I am preparing to get a dog and have been researching different breeds. I am keen on natural looking, healthy breeds and have done a lot of reading about Northern Inuits lately. With the amount of health problems that have been registered in many breeds, this is obviously a major concern and I want to make sure to get a healthy dog.
The Northern Inuit seems to have a good reputation in terms of health, but I have noticed that the "Breeders Code" on the official website of the Northern Inuit Society contains no clause that addresses inbreeding, whilst at the same time disallowing out-crossing (even though the breed was created by crossing Siberian Huskies and German Shepherds, amongst others, in the first place). I am concerned that, with such a fairly new breed and a fairly small gene-pool to go with it (there are not that many registered breeders, and many of the stud-dogs appear to be closely related), the Northern Inuit will quickly become inbred and go down the same road as other breeds with genetically induced health-problems.
It would be a shame and quite frankly infuriating if this were to happen despite the widespread awareness of the results of inbreeding. I am no expert, however, and I am hoping that you might be able to advise me on this subject.
Leslie Sass, by email
Are you sure you are not aiming at this breed primarily to be a bit different from everyone else?
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with a Border Collie apart from being a popular dog? They are intelligent, easy to train, free from genetic problems now that eye problems have been bred out. They are also good fun but you need to be prepared to give them lots of time.
John Burns BVMS MRCVS