> > Some breeds have been around for a VERY long time and have gone thru > > bottlenecks and not had much of a gene pool, yet the breed keeps trucking > > along.
In evolution terms, no man-made breed of dog has been around for a long time--let alone a very long time. We know not what we are doing so far as keeping a breed alive for thousands and thousands of years. Ask if those inbred mice are able to adapt to changing conditions, or must they live their life in a sterile laboratory? There are many, many articles written by geneticists who have proven time and again that the higher the inbreeding coefficient, the shorter the lifespan is. One well known article is the Poodle and the Chocolate Cake. I will agree with them instead. The reason being that if there was any truth to the fact that you could keep inbreeding without losing vigor--then there would occasionally be dogs that live for hundreds of years--those with an exceptionally good genetic makeup. The same thing that causes aging and eventual death to those dogs with even the very best genetic makeup--a breakdown in the immune system--is the thing that will almost certainly be lost if one breeds too closely. A genetic time bomb. If one thinks they are going to beat *nature*, I would bet they would lose. Laura Lang Roycroft Cavaliers ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
