producers? When I was young farmers milked cows by hand, then along came automatic milkers but the price of milk keeps going up. In the not-so-distant future we may have no room for cows and no real meat or milk.

Who cares??! We can access all kinds of genetic information, it makes record keeping easier, and connects us to our counterparts half a world away. I can "talk" to friends in Iraq, England, Australia, or anywhere there is a computer. I can and do share dog pictures all over the world!

When I first started showing dogs, entry fees were a mere $6, now over $30. My scissors were $15 and now they are over $200 and I’ve closed my grooming shop.

Will we still have real dog shows or will they be replaced by online videos? The world of computers has opened a whole new vista for us doggy folks. I remember when I used to cover dog shows for www.TheDogPress.com. I miss seeing friends who have retired or passed on.

Do you recognize these people from when I covered the Westminster Kennel Club in 2007?? (Handler, Bill McFadden, "Harry" the Dandy Dinmont Terrier, Co-owner, Jean Heath and Barbara Andrews)

Years ago, we researched 3 generations of paper pedigrees before doing a breeding. Now we research online, do DNA testing, consult with the reproduction specialist veterinarian and get frozen or fresh-chilled semen to inseminate a bitch.

See me smile. When I was a kid, the mommy dog had puppies in the barn and we left them alone until they started eating her food, which she regurgitated for them. Dogs only got rabies shots and never seemed to get sick. Maybe it was all the table scraps and raw meaty bones from butchering. "Ya think?" Fresh veggies from the garden and raw cow’s milk and our dogs (and us) were always healthy.

I have a 20-year old cat that has never lived in the house and has fed herself all her life. The only shot she had was when she was spayed. She leaves her "catch of the day" where we can see it and praise her worthiness. She has all her teeth and a nice coat. She sleeps in the hay under half a barrel. She likes her home.

So if the future is a little scary, just take a look back at where we have been and where we are going, and maybe the old ways were not so bad after all. Nah, I think I like the old way, watching mom push out a pretty pup and holding it in my hands. Then helping it to grow up and grow old and coming full circle from all the dogs behind it.

That's just the way I see it from the other side of the fence!

TheDogPlace.org EST 1998 © Mar 2023 https://www.thedogplace.org/Genetics/our-future-in-dogs-v23H033.asp

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