aussie-talk

Genetic Diversity and Popular Sire Syndrome

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:53:32 +0100

We are always doing research here at my home. Trying to learn and do things properly for our breeding program and the betterment of our breed. It's an ongoing process one we will be doing forever.

I was recently researching what the top Reproductive Specialists are currently saying about breeding frequency. I am currently studying the work done by both Dr. Hutchison and Dr. Threlfall at Ohio State University.

Through my research, I discovered an excellent article written by Jerold S. Bell, DVM (A Clinical Associate Professor of Genetics Department of Clinical SciencesTufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine).

His study regarding Genetic Diversity and over use of the stud dog, he calls Popular Sire Syndrome. A different topic than what I had been researching, but I found his aritcle so important that I felt the need to share it with you.

I think if you are a breeder you must read this article. Pay attention to the gene pool and NEVER over use your male dogs particularly in a small breed such as the Australian Terrier.

If you are looking for a puppy, you need to ask the breeder how many litters and puppies has their dog sired and in what time frame. Make sure you get a copy of the pedigree and have the breeder explain it to you, so you have an understanding of the genetics behind your puppy.

Here is the article, reproduced with permission from Dr. Bell.

Small Population Breeds and Issues of Genetic Diversity

Jerold S Bell DVM, Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

(This article was originally published in the March 2007 AKC Perspectives’ Delegates Newsletter.)

Issues of genetic diversity are a concern to dog breeders, and this can especially be so for breeds with small populations. The concern is whether there is enough genetic variation within a breed’s gene pool to maintain health and vitality. Breeders should be concerned about genetic diversity, because there are examples where damage has been done to a breed due to breeding practices. Restriction of genetic diversity can also occur in large population breeds.

All genes come in pairs: one from the sire and one from the dam. Each gene in the pair is called an allele. If both alleles in a pair are of the same type, the gene pair is homozygous. If the two alleles are different, the gene pair is heterozygous. While each dog can have a maximum of two different alleles at a gene pair, many different alleles are potentially available to be part of the gene pair. The greater the number of alleles that are available at each gene pair (called genetic polymorphism), the greater the genetic diversity of the breed.

If there is no breed diversity in a gene pair, but the particular homozygous gene that is present is not detrimental, there is no negative effect on breed health. The characteristics that make a breed reproduce true to its standard are, in fact, based on nonvariable (that is, homozygous) gene pairs.

The origins of breeds have a lot to do with genetic diversity. A breed established with a working phenotype tends to have diverse founder origins, and significant diversity. Even with substantial population bottlenecks, the breed can maintain considerable amounts of genetic diversity. This was shown in a molecular genetic study of the Chinook breed, which was reduced to 11 modern founders in 1981. Breeds established by inbreeding on a limited number of related founder individuals could have reduced diversity. Many breeds have also gone through diversity reducing bottlenecks; such as occurred during World War II. For most of these breeds, their gene pools have expanded through breeding for many generations, resulting in a stable population of healthy dogs.

There are two factors that must be considered when evaluating genetic diversity and health issues in a breed; the average level of inbreeding, and detrimental recessive genes. With a small population, there is a tendency to find higher average inbreeding coefficients due to the relatedness between dogs from common ancestors. There is, however, no specific level or percentage of inbreeding that causes impaired health or vigor. The problems that inbreeding depression cause in purebred populations stem from the effects of deleterious recessive genes. If the founding population of a breed produces a high frequency of a deleterious recessive gene, then the breed will have issues with that disorder. This can be seen as smaller litter size, increased neonatal death, high frequency genetic disease, or impaired immunity. If these issues are present then the breed needs to seriously consider limited genetic diversity.

The issue of high average inbreeding coefficients is one that all breeds go through during their foundation. As the population increases and the average relatedness of dogs goes down (based on a fixed number of generations), the average inbreeding coefficient for the breed will go down. The effect of initially higher inbreeding coefficients in small population breeds will depend on the presence of deleterious recessive genes that will be expressed when homozygous.

Some breeders discourage linebreeding and promote outbreeding in an attempt to protect genetic diversity in their breed. It is not the type of matings utilized (linebreeding or outbreeding) that causes the loss of genes from a breed gene pool. Rather, loss of genes occurs through selection: the use and non-use of offspring. If a breed starts narrowing their focus to breeding stock from a limited number of lines, then a loss of genetic diversity will occur.

The process of maintaining healthy lines, with many breeders crossing between lines and breeding back as they see fit, maintains diversity in the gene pool. If some breeders outbreed, and some linebreed to certain dogs that they favor while others linebreed to other dogs that they favor, then breedwide genetic diversity is maintained. It is the varied opinion of breeders as to what constitutes the ideal dog, and their selection of breeding stock based on their opinions, that maintains breed diversity.

The most important factor for diminished genetic diversity in dog breeds is the popular sire syndrome. The overuse of a popular sire beyond a reasonable contribution through frequent breedings significantly skews the gene pool in his direction, and reduces the diversity of the gene pool. Any genes that he possesses - whether positive or negative - will increase in frequency. Through this founder’s effect, breed-related genetic disease can occur. Another insidious effect of the popular sire syndrome is the loss of genetic contribution from quality, unrelated males who are not used for breeding. There is a finite number of quality bitches bred each year. If one male is used in an inordinate amount of matings, there will be fewer females left for these quality males that should be contributing to the gene pool. The popular sire syndrome is a significant factor in both populous breeds and breeds with small populations.

The best methods for ensuring the health and diversity of any breed’s gene pool are to: 1) Avoid the popular sire syndrome. 2) Utilize quality dogs from the breadth of your population to expand the gene pool. 3) Monitor genetic health issues through regular health surveys. 4) Do genetic testing for breed-related disorders. 5) Participate in open health registries, such as CHIC (www.caninehealthinfo.org) to manage genetic disorders.

This article can be reprinted with the written permission from the author: jerold.bell@tufts.edu

Australian Terrier Club of Finland

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:31:33 +0100

Dunham Lake Aussies featured in the Finnish Aussi Magazine!

We were contacted by the Australian Terrier Club of Finland to be interviewed for their Aussie Magazine. The quarterly issue is out and they included a 7 page, 18 photo feature story about Dunham Lake Aussies and our family, we feel quite honored.

The article is written in Finnish. The article includes information about us, how we got started, the obstacles we have endured along the way and our successes.

Here are just 2 out of the 7 pages. If you are interested in a copy of the article you can view the full article in a pdf file on my news and brags page. It does take a bit of time to down load.

Thank you my dear friends at my Finnish Club for highlighting us in your beautiful magazine!

Weekend Dog Show Results!

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:54:08 +0100

It was a great show weekend in Oshkosh Wisconsin for Dunham Lake Aussies!

Beckham our Champion won Best of Breed two days out of three and was awarded three Grand Champion awards!

Kaih our Champion in training, won Best of Opposite and Winners!

There were 8 Australian Terriers competing at this show.

It was the first time we decided to use a Professional Handler and did so on just Saturday. We hired Susan Kipp, who we greatly respect as a Professional Handler. She was successful in acheiving another Best of Breed win for our boy Beckham! Thank you Suzie!

Our daughters show our own dogs and that is still our preference, but sometimes and in this case, it was time that we watched our own dogs move with a Professional. We learned from this experience and it was quite positive.

Please Read About Blue Green Algae

Wed, 26 May 2010 02:44:18 +0100

This is a topic that I am addressing again because of the time of year and if you and your pets swim in lakes you really need to be informed about Blue Green Algae.

We lost our very loved Australian Terrier, Harley last July, he was only 2 years old. He was healthy, happy and loved the water as all our aussies do. Sadly, he drank lake water that had been toxic with Blue Green Algae. At the time, we didn't even know such a toxin existed, much less would have ever thought it would be in our clean, spring feed, very deep lake.

What we know now is it's a concern not only in our area of the country, Wisconsin and Minnesota, but in many other states and countries. I have heard of instances of Blue Green Algae poisoning even in New Zealand.

Much government research is currently underway on Blue Green Algae but until a solution to eliminate this toxin is discovered, please visit this site http://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/bluegreenalgae/ and educate yourself and your family on Blue Green Algae before you let your children and animals in lakes or ponds this summer. It might just save your pets life.

In loving memory of Harley 10-29-06-07-29-09

Harley on the pontoon with his family.

Be aware of poisonous plants!

Thu, 13 May 2010 02:56:36 +0100

Welcome to May in Wisconsin!

We are between wardrobes at our house, anywhere from tee-shirts and shorts to winter coats and long johns!

As we begin to decide when and what to plant in our acre garden, it's a good time to take a look at what plants can be potentially dangerous to our pets.

I just recently received a reminder from the AKC of this exact topic. The Canine Health Foundation has a really great list of plants our dogs should avoid.

I thought my friends, families and website visitors might find this helpful and actually very important when it comes to plants that could be toxic to our dogs.

Please check this link and learn which plants to avoid if you have dogs!

Enjoy Spring and enjoy your flowers with peace of mind that your 4-legged family won't become ill or worse due to plants in your garden.

Dunham Lake Australian Terriers Featured in AKC Gazette!

Wed, 12 May 2010 21:31:55 +0100

For more of the May 2010 AKC Gazette click here!

Dunham Lake Aussie puppy photos stolen and used in Scam!

Wed, 05 May 2010 04:21:47 +0100

Be very careful about buying any puppy or dog via the internet...Please read below.

It was discovered that a "rescue" organization out of Utah had taken two of my puppy photos from my website and placed them on their "rescue" page noting them to be puppies for sale. My puppy photos were used and misrepresented as puppies they have available for sale. Incidently, the puppy in one of the photo's they used is now over one year old, living with his family. Here is how one of my photo's (photo below) of my Aussie Terrier male puppy read in their false advertising scheme.

This was on a rescue site found on Petfinders:

See More Nittany a Australian Terrier Dog is available for adoption!
petfinder.com

This little girl (with my male puppy photo above) is a rescue. She is 12 weeks old and ready for her forever home. Her adoption fee includes her spay, current vaccinations, deworming and a vet exam. Please email us at warescue@live.com for an application. No Phone calls please. Email only Thank you!

Petfinders has somewhat apologized and the "rescue" organization has removed my photos from their site. After this is all said in done, this is really about how sad it is for the actual dogs in this "rescue" situation.

No ethical Rescue organization would act in such a manner. No ethical Rescue organization would have multiple puppies for sale with photos of dogs that weren't in their care. Rescue organizations that I know are ethical and put the dogs interest first.

I plan to get to the bottom of this.

Dunham Lake Aussie Show News!

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:06:27 +0100

Photo: Beckham Group 4 April 17 and 18 2010 (back to back group placements!) shown by Ellie owner/handler

What an amazing weekend we had in Eau Claire, WI. Very low entries in Aussies which is often the case here where we live. Beckham won the Breed, Kaih won Best of Opposite, so on to Terrier Group Beckham and Ellie went.

For those of you new to dog shows, like us not too long ago, Group is where all the Best of Breed dogs for that day compete against other breeds within their classification. In otherwords, because we have a terrier breed, our Aussie Terrier goes in the ring with other winning terriers for that day. The judge determines the best Terrier and places the top 4 in rank 1-4.

Ellie and Beckham have been in group many times, it's difficult to place in group. Aussies are not a popular breed, she's a junior handler, many dogs shown in group are professionally handled so for these reasons it's more challenging to place.

Saturday, with roughly 20 Terrier breeds represented in the group ring, Beckham shown by Ellie (11 years old) placed 4th in Group! It was her first time placing and she was overwhelmed by this win! We were so happy and proud of them.

Sunday, again with roughly 20 Terrier breeds represented in the group ring, Beckham and Ellie placed 4th in Group a second time! We were so excited!

We're so honored by these wins. Beckham is a fine example of the breed standard, it's great to have him recognized in the ring. Thank you judges!!

Her determination and his love for her, make Beckham and Ellie quite the team and exciting to watch!

Vaccinations

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:01:39 +0100

Most breeders will have immunized the puppy with his first shots. Your breeder will provide you with a list from their veterinarian of what shots were given and when. It’s always a good idea to visit your own vet within a week for a full puppy check and discuss with your vet the proper vaccination protocol to follow.

For specific data and research I suggest you visit www.australianterrierinternational.org.

Annual physical and vaccinations, which includes advice on flea and tick control options. As well as annual heartworm tests and control. Lyme's preventative is also recommended depending on your area or if you plan to be in an area affected with deer ticks.

Spaying or Neutering your dog is usually, done at 4-6 months of age. This is very important as there are far too many unwanted, puppies living in shelters or euthanized, please do not contribute to this problem.

Shot Protocol followed by Dunham Lake Aussies

4 Weeks: Deworming

6 Weeks: Deworming

10 Weeks: Distemper, Parvovovirus, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, Leptospira and Coronavirus.

14 Weeks: Booster of the above

As required by your State law: Rabies

1 year: Repeat shots above

DO NOT vaccinate the Distemper, Parvovovirus, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, Leptospira and Coronavirus with Rabies, separate two weeks apart.

Year two titer test, otherwise shots every other year to every third year depending on your location. Rabies according to your state laws, most states are every three years.

As always check with your Veterinarian for what may be a variable in your specific part of the country.

Ring My Bell!

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:03:48 +0100

(Teddy,owned by Jan and Duane, Bred by Dunham Lake Aussies, pictured above at almost 1 year, was potty trained easily)

It would be nice to keep the guessing out of knowing when your 4-legged friend needs to go outside. Some dogs, like our Aussies, come up to us and stare at us, one has a certain bark he makes, yet another will sometimes jump up at us and when she does, you know it's time to run to the door.

Every pet owner eventually figures it out and looks for the signs from their dog, but there is another way. If your Aussie is potty trained but it's hard to tell when he needs to go out, or your just starting to potty train your Aussie, we have a suggestion for you.

At 8-10 weeks old the puppies we raise are newspaper trained and almost outside potty trained. When our 12 week old puppies, have to go potty, sometimes they bark then start to circle and sniff, then look for newspaper and if they can't find any and if we're not paying attention, they will go by the door. They are doing great, but sometimes I miss their signs.

One of our puppies Teddy, from a prior litter has been trained to "ring a bell" when he wants to go outside. According to Jan, "Teddy had only a few potty accidents when they brought him home, but it was not easy to know when he had to go out". He didn't really know how to tell them.

Jan had heard about hanging a bell on the door you use to let out your dog and eventually, your dog will ring the bell when he wants to go out. Teddy's mom tried it and it absolutely worked and very quickly too.

Here's what you do...

Hang a bell from the door handle of the door where he'll be going out to be a "good boy". Use a piece of ribbon and a really nice sounding bell such as a Thai temple bell which has a nice mellow sound. Make sure to put it at his nose level so that he can ring it and then make sure that you gently tap his nose with the bell to ring it each and every time that he exits that door so he can associate it with "outside".

Go out with your puppy and watch him until he does what he wanted to do, bring him right back in where a treat and lots of cheers were waiting for him. Unlike normal potty training, no playing around or cheers after he goes potty outside, so he wouldn't forget why he went out.

The Australian Terrier is an extremely smart and fast learning breed. If your puppy comes from Dunham Lake Australian Terriers, to finish his potty training will be a snap, you will just need to continue where we left off and be consistent.

Thanks Jan for this helpful tip!

Hope others try it and find it as helpful to them as well.