Why collect data?

We believe in having the total family picture to inform breeding decisions. Data collection is key to preserve the temperaments we love, and improve hips/structure for future generations to have sound bodies well into their senior years.

Why should we evaluate all the dogs in a family?

Every dog carries traits that cannot be seen, the genes are there but not expressed. Observable genes, ‘phenotype’, include appearance, personality, screenable diseases etc., but the phenotype is only part of the story. When two dogs are bred, both the ‘seen’ and ‘unseen’ genetics are shuffled and recombined in their offspring. The relatives of a breeding dog, particularly it’s siblings, are a special window into the possible ‘unseen’ genes that it carries and passes on to offspring. Experienced breeders have been known to say “ You better like the siblings of your breeding dog, because you will very like produce them in your puppies. " Indeed, puppies may end up more like their aunts and uncles than their own parents.

Breeding is a gamble.

Knowing only the phenotypes of the parents is knowing only a few cards. But if you can gather data on close relatives, you begin to know more and more of the cards that might be in the deck. The more you know, the more you can begin to predict which hands might be dealt after the deck is shuffled.

NO DOG IS PERFECT.

There is a caveat here. Having more screening tools can lead to perfectionism. The more you know about a dog, the more flaws you are likely to uncover. It’s extremely important to remember that NO DOG IS PERFECT. We use these tools to help us balance risk. We can be careful not to match two dogs who share the same flaws. Throwing out dogs from the gene pool because they are imperfect is a dangerous game and genetic diversity on a breed level suffers.

It should also be noted that many health problems, like Hip Dysplasia, are polygenic traits. This means multiple genes are involved, as well as environmental factors. The result is that while screening is extremely useful, it also isn’t always a guarantee of health.

Inspiration

The inspiration behind the data collection for this project comes from Service Dog Breeding Programs, such as Guiding Eyes. These organizations have sophisticated screening and data collection programs to steer their breeding efforts. Their aim is to produce the best possible dogs for service work, with minimal wash-out. These programs utilize Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) to aid in decision making for pairing dogs. EBVs combine statistics with phenotype data to improve predictability of offspring. Using EBVs requires a ton of data from a large population of dogs and is not feasible in small scale breeding programs. However, the concept of studying whole sibling groups and observing patterns and averages of traits across families is an important and useful tool that any breeder can apply. This approach does require cooperation and transparency among breeders and owners.

For more information on the importance of genetic diversity in dogs and how to manage diversity in a population:

To learn more specifically about English Shepherd breed health and see breed reports: