Understanding Canine Genetics

The sum of a dog’s genetic material can be thought of as a cook book which is split into chapters containing recipes. These recipes are the dog's genes and the letters that make up each recipe is its DNA. Just as a recipe can be used to make a dish of food, a gene can be used to make a protein, a building block of a dog's body.

 

Read the following information to find out what DNA is, how a gene is made and how these translate into a dog’s body. This section will provide you with what happens when genes, or translation goes wrong and how this can impact on a dogs health.

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DNA, Genes and Chromosomes
Learn about the basic units of inheritance.

 

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Traits and inheritance
Find out how a dogs genes relate to what they look and act like.

 

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From DNA to protein
Discover how DNA produces the building blocks of life.

 

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Mutations and disease
Understand how and why errors occur with DNA and what the consequences can be.

 

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Breeds and their gene pool
What effects the size of a breed’s gene pool and what are the consequences of a shrinking gene pool.

 

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Inbreeding and health
What is inbreeding and how is it linked to health?

 

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The impact of popular sires
Why can the number of times a stud is used have an impact on the health of a breed?

 

 

Join the Kennel Club Academy for FREE
Watch a number of FREE short films on the science behind dog breeding and how to breed responsibly.

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Note: The above information has been obtained online from the UK Kennel Club (KC) website;

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