New tools for managing inbreeding in pedigree dogs

Inbreeding in pedigree dogs has been a hot topic for several years, inciting passionate discussions among media, dog breeders, and scientists. The detrimental effects of inbreeding can have catastrophic consequences for individual dogs and the breed as a whole. While it is accepted that inbreeding is inevitable in closed populations, the rate of inbreeding from one generation to next is influenced by a range of factors. To ensure long-term sustainability of a breeding population we need to ensure the rate of inbreeding is at a set level.

Although efficient methods and tools for managing inbreeding in populations undergoing selection have been developed and successfully implemented in many livestock species, their deployment in dog breeding still pose a challenge due to the vastly different breeding population structures and the different sociological motives and incentives of dog breeders.

This project will:

• Analyse the information collected from breed registrations and mating to derive a systematic review of the structure of the breeding populations in pedigree dog breeds and understand the behaviour of breeders.
• Assess the relationship of individual dogs with the rest of the breed population. Combine this with the available estimates of the effective population size and inbreeding rates to derive a more comprehensive description of the genetic diversity in the breed.

• Develop advisory thresholds for the use of a breeding candidate, based on the developed framework for a given breed and taking into account the genetic relatedness of the candidate to the rest of the breed.