DNA PEDIGREE

[Blackbart]

My mate had a 8 month old pup that is supposed to be a labrador,i say supposed because i am not convinced.

 

It has the coate of a lab,but its leggy and its snout is thin like a greyhound,not like a lab.

 

Also its ears are quite thin and its paws are very small.

 

I have inherited this dog because he couldnt control it,having new baby and grumpy wife an all.

 

When i first got it,it was completely nuts but it has calmed down a lot now and it has started to take to basic commands but it still seems a bit loopy(for instance last night it chased its own tail for 25 minutes untill it was so dizzy it fell over)

 

I have had working dogs for almost all of my life but i have never had a lab,is this normal for a lab?

 

My pal paid a LOT of money for this dog,got the pedigree and it is full of ftch,but like i said it just dont look right to me.

 

Is there any test you can do to find out if it is a pure lab?or as i suspect next doors lurcher has had a go?

[Highlander]

Ah ha someone's spotted the flaw in the system. Kennel Club registrations are submitted by the breeders and as such are open to abuse by some. DNA would be the way to go BUT don't ask me why it hasn't happened. It might also put a stop to unscrupulous breeding from bad blood i.e. hip dysplasia, cataracts etc.

 

As far as your dog is concerned Labs have had plenty of other strains put into them over the years, greyhounds for speed, mastifs for bulk/stamina etc etc and it's not uncommon to spot some of these traits in them. Might just be a funny looker that wouldn't win Crufts but that don't mean it couldn't be a good field dog.

[lurcherboy]

It is possible if you have the breeders consent and more importantly the money.

 

 

 

 

LB

[new to the flock]

Yes you can DNA the dog, but you can only DNA it to its parents. Basically you would be varifing that the dam and sire are who they say they are on the papers. Litterally you can breed a bitch up to 3 different sires for one litter and DNA the pups once born registering them to the correct sire.

 

My last Standard Poodle pup was born from a litter done this way. As it was to be the bitches last litter and still the breeder....someone I trust impecably.....wanted to put her to two males, one from Russia and one from Washington. ended up with 4 pups from the Russian dog, and 5 from the Washington dog.

 

It is expensive but if you really need to know it can be done.

 

NTTF

[ronan nee]

The registration of dogs with the kennel club is only a joke. Too many people

abusing the system. DNA testing should be compulsery.

 

regards ronan

[casts_by_fly]

bart,

 

That's what my roxy is like. If I hadn't met the parents in person, I'd swear she was half lab, half english pointer. She has super long legs for a lab with a high cut stomach like a greyhound (though not as pronounced). She has a deep chest, but she is very narrow if you look at her head on. She has a skinny head also. Really she looks like a normal lab that you've put into a press and squeezed her 4" thinner. She is only 60 lb.

 

In the states we'd call her a field lab, while the big block headed dogs were called british labs. Over there a lot of guys use labs as their primary upland dog (as well as duck dog and house pet). Most of the big heavy labs don't last a days' hunting and get too tired to push on. The thinner field bred dogs are usually a bit more energetic and bigger runners when searching. In good shape a field lab will hunt all day for upland birds, go home for dinner, and do it again the next day. Roxy isn't a wide ranging dog, but she covers land fast. She is through cover 2 and 3 times and rarely fails to find a bird and put it up within range. She can almost run down a rabbit too. Three times now she has chased while we were walking the fields. All three times she has stayed hot on the rabbit's heels until it hit the cover. Then she left it go and came back.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[casts_by_fly]

I should have mentioned too that while DNA is good, you can only do like NTTF said and compare to the parents. If you only had the dog's DNA all you'd be able to tell is that it is a dog. Since all dogs are the same species, they have the same chromosomes in the same places. Kinda like comparing human DNA. Just looking at one person tells you that it is a person. You know that it isn't a cat, dog, or bird. If you have two parents you can compare the alleles of the child to the parent for common matches. Same thing with dogs.

 

Thanks

Rick