Biology Research Papers Examples

The Genetics of Designer Dogs

Designer dogs
Designer dogs have gain popularity these days. These designer dogs don’t come by accident as they are designed by the combination of genes of two different breeds of dogs. Lineage of some of these dogs are not well-documented and without pedigreed parents. In order to come up with designer dogs, it has to be carefully chosen to generate the offspring’s particular temperament and appearance. These dogs came from purebred dog parents of various breeds. For instance, Goldendoodles are combinations of poodle and golden retriever of purebreds (Fields-Babineau 19).

Advantages of designer dogs

Designer dogs have many different advantages. One of the advantages of these dogs is that they are available in many different varieties, and people can select them as they like. Mostly, these dogs are small and adorable. Another application of designer dogs is the possibility of adding required temperament. These dogs are bred with specific reasons, so their temperaments were also bred. Simply saying, these dogs are bred for specific traits like herding, hunting, or even digging, and they have strong tendency of doing these tasks.
Another advantage of designer dogs is the knowledge of these dogs. People know in-advance the height of the dog and its appearance. Basically, people will also be able to know how to take care of the dog and the required exercises or activities to be handled. Another benefit is that people will have the knowledge on the limitations of dogs. Some of the limitations are the capability of search and rescue, police work, herding, hunting, and flock guarding. Other dogs are just for companionship.
One of the purposes of generating designer dogs is to strengthen particular traits. For instance, some kids may have allergy to hairs of dogs. The designer dogs can be bred for the purpose of not causing allergy to those kids (Cohen 7). An example is the labradoodle which is offspring of the poodle and labrador. This designer dog is breed in order to become the low-shedding dog having guiding or servicing traits (Fields-Babineau 17). The breed between the cocker spaniel and poodle called the cockapoo, which is good for families. It is good watchdog and is active in working. They may require grooming of hairs every two to four months (19).
These dogs are made to suit every need. People could travel with small sized dogs. This application is also helpful in making the life of some dogs easier like in the case of the purebred pug, which has difficulty in breathing because of its very small snout. Having this kind of application, the pug is combined with the beagle generating the puggle having the long nose for breathing, but the forehead is wrinkled and the gait is looped (Fields-Babineau 16).
Vigorous characteristic is one of the advantages of these dogs as their strength comes from two different breeds of parents. However, the genetic effects are rarely inherited, since the bloods are not that close as on purebred dogs.

Arguments against the development of designer dogs

Designer dogs also come with some disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is the cost of the designer dogs. Designer dogs would cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. Chances are also there that particular traits would not appear in the offspring, and the offspring would not develop required results. In that case, chances are high that these dogs would not show the characteristics as people want or they do not act the way the people want. For instance, people would want non-shed dogs but it is not guaranteed that they would get non-shed dogs and non-shedding dogs may or may not be developed according to the desired results. The inherited traits and characteristics will be determined as the designer dog develops and grows, but in some cases, some of these characteristics start appearing over a period of time when the dog starts getting older.
  In addition to this application, a written standard has to be followed in order to breed these designer dogs. Genetic problems may arise even in the presence of the best testing procedures for genes. Thus, proper testing must be done in order to reduce the genetic problems. It is very important to know the testing of genes needed for a particular designer dog. The designer dogs have no assurance that when the parents have the wonderful dispositions and temperaments, the offspring will also have these wonderful dispositions and temperaments as well.

Alternates to this application

People spend a huge amount of money to buy these kinds of dogs, even though they can pay for a mixed-breed dog or any kind of breed found in the neighbourhood. All of these mixed-breed dogs are unique, though they are not designed in a purpose. Therefore, many people want to mix the breed of dogs while others just simply do not want to mix the purebred dogs with other breeds.

Designer dogs and Veterinary medicine industry

The purebred dogs could inherit genetically defective traits. Some dogs have epilepsy, dysplasia, cataracts, or even have problems in dental aspect (Fields-Babineau 16). Thus, the chance of inherited disorder for designer dogs is low and the creation of novel kind of dogs is high in the case of designer dogs. Among the unique dogs are the labradoodle, cockapoo, schnoodle, or a chiweenie and others (Cohen 7). These dogs can develop resistance to diseases, thereby helping veterinary researchers to develop potent medicines for different breeds and diseases. In a study on pure and mixed breed dogs from North American veterinary teaching hospitals, it has been reported that mixed-breed dogs are able to live longer than pure breed dogs (Patronek, Waters, and Glickman B171). Studies from Denmark have also shown that mixed breed dogs can live longer as compared to pure breeds (Proschowsky, Helene, and Ersbøll 63).

Works Cited

Cohen, M. Genetic Engineering. Crabtree Publishing Company, 2009. Print.
Fields-Babineau, M. Mixed Breeds for Dummies. Wiley, 2007. Print.
Patronek, G. J., D. J. Waters, and L. T. Glickman. "Comparative Longevity of Pet Dogs and Humans: Implications for Gerontology Research." J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 52.3 (1997): B171-8.
Proschowsky, Helle Friis, Helene Rugbjerg, and Annette Kjær Ersbøll. "Mortality of Purebred and Mixed-Breed Dogs in Denmark." Preventive Veterinary Medicine 58.1-2 (2003): 63-74. Print.