09/04/2025
" You should NOT remove carriers just because they're carriers. One copy of a mutation is benign. You have recessive mutations, I have recessive mutations, and every dog you know has recessive mutations.
If you toss out carriers, you will:
a) reduce the size of the gene pool;
b) reduce the number of breeding dogs;
c) "a" and "b" will increase the rate of inbreeding;
d) inbreeding increases the risk of pairing two recessive mutations;
e) dogs that get two copies of a recessive mutations will be affected by some new problem.
f) if you find this new mutation, develop a test, and start throwing out carriers, you can return to "a" above and start again!
This is a cycle of genetic whack-a-mole that leads to extinction.
How do people NOT understand this? "
Carol Beuchat, PhD (USA) Scientific Director, ICB; Population Genetics & Biology of Dogs; University of California Berkeley
Such wise words ...
