The Kennel Club recently launched a new software and database to help UK breeders meet the complex demands placed on them each time they make the decision to breed a dog. A reputable breeders goal is to ensure future generations of their breed which means each litter has to be bred responsibly. Today’s dog breeders have a number of different considerations to make when deciding whether to mate two dogs together, although the emphasis that each breeder places on these factors will vary according to what they are trying to achieve and what breed they are working with they are each looking for some combination of the following:
- Temperament
- Breed Type and Characteristics
- Health Screening
- Genetic Diversity
Mate Select is intended to help breeders and puppy buyers to safeguard the future health of pedigree dogs according to Kennel Club spokesperson. It is a tool to enables breeders and potential puppy buyers to perform hypothetical matings online and see what impact a mating will have on the genetic diversity (ie the long term health and viability) of the breed that they love. The database is It will enable breeders to begin to assess the impact that a proposed mating between Kennel Club registered dogs will have on the genetic diversity of a breed. The service is intended to safeguard the future of pedigree breeds.”
Health test results and details of any surgery or operations that a dog has had will hopefully be input into the health database either by the dog’s owner or the vet and will then be verified. Dogs will then enter the ‘dating pool’ and be matched with other dogs, on the basis of their Estimated Breeding Value (the genetic value of the dog based upon health considerations).
Professor Jeff Sampson, Kennel Club Chief Scientific Advisor, said: “The Kennel Club has been working with scientists to develop Estimated Breeding Values for many years. These EBVs are based on very complicated calculations such as the prevalence of certain diseases in a particular breed or the size of the gene pool. The database is the first of its kind to be able to compute all of this information and to tell breeders not only which two dogs will produce the healthiest offspring, but which pairings will have the most positive effect on the overall health of that breed.
“The programme will be available for pedigree dogs, because we know their heritage and therefore have more information available for them, but we hope that information about all other dogs will also be fed into this database. At the moment we have frighteningly little information about diseases within crossbred dogs, but this database will help to throw light on this grey area and help us, therefore, to improve the health of pedigrees and crossbreeds alike.”
To read more about the potential of this program
I live in Spain and have an 7 year old apricot cocker spaniel who would love to meet a like minded female. Do you cover this part of the world?