Goldendoodle Generations and Genetics

Lets talk a little bit about basic genetics. When someone speaks of a genetic abnormality being "carried" by an individual canine or canine line, they mean that a mutant gene is there, but it is recessive. Unless we have some sophisticated test for the gene itself, we cannot tell just by looking at the canine carrier that it is any different from an individual with two normal copies of the gene. Unfortunately, lacking such a test, the canine carrier will go undetected and inevitably pass the mutant allele to some of its progeny (offspring). This means that while breeders boast they test their breeding stock and claim people should ONLY buy pups from breeders who test their breeding stock, these breeders can have their breeding dogs tested for every test known to dog and still create genetically unsound pups! Until DNA markers are available for the Poodle and the Golden Retriever, breeders can not tell if any of their breeding dogs, tested or not, are a silent carrier of a defective, recessive gene. Therefore, not a single breeder, at this time, can provide their customer a 100% genetically "defective free" puppy. It is more realistic for the breeder to offer a genetic health warranty to those seeking to purchase a puppy and a DNA application, than to give the customer a false sense of security through canine testing. Every individual, be it man, mouse or dog, carries a few such dark secrets in its genetic closet. THAT'S A FACT, WHETHER BREEDERS ADMIT IT OR NOT. However, we all have thousands of different genes for many different functions, and as long as these abnormalities are rare (here we go with that word again), the probability that two unrelated individuals carrying the same abnormality will meet (and mate) is low (HIP, EYE or BLOOD testing or not). Unfortunately, canine pedigrees do not offer the breeder information whether or not genetically "defective" or "affected" canine within their breeding dogs' lineage exists. It wouldn't matter how far back one goes, some canine are never registered and can be missed. Also, a canine pedigree doesn't offer the over all health of any registered animal. It will only offer names of ancestors and whether those named ancestors were tested for Hip Dysplasia. If they were, and usually only Champion dogs offer such information (now some pedigrees offer a few dogs who have DNA on file), it will only say "OFAgood, OFAfair, etc; It only means that the particular dog listed was tested; didn't have signs of HD, but it doesn't say whether or not they are a carrier. Canine geneticists estimate that the average purebred dog is a "carrier" for at least 4-5 different silent, recessive, defective genes. EVERY SINGLE DOG. NOT JUST SOME DOGS. So lets put it this way; when a breeder is showing you their beautiful sire or dam to your Goldendoodle puppy, whom they boldly claim has normal hips because an X-ray "told them so", you are also looking at a dog who is carrying 4-5 different "silent" defective, recessive genes that can cause several types of genetic diseases for your puppy, even though the breeder proudly shows off their dogs' "clearance" to you, the buyer. While some canine genetic websites claim that unless its owner has a detailed genetic pedigree on their breeding dog (which WE have) and is willing to share it with you, you have no way of knowing what those silent, recessive, defective disease genes are. Well, the problem with that statement is that even if the breeder DID share it with you, the PEDIGREE isn't a "genetic" pedigree map!! It doesn't say one way or another whether the dogs are silent carriers!! The pedigree is very basic and as I stated up above, it will NOT tell you if there were any ancestors with defects, if there were any affected, diseased ancestors; it doesn't say ANYTHING about the health of any of the ancestors listed upon the canine pedigree. We are into the year 2007. Many canine genetic laboratories are just now exploring the possibilities with canine DNA. It will be a godsend for breeders if researchers develop a test for the single disease gene your canine's lineage is troubled by, if any at all; But if that test doesn't exist? And right now, here in 2007, it does NOT exist for the Poodle or the Golden Retriever or any dog for that matter. If your a breeder or someone seeking a puppy, are you willing to wait until such testing becomes available? The usual shelf life of the average breeder lasts just six years on average. That's about when most give up. They get the notion that a hip x-ray, blood testing and expensive canine eye doctors will provide them with the "perfect" breeding dog so that they can sell "perfect puppies". When they have a litter that has a puppy or two later down the road showing a genetic defect, they become over-wrought with " HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?" Surely it couldn't POSSIBLY HAPPEN TO A BREEDER that spent a fortune on every test known to their dog and it passed with flying colors!!! HMMMFFF! Think again, my friend! Think again. Veterinarians know full well that the testing they provide for a breeder and their breeding dog/s only gives the breeder a general...overall evaluation of the health of their breeding dog. The test in NO WAY tells the breeder whether or not their breeding dog is a silent carrier who can still pass on defective genes to its created offspring. Of course, we are only talking about tests for single gene diseases. Most of the severe diseases like hip and elbow dysplasia, cancer and epilepsy, are polygenic, caused by the complex interplay of many genes, and as of 2007, there isn't a single canine genetic laboratory in existence that has come close to developing a polygenic gene test for a dog, Be it the Poodle, Golden Retriever, or any other breed type. Surely over the years, we've come a long way, but we have so much further to go where understanding genetic defects is concerned. If we can't perfect the human, we certainly can't perfect the dog. But this page has not been created to get into the HD genetic issue because we already have pages on that subject. This page has been created so that those seeking a Goldendoodle can understand what "f1", "f1b" and "f2b", etc; and what it means when a Goldendoodle breeder use such terminology.

When a breeder uses a Goldendoodle to a related Poodle (meaning the Poodle parent is related to the Poodle in the Goldendoodle's genetic make up), this causes the offspring to have a higher incident of genetic flaws or "mishaps".

It is of no surprise that breeders have Poodles who are either directly related or semi-related to each other since the Poodles' history dates so far back that there more than likely isn't a single Poodle on this planet that doesn't have a shared relative some where. Our 2 years of research on our Poodles' lineage surprised even us! We discovered that many highly sought after Show breeders not only shipped semen of their Champion Poodles all around the world (and many still do), they shipped their Poodles around the world, too. When in search for that perfect Champion, show breeder scout the world for the top dog. When we began our research, we discovered that BEL TOR, WYCLIFFE, DASSIN AND EATON Poodle lines were some of the most highly sought after lines in Standard Poodles because the breeders themselves were considered to be EXPERTS in their field. We counted over 400 OFA GOOD CHAMPION Poodles in the lineage of our Poodles that came from all the lines listed above. Looking at the extensive pedigree, we were not only impressed.....we were surprised. We were surprised to see so many of the same champion Poodles used for breeding to other Champion Poodles who came from completely different countries! Either their breeder shipped the semen or the dog! We didn't see the same Champion names back to back, but spread out down generations, we saw the names repeating themselves. The Standard Poodle is a very long lived dog. Their history goes back much further than most other dogs. The fact that show breeders back-breed, linebreed and inbreed is a very well known fact. Because so many Poodles are related to each other, its vital that a Goldendoodle breeder research their Poodles' pedigree before deciding to incorporate a Goldendoodle into their breeding program. Those that incorporate a Goldendoodle into their breeding program and who do NOT research their Poodles' pedigree is doing a disservice to the Goldendoodle dog as a whole. Their reasons for backbreeding a Goldendoodle to a related Poodle are far-fetched and downright fraud if their reasons are to create "hypoallergenic" or "non-shedding" Goldendoodles. They are also NOT fixing coat type. Multi generation Goldendoodles are at a very high risk for genetic ailments even from TESTED parents. Many purebred dogs suffer from the extreme linebreeding, backbreeding and inbreeding, so too will the Goldendoodle who shares the same fate, if their breeders do follow this path.

See that gorgeous doodle created by us, up above??? This is a first generation Goldendoodle. That means that neither of his parents were directly related. On our "doodle coat phases and changes" page, we discuss the coat types that we've seen with our Goldendoodles since 1999. Since 1999, we have had great success in consistancy with the appearance of our Goldendoodles. Doodle breeders who go outside the norm and stretch their dysfunctional reasons for stepping OUTSIDE the genetic box, will never achieve success in coat type with a hybrid like those who stay within the normal guidelines and who use basic common sense of sound breeding methods. The ONLY reason any breeder should consider including a Goldendoodle into their breeding program (and who use Poodles who are not directly related to the Poodle within the chosen Goldendoodle) is to achieve a wider variance of colors with their offspring as well as to achieve Goldendoodles with eye color OTHER than brown if they incorporate a doodle with light colored eyes into their breeding program, which is what we did. When breeders use terms like "Non-shed" and "Hypoallergenic", of course its going to attract attention! There are so many people in this world with extreme allergy issues and are tired of dogs that have hair all over their homes which is why many are gullible enough to buy into the breeder's claim as the above. Another issue is the supposed "mini doodle". Many are creating multi generation Goldendoodles to supposedly create a "Miniature Goldendoodle". But the very same breeders are also claiming that their supposed "Miniature Goldendoodles" are 35-55 pounds!!! Since when is a dog weighing over 25 pounds in genetic body weight a Miniature sized dog? Mere nonsense created and made up by the breeders who advertise such. We've got a page that already discusses the "mini" issue, so we will not waste space on this page discussing it. Let's tackle the non-shedding, hypoallergenic issue, if this is the basis for silly claims made by some Goldendoodle breeders. I personally contacted quite a few canine genetic laboratories in 2006 and directly asked them if I could submit strands of Goldendoodle hair for analysis to show whether or not their hair was "hypo-allergenic" and "non-shedding". I was told. by all, that there was no such testing available and that there was no known research being conducted for such tests. I contacted the laboratories myself because its very frustrating to receive call from those who actually believe such dogs exist, when in fact none of the Goldendoodle breeders who make this claim have the ability to back their claims up with scientific research and data. It doesn't exist! Other statements that cause problems for those on a doodle quest is the fact many breeders claim the Goldendoodle dog falls into size categories as being "X" height and "Y" weight. Those who do this have simply made the information up! (again, lots of piggy backing off of inaccurate info). Let's put it this way....there's an obvious reason why Goldendoodles don't fall into size categories like the purebred dog and that's because the doodle dogs are HYBRIDS who have ancestors that range widely in a variety of sizes. Purebred dogs are breed specific and 9 times out of 10 will have ancestors who are extremely close in size which is why they were accepted into Kennel Clubs and a specific breed standard was written for each accepted breed. Goldendoodle breeders can claim all they want that a Goldendoodle is "X" height and "Y" weight but they are completely misled and they are misleading the general public. Since 1999, we have seen every size Goldendoodle possible. Since 1999, we've seen time and time again, each Goldendoodle sibling varying in height and weight regardless of the size of the parents and weights/heights vary with each puppy, per given litter. Is the Goldendoodle breeder who has this supposed specific height and weight category for their Goldendoodles going to then say...well THIS particular Goldendoodle (out of the same litter) is a "Standard" and his brother is a "Miniature" and his sister is a "TOY" and this other sister is a "Giant" and so on ??? That's nonsense. If you believe that Goldendoodles fall into size categories and that the breeder who is using such categories to "label" their Goldendoodles....ask them to provide YOU, the buyer, a WRITTEN GUARANTEE that the Goldendoodle YOU purchase from them will STAY IN THE SIZE GUIDELINES THEY HAVE TOLD YOU THE GOLDENDOODLE FALLS IN. I am willing to bet ....and I'm not a gambling person....that they will give you some song and dance as to WHY they will NOT provide YOU, the buyer, a written guarantee stating that the Goldendoodle YOU purchase from them will stay "X" height and "Y" weight. It's a no brainer! They won't give it to YOU, the buyer, because their information is about as close as the Sun is to the Moon! When we incorporated a Goldendoodle into our breeder program and bred our Goldendoodle to a Poodle that was not closely related, we did see the offspring as being closer in size to each other than what we see when one parent is the Poodle and the other parent is the Golden Retriever. However, this doesn't then provide us with a size formula. Unlike purebred dogs who do generally fall into size categories, it's much more difficult for the hybrid. This is why you won't get a written guarantee from a Goldendoodle breeder even though that very same Goldendoodle breeder wrote some size formula upon their website! Some breeders think they are so perfect....READ ABOUT TEGAN PARK LABRADOODLE'S DOWNFALL BY CLICKING HERE.

A Goldendoodle does NOT have to be BACKBRED, INBRED OR LINEBRED to have a low shedding coat. It doesn't have to have twice the Poodle, three times the Poodle, Four times the Poodle to keep dog hairs from ruining your ability to enjoy keeping a dog in the house. All first generation Goldendoodles are low shedding dogs. All Goldendoodles will sport a full facial beard as an adult if they are NOT a smooth coat doodle. We've never seen a curly coat Goldendoodle (first generation) have very tight curls in their coat like the Poodle. Our doodle coat changes/phases page will explain the process, but to repeat myself, Goldendoodles (first generation) all go through light shedding phases and coat changes. While a doodle with more Poodle DNA may not go through such extreme changes as a doodle with 50% Golden Retriever and 50% Poodle, they all still go through a slight shedding process and coat change. Any time a Poodle is bred to a soft coated dog, the changes are going to occur. We've seen it with Schnoodles; we've seen it with LhasaPoo. We've seen it with PomPoo and we've seen it with MaltiPoo. CLICK HERE if you'd like to read some interesting information on coat colors. While the page may be "breed" specific, the over-all genetic information pertains to canine color genetics in general and I found that site to be quite interesting. If a person has the time and loves to read and study, the internet is full of terrific canine genetic websites that helps one understand more about dog coats, colors, sizes and so on. Some breeders claim that the curly coat sheds less than the other coat types...its nonsense. A curly coat is as low shedding as the shaggy coat. The smooth coat can shed a bit more than the other two coat types.

Perhaps with the Labradoodle, there is much to improve upon where coat and behavioral issues are concerned because there are so many Labrador's on the market that have been poorly bred and poorly created over the years. Also, the Labrador's coat is quite thick with heavy oil which makes it difficult for the softness and shagginess to come through when a Poodle is bred to the Labrador in order to create the Labradoodle. This is why so many first generation Labradoodles look like a wired haired terrier. So, in this aspect, I understand the reasoning for adding more Poodle. I still don't agree to adding RELATED Poodles. So lets look at the different methods of breeding used by many breeders:

Different breeding methods for canine:

1. Isolation. There must be a period in which the members of the group are relatively fixed, so that no new genetic material comes in. Without genetic isolation of the group, the differentiation that creates a new breed cannot take place.

2. Artificial selection. Breeders must prevent random mating from coming about, and limit mating to those individuals who exhibit desired characteristics. One logical consequence of this isolation is the next characteristic: inbreeding.

3. Inbreeding. Ordinarily those who are controlling the artificial breeding will find it necessary at some stage to employ a degree of linebreeding (mating within one bloodline, or strain) or inbreeding (mating closely related individuals), to facilitate the weeding-out of undesired characteristics and the fixation of desired traits. Inbreeding and linebreeding are controversial aspects of artificial selection, but have been practiced for centuries by dog fanciers and show breeders.

Crossbreeding and backbreeding

With some kennel registries, breeders may apply for permission to "crossbreed" other breeds into the line to emphasize certain traits, to keep the breed from extinction or to alleviate problems caused in the breed by inbreeding from a limited set of animals. A related preservation method is backbreeding, used by some canine registries, in which crossbred individuals are mated back to purebreds to eliminate undesirable traits acquired through the crossbreeding. The term "Crossbreeding" is also used by breeders who create hybrids by using two purebred parents of different breeds. Some breeders who have the desire to create a new breed must get permission from their kennel club so that the guidelines are followed exactly. Because this requires many dogs to become involved so that the breeder has many generations to sort through the data, this may not be logical unless the breeder has ample room to house the required amount of dogs it would take in order to create the new desired breed. Guidelines must be strictly followed as per the kennel club the breeder desires to have their new breed registered with.

Most purebred dogs of breeds recognized by all-breed club registries are controlled by "closed studbooks". In a number of modern breeds recognized by various kennel clubs, there are high incidences of specific genetic diseases or disorders and sometimes increased susceptibility to other diseases, reduced litter sizes, reduced lifespan, inability to conceive naturally, etc. This came about for the following reasons:

Many breeds have been established with too few foundation dogs or ones that were already too closely related...creating what is called a genetic bottleneck, or both. There was artificial isolation: the registries (stud books) are closed for most breeds; therefore one cannot introduce diversity from outside the existing population. Most selective breeding practices have the effect of reducing the diversity further...again, creating a genetic bottleneck. In addition, in the show world, breeding specimens are often selected on the basis of aesthetic criteria only, without regard for soundness, over all health or temperament.

Even if the foundation dogs were sufficiently diverse genetically, almost no one knows how their genetic contributions are distributed among the present day population, consequently, breeding is done without regard to conserving these contributions, which may be of value to the general health and survival of the breed.

Dog breeding is the vocation of mating carefully selected dogs of either the same breed or of different breeds to reproduce specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics the breeder is trying to achieve. At its best, breeding is a blend of science and art. The skilled breeder has at least a basic concept of canine genetics, general knowledge of the breed and overall health, as well as an in-depth knowledge of their dogs' pedigree. Most breeders are fiercely loyal to their dogs, and are concerned about each individual animal and do the best they can to pass on information to those who buy from them. At worst, the breeder doesn't do their homework and doesn't learn anything from their years of experience and doesn't pass on any information to those who buy from them. Instead, they continue to piggy back off of other poor, uneducated breeders and thus, erroneous information continues to flood the market leaving alot of disgruntled, confused customers flocking about. It must be pointed out that there are many excellent breeders who run small-scale programs in their homes, barns, or back yards, and there are profitable large-scale operations who run with knowledgeable staff and superlative veterinary care, so size and motive alone are not indicative of the quality of their breeding program. Many people accuse a breeder of being a "puppy mill" just because they employ various breeds of dogs into their breeding program even though the dogs are very well taken care of. Those who point fingers in this manner are really just people who do more minding of the business of others than their own and point fingers inaccurately. Many breeders point fingers at their competitors and go to great lengths of bad mouthing other breeders when their motive is to increase their own sales/profit margins. Their agenda is self motivated. they use methods such as forums to further bad mouth their competitors. This in essence sends potential buyers in their own direction or in the direction of their breeder friends who usually share kick-backs within the breeder circle, when sales are made. Monetary Kick-backs are common when breeders work together by referring their breeder friends. Other methods are using canine testing as a way to lure the potential customer who seek a "defective free" canine, giving their buyers a false sense of security. Again, we'd all love to own genetically perfect dogs and create defective free, genetically sound puppies, but as stated up above, until DNA markers to weed out the silent carriers, are made available...this possibility isn't going to happen any time soon. Of course its easy to spot a defective puppy if the defect is physically obvious through x-rays, blood work or other testing. Many defects are merely an anomaly and NOT genetic. Some are genetic which is why breeders can provide their customers with a DNA application to either prove or disprove whether the defect is genetic or not and its another reason a breeder should offer a genetic health warranty for such incidences, which we do. I'm not talking about obvious defects. I'm talking about the silent genetic defects that are not physically obvious in the beginning of a puppy's life. I'm talking about defects that occur much later down the road.

A complete DNA sequence of the dog is now available to academic researchers throughout the world. This resource, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health at a cost of over $30 Million, renders obsolete all preceding genetic maps of the dog, and creates an entirely new opportunity to tie genes to diseases and traits. A mutation in the canine MDR1 gene predisposes dogs to a potentially fatal adverse drug response. The breed distribution of this mutation has revealed some unexpected relationships, which have in turn called into question our notion of the breed construct. Click here if you desire further information with regards to this project.

In genetic terminology, inbreeding is the breeding of two animals who are related to each other. This is what Goldendoodles breeders mean when they create Goldendoodles that are NOT "F1" doodles. In its opposite, outcrossing, the two parents are totally unrelated. This is what Goldendoodle breeders mean when they create "F1" Goldendoodles. Since all pure breeds of animals trace back to a relatively limited number of foundation dogs, all pure breeding is by this definition inbreeding, although the term is not generally used to refer to matings where a common ancestor does not occur behind sire and dam in a four or five generation pedigree. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

The figure shows how the inbreeding coefficient changes with generations of brother-sister matings. As a general rule, this type of mating in domestic animals cannot be kept up beyond 8-10 generations, as by that time the rate of breeding success is very low. However, the rare survivors may go on to found genetically uniform populations. I have also found it quite interesting that some breeders claim that it would take 7 generations of dogs to turn the Goldendoodle into a purebred dog. This information is not exactly correct. The requirements for any dog to become recognized as a purebred dog is completely at a Kennel Club's discretion. Each Kennel Club has its own requirements and standards that a breeder must abide by before their breeding stock could be recognized and accepted into a breed specific group if the breeder was attempting to create a new breed of dog and have it accepted as a purebred. I know this to be a fact, because I originally discussed this issue with my own affiliated Kennel Club back in 1999. I was told that a breeder would have to have up to 40 dogs or more in their breeding program (with created offspring from those 40 dogs) before a Kennel Club would consider adding the Goldendoodle as a purebred. Not only was I not interested in owning 40 Goldendoodles that were backcrossed, multi-crossed or crossed in any other way...I didn't want to have to hang on to unsold puppies in case people were NOT interested in a puppy from such mixtures. That possibility alone, should be enough to keep a breeder from attempting to turn the Goldendoodle dog into a purebred dog. I'm sure the breeder could place FREE ads and give such mixtures away......but many FREE dogs turn into homeless dogs that wind up killed or left unwanted in canine homeless shelters. Creating Goldendoodles that are anything other than a first generation serves no true purpose. The general public, being as fickle as it is, will probably buy into such a breeders' sales tactics.....but the eventual reality will come back to bite them in the butt. First generation Goldendoodles are the over all hardiest of all generations. There is, to date, no scientific proof that "hybrid vigor" exists nor can it be proven that such exists with hybrid dogs, but it makes complete sense that a dog that has been created by two unrelated parents would be a much hardier, healthier dog over all, than a dog that shares its genetic gene pool with its own mother, brother, sister or father. There is a reason that our society, as a whole, finds it very distasteful for a Mother and son to have children or a father and a daughter to have children. We would consider it unthinkable to have children with our own relatives....why would a breeder consider this for their dogs?

Regardless of their reasons, a breeder should only create first generation offspring. Since it is a fact that a breeder can not guarantee any of their offspring to be genetically sound offspring their entire lives, regardless of how many tests they put their breeding stock through, they can at least help the offspring get off on the right foot by sticking with breeding stock that are not directly related to one another. Purebred dogs today have so many genetic issues due to an elevated percentage of inbreeding and backbreeding. We don't need the hybrid dog to follow the same path as the purebred dog. Breeders, regardless of all the canine testing that's available to their breeding stock, who create Goldendoodles who are other than "F1", are taking their hybrids down the same rocky road as the purebred dog and that's a real shame. If it were true that canine testing would put an end to a dog coming down with cancer, hip dysplasia, seizures or other health issues then why does it still occur? Why does it still occur to dogs who came from tested parents? Why is it still possible for a breeder to see one of their creations, later down the road have a genetic defect if their creation came from the very dogs they had tested and who were given "clearances" ?? Even veterinarians who have access to all sorts of testing equipment, and who are breeders themselves, have seen their own created puppies have genetic issues. So, someone tell me how canine testing clearances have helped the dogs who still come down with health issues? We, as humans, have so many available avenues to detect many, many ailments and defects within ourselves....why can't we yet perfect a human? Why can't we stop producing children who are dying every day of cancer? Who have ADD....who have tumors, seizures, and the list goes on. How many parents had themselves tested before deciding to have children? It seems very hypocritical to me, that breeders who are parents, point fingers at breeders who don't test their breeding stock (just because THEY do) and yet, they never had a single test conducted on themselves or their spouse before deciding to get pregnant with their child. With all the available testing to humans, why is it none give it a second thought of getting pregnant without first having a DNA test on themselves to see if they will create a child that will later die of cancer....have hip problems...have seizures...have mental issues....have depression issues...or even turn out later down the road becoming a murderer? A criminal? A career drug addict? Surely it is much more devastating to lose a child over these issues than a dog. Am I against canine testing? Yes. I am. To a certain point. I agree that if a dog is showing problems, it should be tested to see what the problems are and if a dog is showing health issues, it should not be incorporated into a breeder's program. I disagree that a dog should be tested to prevent puppies from having a genetic issue if that test doesn't give the breeder a 100% certainty that the puppies will be genetically sound puppies! It's a waste of money. Where canine brucellosis is concerned, yes, I have had my females tested and they were negative for this disease. This sort of test is important to ensure the female doesn't pass this on to their offspring. This is considered a "sexual disease" and not a genetic disease. Until DNA markers are available to rule out the silent carriers for diseases that may or may not cause hip dysplasia, cancer, seizures and other ailments that are considered "genetic" in Golden Retrievers and Poodles, I'm not going to buy into the testing thing. While its fine if a breeder elects to have their breeding stock tested, perhaps it makes THEM feel better; but to point fingers at breeders who don't buy into the testing game and calling them irresponsible is calling the Kettle black. The fact these hypocritical breeders who wag their finger at the breeders who don't have their breeding stock tested, yet had children without so much as a single thought of getting themselves or their spouses TESTED PRIOR TO THE PREGNANCY is ridiculous. They had DNA testing available to them; They had access to all sorts of testing before considering bringing another human being into this world and yet.....NO TEST! Were they not concerned about genetic ailments in the children? Did they research and check out their family lineage for genetic ailments before considering children? Did they not wonder if they were creating a child who would be born with disabilities? Were they not concerned that their child would have bone issues ? Cancer issues? Eye issues? Health issues? Sort of makes the mind go "bahhhhh".

Thousands of women become pregnant each and every day without a single thought of having DNA testing conducted on themselves....of ever having blood work up....of every having a single x-ray performed to ensure they are not bringing a defective child into this world. Thousands of couples decide to have children without wondering if their children will be born only to later die because they carry defective genes from their ancestors. I don't see others jumping on these people inside of human/public forums playing the blame game and pointing fingers. If it is true that a breeder is an irresponsible breeder because they didn't test their breeding dogs prior to breeding them....then the same holds true for the humans who bring children into this world and yet, never had a single test conducted on themselves prior to getting pregnant. There are far more humans bringing defective children into this world because they themselves did not get tested before getting pregnant, than there are breeders who have puppies from non-tested dogs. There's a dose of reality.