Genetic Basics

Now- I’m not a science whiz or a genetic professor, but I do have a functioning brain cell with the ability to research and debunk BSL Bullshit.

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Now- I’m curious where Mr. Sloan gathered his “reliable rule of thumb” from. “The more the dog looks like a pit the more likely it will go pit?” Now- I’ve been looking EVERYWHERE for any source of data that backs that statement up and I’ve found nothing.

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When you breed a dog for a purpose- or “purpose bred” for specific traits and behaviors – it’s understandable and expected for that specific bred dog to behave in such manner. As the famous Gary Wilkes who wrote an article for DogsBite.org.
Now- according to Gary Wilks, he comes from a long line of southern pit bull fighters who purposely bred fighting dogs. He acknowledges how his family dogs were bred to create their desired fighting dog- but all that points out is- a purpose bred pit bull to be a fighting dog will be exactly that- they hope.

But what happens when you have the genetic mish mash of… Pit bull, healer, lab, collie and only God knows what? Well, according to Dogsbite.org members- somehow the “pit bull gene” ( which consists of multiple genetic contributions…) is just so BAD ASS – that it squashes every genetic contribution.

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At its most fundamental level, inheritance in organisms occurs by passing discrete heritable units, called genes, from parents to progeny.
So, it makes me wonder- considering many dogs- such as mine are labeled “pit mixes” aka MUTTS-, just how should these dogs behave?

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According to DBO train of thought- the 4th generation of this puppy should be-

1. Dog aggressive
2. Herder
3. Retriever
4. Short, long, soft, textured fur
5. Purple tongue
6. Stand offish
7. Friendly
8. Single owner preferred
9. Family friendly
10. Large
11. Medium sized

And a kazillon of other characteristics.

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Riiiiiight. Pick the pit mix:

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All of them. How’s that for genetics?

6 thoughts on “Genetic Basics

  1. The funny thing is that he is sort of right. “Pit genes” aka the genes that make a dog LOOK like what the public thinks a pit bull looks like ARE dominant. There are 5 genes that control head shape. A similarly small number for hair expressions etc. The genetic makeup of a dogs appearance is the extreme minority of genes in a dog and are very limited. The genes associated with a “pit bull” appearance are dominant. This is why so many dogs of mixes have short hair and blocky heads. A boxer mix, Great Dane mix etc with a very different looking dog will most often yield that “pit bull look” though there is nothing remotely pit bull about it.

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      1. Absolutely. Especially ridiculous considering the generic appearance that is so common. Behavior related genes may never be understood. The way they interact and produce behaviors is so much harder to understand because of the sheer number of them and the exponential interactions they cause.

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