inbreeding dogs

[Deleted User]

well im thinking about getting a siberian husky and i just recently learned that inbreeding dogs wasnt good and could cause some defects in the newborn dog. So when i go to see some puppies and decide to maybe get one i should ask to see the pedigree right? and if so what should i look for to see if its a inbred dog. thanks for the help

oh and i need help picking a name too. its gonna be a male with black and white =P the only one that i could think of so far is kaiser but id like a name that has a meaning and sounds good like heuvos=eggs lol

 

[FAST6191]

While I am always surprised at the skillsets of the gbatemp hotel guests I am not entirely sure a largely gaming forum is the place for this sort of thing, I am more than happy to be proven wrong though. Pending the advice of someone more knowledgeable than I you can have the text below.

Alas I am about 8 years out on anything husky related so I will refrain from specific scientific advice as pertaining to the breed specifically beyond know that huskies being cold climates dogs means you will also have to watch out for overheating more than most dogs but that should be all explained when you read further.
This also means while I could give a list of things to look for but I am fairly sure you do not have xray vision and a portable genetics lab and as I said I am several years out and have probably forgotten some important things. I link a bunch of sites and the end of the post and they have far more detailed advice than I am willing to tap out right now.

Still
It is not as much inbreeding (although it is still not desirable) but show trait breeding and similar things that cause major problems and inbreeding is a quick and dirty way to increase chances of desirable traits.
A good breeder however will be well aware of genetic defects and other undesirable traits. This means you need to find a good breeder (Husky breeders in Oregon is slightly outside my area of but I would certainly not rule out travelling to another state or even Canada). Basically stay far away from puppy farms (this applies to any dog though) and do some checking on the breeder (word of mouth is of the greatest importance to a good breeder).

"ask to see the pedigree"
One of two things will happen
1) You will see a certificate stating the dog is a pure Husky and a vets certification at the same time. Worth looking at but the battery of tests can leave something to be desired on occasion.
2) You will see the family tree. Probably somewhat useless to you unless you know what is what.

Fortunately Huskies are not usually bred to be show dogs (they are working dogs and believe me they know it; I hope you are prepared for epic walks every day) so it is not as prevalent as it is in say poodles of German shepherds. As an addendum to the working dogs bit they are not straight up house pets either; they make good ones if you are a good owner and can put in the effort but I could not in good conscience suggest one as a first dog or "I had a dog as a kid......", know they are also pack animals more so than many other breeds (again working dogs) and you will be hard pushed to persuade it otherwise.

Spend some serious time reading places like
http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/index.php
and
http://www.siberianhuskyclub.com/

You might also want to look at Husky racing sites/mailing lists/similar although such dogs are not usually pets as most people will imagine them so they could be rather light on training for that sort of thing.

 

[s0nicfreak]

A pedigree is a chart of the dog's family relationships. You look to see if anyone on there was related.

Although it may be further back than the pedigree shows, all purebred dogs have inbreeding in their past - that's how the breeds were made - and therefore they have more health problems. I'd recommend going to an animal shelter and adopting a mutt. It'll live longer, have less health problems, and you'll be giving a loving home to a dog that might not otherwise get one.

 

[UltraMagnus]

I'm a cat person myself, but I can tell you that avoiding inbred dogs is a good idea.

adopting a mutt or cross breed may be a good idea though if you want to avoid health problems. wolf hybrids tend to be naturally healthy animals, but obviously have their own problems.