Karlsons Genetic Testing

English bulldogs are no longer a fit healthy dog, and people are now saying that there is no such thing as a healthy bulldog and their poor health and survival is a result from selective breeding. English bulldogs suffer from almost every possible disease. A 2004 survey by the Kennel Club found that these dogs die on average at an unfortunate age of 6.25 years. Over the years the English bulldog’s physical traits have been breed to the extreme. Their faces have become flatter, the legs have shortened, head is larger and the well-known under bite has grown as seen in Fig.1. Although these traits seem to look ‘cute’ or ‘desirable’ to humans it is having a massive effect on the dog. The shortness and shape of the English bulldog today means that

Dogs are known as man’s best friend. Despite lacking the ability to talk, we understand them well. Buddyfruit, also known as “B-Fruit”, is a five-year-old male Pointer with a heart of gold. His family, the Whitfield family, brought him into their home almost three years ago. Cooper is a three-year-old male Golden Retriever with sad eyes and a joyful soul. His family, the Ruiz family, welcomed him into their family roughly a year and a half ago. From physical features, to aspects of personality, to history and background, every individual dog shares similarities and differences.

Humans and dogs have long shared a bond that was based on function. Early dogs that were the least valuable and useful did not make it into today’s time. On the other hand, the most valuable and helpful of dogs remained and created others like them. Ultimately, breed predecessors were produced by breeding the best hunters to the best hunters and the best guards to the best

As puppy mills focus on profits alone, the dogs are often bred with little regard for genetic quality, this generally makes puppies prone to congenital

As anyone who has seen a televised dog show can attest, some dogs are deformed in disturbing ways. One might look at the “excessively wrinkled skin of the Chinese Shar-Pei,” the “the flat face of a bulldog,” or the “low-slung eyelids of a Bloodhound” (PBS), and think, “That can not be healthy.” The fact of the matter is that these deformities are far from healthy. As the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) points out, the Shar-Pei’s skin (due to it’s “excessively wrinkled” nature) is prone to skin infections, the Bloodhound’s droopy eyes are practically magnets for eye infection, and the Bulldog’s face is so squished that it can never breathe correctly. While these deformities may be more obvious, overly large or small pedigree dogs have their own slew of health problems (Rooney and Sargan). As Rooney and Sargan disclose, very small dogs (known as toy breeds) often have dislocated kneecaps, heart problems, and trouble staying warm. Big dogs, such as Great Danes, can suffer from heat prostration and orthopedic issues (Rooney and Sargan). According to Rooney and Sargan, almost every purebred breed of dog is more likely to have at least one genetic disease compared to mixed breeds. However, physical problems are not the only thing purebred dogs have to face: behavioral problems are also more prevalent in certain breeds (Rooney and Sargan). Rooney and Sargan reveal that

For millions of years dogs have remained a constant companion of man. Bred from the aggressive and formidable Gray Wolf tens of thousands of years ago the domestic dog now lives in many homes across the world. Where in the far distant past the domestic dog was bred as a guard animal, a beast of burden, and even a food source the dogs of today are bred for a far more endearing purpose-companionship and love. Finding a pet dog that is more of a joy than a chore is necessary when asking: How much is that puppy in the window?

An earlier study also confirmed that though quite rare, canines also suffered from neurological diseases parallel to human Alzheimer’s and provided and accurate portrayal of their human counterparts in terms of cellular degeneration and areas affected by the disease. (Barsoum, Callahan, Robinson & Chang 2000). This study also notes that the common body sizes and physiology between canines and humans is significant enough to use canines in an attempt to stand in for a human subject. They also list some of the diseases that present in Canines and mimick human forms such as Genetic Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (compared to human seizures), Hereditary Canine Spinal Muscular Atrophy (similar to Human muscle atrophy), Mucopolysaccharidosis and MPS 1 (similar to the human presentation of the same disease).

Although some would have you believe that the prevalence of genetic disorders in these dogs is exaggerated, much evidence points the other way. Some estimates claim up to 25% of dogs registered in the American Kennel Club have some genetic complication. (Lemonick, np.) Since American Kennel Club breed standards only pertain to physical appearance, dogs with unseen problems are allowed to pass on these defects, so long as exteriorly they conform to expectations. Because if this, vast amounts of medical conditions are becoming increasingly common among registered dogs. As the arbiter of purebred dog breeding, the American Kennel Club has a heightened responsibility to help protect the health of the breeds they represent. Despite this, the

For the past couple centuries, dogs have been a large part of human everyday life. We use them as pets, friends, helping hands (paws), etc.; they’ve become an essential part of our lives and we don’t mind that. With a total of 525 million dogs in the world (as of 2012), people have responsibilities of caring for another living creature everywhere. When it comes to picking one of these companions that we know will only be around for a little over a decade (about a tenth of our lives!), people can get very curious about the differences between mixed dog breeds and purebred dogs. While there are quite a number of differences between mixed and purebred, it’s up to dog owners to care accordingly and know what these differences truly mean.

The negative perception of surgically altered dogs can often translate into an animal welfare problem. Because aggression is the primary reason animals are relinquished to shelters, a perception of aggression in surgically altered dogs may then translate into an adoption issue (cite). No one can argue that our society is appearance based, so despite the fact that many pet owners choose a shelter dog based on their personality, shelter dogs that have cropped ears or docked tails may often be overlooked for potential adoption simply because of their

The pug is a brachycephalic breed of dog that has been selectively bred for aesthetic purposes, the highly desirable double curl tail is a genetic defect and in more serious forms leads to paralysis. Which means that the personal health issues for the breed is the first biological implication.They do however have a fairly long lifespan, averaging between 12 and 15 years, yet due to the fact that they have been bred for extremes, many health issues are known to be associated with the breed – as so some genetic disorders. Eye problem such as entropion, corneas and prolapse can affect these selectively bred dogs. They are also highly prone to being affected by hip dysplasia. Demodectic mange, necrotizing meningoencephalitis, hemivertebrae and breathing issues are other problems that have been known to affect the breed. Genetic disorders can include degenerative

“A dogs sense of smell sometimes out perform X-Rays and CT scans at detecting cancers at an early stage by simply smelling a persons breath or urine.” Everyone is able to breed a dog to function in many different ways and for many different reasons. Mow explains how this is possible through his short movie Science of dogs. “Because of intensive selective breeding by cross breeding different breeds for different distinctive types of physical appearances and behavioral attributes; you will soon create the dog you were looking for and it will also have a consistency of creating the same breed of dog by creating a new genetic code in the dogs DNA”. For example there is one breed of dog that has the best sense of smell in the entire world and they were created for one job and one job only. Klim Sulimov explains what dog this is and how it was formed on the Science of Dogs, “The Sulimov dog has the best sense of smell in the whole entire world, and they were successfully created to identify explosives, he bred a Jackal with a Lapland Herding Hound, a Reindeer Herding Hound, a Fox Terrier, and a Spitz. Creating a dog that is highly trainable dog and a superior snout”. All these hybrid breeds are so successful because of how the dogs DNA is formed. The discovery of deciphering the dog genome was discovered by the Researchers at the National Institutes of Health on The Science of Dogs “Every piece of DNA is made up of four different chemical components

Dog breeding is dangerous because to make a perfect dog they too often inbreed and cause birth defects and other health issues in dogs. Terry Allen, an “In These Times” senior editor who has written the magazine’s monthly investigative health and science column since 2006, argues in “We’re Breeding Dogs to Death” that “neither price, pedigree nor being loved like a member of the family can shield a dog from the pain, breathing difficulties, cancer, panoply of debilitating genetic disorders, mental illness, crippling physiognomy and shortened life span that disproportionately plague purebreds.” The article “Selective Breeding or Artificial Selection” explains that in dogs, the “frequency of being homozygous for rare recessive disorders increases when inbreeding occurs, potentially causing severe

Breed specific legislation is one solution to the current dog-bite epidemic, that as of 2006, the Center for Disease Control reports more than 350,000 dog-bite victims each year that are serious enough to seek medical attention (Hussain). Dog bites have become such a problem that they have climbed to the number two cause for non-fatal injuries. A current attempt to control this problem is the

Pets can fill a void in an owner’s life, by allowing them to nurture something and receive a sense of satisfaction. Socially pets have become so much a part of our daily lives that they are often treated as if they were children, some lucky pets even attend daily play sessions, and are treated to extreme indulgence; all to make their owner feel as if they were an infant or a child. Blind owners rely on their seeing eye dogs to guide them around wherever they go; they are trained to guide them past and around obstacles. The National Institute of Health states, “More than half of all U.S. households have a companion animal. Pets are more common in households with children, yet there are more pets than children in American households. There are more than 51 million dogs, 56 million cats, 45 million birds, 75 million small mammals and reptiles, and uncounted millions of aquarium fish” (np). Many movie stars and rich and famous people have begun using pets as a status symbol. Millions of dollars are spent finding the perfect and most valuable pet even to the extent that the original breed of animal has become unrecognizable or even extinct. This need for high status and perfection has resulted in safety risks to both pets and the people they live with. Inbreeding and tampering with cross genes in animals often result in an animal of inferior security and emotional stability, thus resulting in an aggressive and violent temperament. In an attempt to