THE PUNNETT SQUARE
A ‘GIANT’ EXAMPLE I originally started importing to expand my line of Pepper & Salt Giant Schnauzers. My foundation bitch, born and bred here in the United States, was heavily linebred to maintain her kennel’s “type.” If I had lim- ited her reproductive future only to dogs in the US that I knew about at the time, I would have repeated the pattern and perpetuated the problems that she came with. Logic dictated that if I was going to correct those problems I needed to look abroad. As a consequence of my bitch’s COI, some level of inbreeding depression was already apparent. Aside from her irregular heat cycles, she missed her first two matings, and when she did finally get pregnant from a surgical AI, she only produced one singleton. The sire was a 100% outcross from Italy. That offspring is a 0% COI puppy with no common ancestors, and he is now an AKC Champion. After a considerable wait, I finally have a mate for him, but the process of reproducing this rare variety of Giant Schnauzer is very slow, methodi- cal, and a concentrated effort. While working to maintain a semblance of type is important, preservation of the Pepper & Salt Giant—which is nearly extirpated from North America—takes priority. In fact, the Pepper and Salt already went through a genetic bottleneck event after World War II and had to be recovered by crossing back to the Standard Schnauzer (as the German Pinscher recently did as well). We also have evidence, thanks to the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the Univer- sity of California-Davis, that our Pepper & Salt Giants are genetically distinct from Black Giants. These really are two separate breeds. While the color is described and stated in the breed standard, we also have fully approved judges who ask, “Is (Pepper & Salt) an allowed color?” “Are you in the right ring?” and state further, “I’m sorry, I’m going to have to withhold because I don’t know how to judge this.” Many of our breeds are in danger of extinction. The Kennel Club (United Kingdom) lists 32 endangered native breeds and seven more classified as “at watch.” While the AKC does not have a similar list, it does have an article listing “11 rare breeds you never knew existed.” While “most popular breeds” is frequently available, it is of little value. It would be helpful for those truly interested in preserving our purebred dogs, and for purposes of raising awareness, if AKC published a list each year similar to the Kennel Club. It is possible that some breeds are in greater danger, and that some will disappear in our generation while oth- ers are in no danger at all. Regardless of the breed you have committed your heart to, breeding practices which enhance genetic variation by including the introduc- tion of new genetics into a breeding program—whether they come from another country or from another breeder you met at a show—will ensure future breed vitality and “fitness.” We can all achieve positive outcomes for purebred dogs by supporting the importation and free movement of dogs between countries, collaborating wisely with international partners, keeping our contractual promises intact, maintaining good relation- ships, and by showing these dogs both here and abroad whenever and wherever possible.
(offspring produced per female), sperm motility, congenital defects, heritable predispositions to disease, etc. Death rate can also be influenced by infectious diseases like canine influ- enza, heartworm, parvo, or other preventable agents. The end result is decreased “fitness” within the population. FITNESS FOR REPRODUCTION You may have already heard this term “fitness” before. It does not, as some think, refer to musculature or athleticism. Instead, it refers to the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce, thus passing on its set of “successful” genetics to the next generation. In a population—there is that word again—replacement rate, that is, the number of offspring required to replace each parent, is approximately 2.1 for each female’s reproductive lifetime. To grow a population, such as a rare breed on the verge of extinction, the birth rate (plus the immigration rate) will need to be greater than 2.1, and the COIs will need to be kept low. It will do no good to have a high population with high COIs as this will only serve to exacerbate the vulnerability of a breed and hasten the pace into the extinction vortex. My own goals for breed preservation have been to focus on genetic variation, and to keep COIs low. This is not entirely possible by limiting my programs to US-bred dogs alone. We have already, in this country, high levels of inbreeding and a vanity for type that is detrimental to preservation in too many of our breeds. How do we quickly achieve greater genetic variation in our US dogs then? The solution is simple: import. Why import, though, when there are so many dogs avail- able here? While this may be true in more popular breeds, it is not true of every breed that the AKC recognizes. Even in already established breeds with solid populations, COIs can be (and are) relatively high as a consequence of maintaining type. Because our canines live in our man-made environ- ment, a genotype that may not be adaptive or able to thrive can be kept alive and able to reproduce more progeny with more maladaptive traits. Take, for example, breeds that are only successful because litters are consistently born via cesar- ian section. Could these dogs do what they were originally bred to do if they are otherwise sick, broken, or unable to provide some level of care for themselves? We also see a lash back from puppy buyers who blame breeders for deaths like epilepsy. Deleterious recessives or “health problems,” or oth- er undesirable traits, can be bred away from first, if breeders know about them, and second, if breeders understand the mechanics for breeding away from deleterious recessives using genetic diversity tools.
Kevin E. Holmes began his involvement in the sport of dogs in the 1970s with Basset Hounds and Labrador Retrievers under the kennel name “Wildair,” where he was an accomplished Junior Handler. Although Kevin’s focus has always been conformation, he has accomplishments in hunting trials, obedience, rally, agility, and herding as well. Today, under the kennel name “die Nassen Bärte,” Kevin is a member of the Pinscher-Schnauzer Klub of Germany, the Standard Schnauzer Club of America, and the Affenpinscher Club of America. Kevin brings his compelling vision to AKC conformation through his imported foundation stock and US-bred dogs which have been notable trail-blazers. He is dedicated to preservation through genetic diversity of Black Standard Schnauzers, Pepper & Salt Giant Schnauzers, and Affenpinschers; and has made a profound splash into the Miniature Schnauzer ring with his newest AKC Championship, an imported French, Black and Silver girl—a first in the breed for AKC. Kevin is a career civil servant with formation in Forest Ecology, Natural Resources, and Agriculture. He began his career as a USDA- APHIS inspector in Baltimore, Maryland, before transitioning to US Customs and Border Protection where he worked in policy development, congressional affairs, and in inspection of arriving passengers and cargo at the airport. He worked closely with peers in USDA and CDC to spearhead multiple projects, including the threat of zoonotic diseases arriving in African bushmeat. That project was the first of its kind to identify the threat of Ebola in advance of the 2014 outbreak. Kevin has a Masters in Public Health, Masters in Natural Resources, Bachelors in Ecology, and Bachelors in Anthropology.
208 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 2021
Powered by FlippingBook