[Todd]

Hey guys. Just wanted to hear your opinions on something. Although it's not as much of an issue as it was at one point in time, there are breeders out there who still interbreed dogs (like a brother and sister having offspring) in what seems to be a desparate attempt to conserve purity among breeds. Do you guys believe that interbreeding has been a major contributer to the genetic defects we see in certain breeds today? (Like hip issues with Labs and heart conditions in Boxers)

[Yogi]

It is not interbreeding but inbreeding where sister to brother is done. Line breeding is where you take a grandfather to granddaughter etc.
Line breeding is still done on occasion. Inbreeding is the one primarily frowned upon and can if bred more than once create issues. You will find often when looking through pedigreed lines where a particular dam or sire has been used and will see it on both sides of the line. Sometimes 2 or 3 generations back.
For a long period of time the concept was done to keep the lines intact but with the shrinking gene pool as Orangedog noted, many now bring in dogs from Europe and the UK for breeding purposes. In many cases you will find that American bred dogs have sired or had litters in Europe where they had been bred by or to European dogs. This is to expand the gene pool.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Yogi

It is not interbreeding but inbreeding where sister to brother is done. Line breeding is where you take a grandfather to granddaughter etc.
Line breeding is still done on occasion. Inbreeding is the one primarily frowned upon and can if bred more than once create issues. You will find often when looking through pedigreed lines where a particular dam or sire has been used and will see it on both sides of the line. Sometimes 2 or 3 generations back.
For a long period of time the concept was done to keep the lines intact but with the shrinking gene pool as Orangedog noted, many now bring in dogs from Europe and the UK for breeding purposes. In many cases you will find that American bred dogs have sired or had litters in Europe where they had been bred by or to European dogs. This is to expand the gene pool.

oh sorry about that. Yes I mean inbreeding not interbreeding. Thanks.

[OrangeDog]

inbreeding is fairly common practice in puppymills and is also done by backyard breeders. Inbreeding is NOT a good thing, can and does cause health and temperament problems!

Linebreeding, when done properly can help a breeding program but there comes a point that you need to outcross. Lines that are linebred over and over will begin to develope the temperment issues, shorter lifespans and other problems that inbreeding can cause.

I like to use a combination of outcrossing and linebreeding in my line and find that is the most successful