- Global Canine Communication





Inbreeding doesn't cause infertility but pampered purebreds do have reproductive problems.



Fertility In The Purebred Dog


Inbreeding causes infertility. As proof, Vets observe that purebreds have more reproductive problems than mutts.


Mutts sit in the yard and happily scratch fleas.Interesting.  How many mongrels are brought to the vet because they can’t reproduce?


The reasons for purebred dog infertility may also explain the rise in other health problems. Here you go; mutts don’t receive repeated vaccines. They are not x-rayed, medicated, immunized, tranquilized and toxified as often as the purebred dog.


Mutts sit in the yard and happily scratch fleas.


And here’s a biggie. Mutts get more table scraps; stuff meant for human consumption. Under USDA regulations, that means the meat was not DDD - dead, diseased, or dying. Not to be gross about it, but pet foods contain “meat meal”, meaning it may also contain the bodies of euthanized pets.


The biological and immune systems of mongrel dogs are not overwhelmed by generations of preventative health care. In fact, many mutts live long healthy lives without ever seeing a vet. So what does that mean? Many people actually believe mutts are healthier but that is a myth.


Mutt In WhelpMutts are a mismatch of genes so therefore, cannot be genetically dominant for any characteristic, the least of which is genetic health. A more logical extrapolation is simply that pampered purebreds are compromised by too much devoted care!


Could it be that our treasured pets have fallen prey to the same marketing success which causes the death of so many humans? Well? Think about it.


Our dogs now receive many of the same medications prescribed to humans, even Prozac! Think about all those label warnings no one reads.  Common sense leads to the realization that many more pets die from prescription drugs and vaccines reactions than are documented in human medicine and, shockingly, Prescriptions are the 5th leading cause of human deaths.(1)


Until the pharmaceutical companies invaded the veterinary practice, very few owners rushed to get yearly boosters for their pets, purebred or mixed breeds. Suddenly, things changed. In many states, we are law-breakers if we fail to get rabies boosters and purebred dog owners don’t want to risk having their dogs impounded.


I tumbled to the truth in 1981, in an obscure medical book What About Immunizations? Writing for major dog publications (before internet), I visited libraries, interviewed top breeders and vets and concluded that repeated immunizations damage the immune system. It has taken over three decades of persistent journalism and fearless publishers but finally, leading veterinarians and scholars from around the world are putting it on the record in Vaccine Information Project(2)


But that is just one aspect of the canine fertility problem. Stop and think. Discounting veterinarians, what other group would have the best handle on canine health? Right. Hobby and show Breeders. And what is the most documented indicator of underlying health problems? Right again. Fertility.


Diminished reproductive ability is a red flag signaling an underlying health problem. The drive to reproduce is second only to the survival instinct. A breeder would have to be blissfully ignorant or shamefully inattentive to the significance of failing reproductive ability.

Long before sub-clinical health problems become evident, a breeder will have noted and probably recorded that the bitch missed or had a flakey season. A stud dog owner is quick to concern when his dog becomes weirdly disinterested in mounting or incapable of impregnating females.


So what has changed? Why are purebreds in trouble? Why are there “canine reproductive specialists”? Why has it become a whole new field? Not for pet owners, that’s for sure. So we can logically assume that today’s pet care protocols have a profound effect on the canine reproductive system. Fertility has nothing to do with inbreeding and everything to do with diet and health care and certainly purebred dogs suffer more from the effects of “diet and health care.” They get more of both than the average mutt or shelter dog.


Simply put, inbreeding only intensifies what is already there.  So if you select for reproductive health, that is what you will get. As show breeders, we tend to select for other virtues; short backs, good legs, pretty heads, ear and tail sets, etc. Well then! We shouldn’t complain when our most beautiful bitch rejects the perfect stud dog!


Excerpts from AKC Gazette column by Barbara Andrews Feb 2008

(1) Prescriptions are the 5th leading cause of human deaths.

(2) Vaccine Information Project



ii Legal Health Information Disclaimer


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