Don't we assume the olden Farmer/dog-owner himself was more sturdy and healthy than his modern day counterpart as well?
But he wasn't longer-lived. Rita & Jewel (17 months) Howell, New Jersey --- Mary Shaver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > We know from the old Swiss saying that this was never a long-lived > breed, even in the "old days." That the working dogs of the farm > were > sturdier and perhaps healthier is probably because there were no > "breeding standards" -farmers bred their dogs to other dogs > probably > based more on working ability than on looks - who cared about a > well > marked dog? There were also probably a number of accidental > pregnancies > to who knows who. So there may have been a more diverse gene pool > that > would decrease the possibility of doubling up on genetic defects. > > Things have changed so much from that time, its no wonder there are > problems. In fact, who today would sanction the outcross to the > Newfy > that was done in the 1940's, presumably to restore vigor to the > breed, > which was failing even back then. > > I am no breeder and don't claim to understand all the subtleties > that go > into making breeding decisions. It just makes sense, however, that > the > genetic problems that all purebred dogs face is the result of > controls > we have placed on breeding. I also don't claim to have answers to > our > problems. Hopefully, our responsible breeders are doing their best > to > breed healthy dogs. But there is no short term fix. Perhaps in > another > 20 years or so, we will have conquered some of the genetic > problems... > > Mary Shaver > > > ===== Support anti-Spam legislation. Join the fight http://www.cauce.org/ __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
