[ Post a Response | Leavitt Bulldog Association ]
Posted by DL
on November 5, 2009, 10:06 am, in reply to "Re: Excellent Post!!!"
Creator
For those of you who don’t know her, Laure is a very good trainer and has my respect.
I feel that outcrosses are necessary for genetic health only a few times every 5 years. Opening the studbook is dangerous for a few reasons.
First let’s look at the big genetic problems all Bulldogs face; hip dysplasia, demodex mange and epilepsy. All of these can kill and cripple, unlike missing teeth. They may not show themselves till after a dog is mature and has been bred. At this time there is no way to know if a dog carries epilepsy or a predisposition to demodex until onset. I can see no reason to risk introduction of problems since there is no assurance of improving genetic health, but in fact the opposite is true. The only reason to throw open the studbook would be to help owners of crossbred dogs with marketing, as the LB name has sales advantages in Europe. I’m not saying don’t register these Bulldogs, just call them what they are called here; Olde English Bulldogge, but Sita and An resist that idea for some reason.
My only concern is health, not expanding bulk numbers of LB’s.
My central belief is there are too many dogs bred.
I don’t want to empire build and introduce lots of dogs that can possess hidden defects to up our numbers. I’d rather have a small project with a higher percentage of my original blood.
DL
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