Programs to preserve genetic health in dog breeds have been
intensively discussed in Sweden in connection with the
development of breed specific genetic strategies. Why have breed
specific strategies at all become a necessity in dog breeding?
In nature there are no special breeding programs or strategies
to keep species healthy and vital over very long periods of
time. The cause of inherited disorders - observed in so many dog
breeds - is that breeders, due to ignorance or extreme breeding
forced by various forms of competition trials, break down the
protective barriers against genetic disorders that Nature has
built over millions of years by means of natural selection. What
kind of barriers do we need to know about to avoid such
mistakes? The body of an animal - even though it is a unit - is
composed of billons of cells. The link between generations is
however only one single cell - the fertilized egg cell. Thus
everybody involved in breeding ought to know at least a little
bit about how the fertilized egg i