6 ms·

I'll try not come off as snide but I have to wonder what types of ailments Border Collies are prone to due to the inevitable inbreeding that every AKC dog has--

I'll try not come off as snide but I have to wonder what types of ailments Border Collies are prone to due to the inevitable inbreeding that every AKC dog has--hey they gotta look pretty in the ring. * Our German Short Hair Pointer had seizures which in time led to him having to be put down; despite having him treated at the Animal Medical Center in NYC amongst other places. * Our English Cocker Spaniel (a found dog that was living on the street) had terrible dermatitis which caused him to lose much fur and I'm pretty sure was no fun him. * Our Yorkshire Terrier had kidney disease, also with seizures, though much less common than the Pointer's until later in his life; he too eventually had to be put down due to kidney disease. That was it for the pure breeds, I told my partner next dog get a mutt. Indeed she did, and he seems like a good dog so far--smart and happy.

seattle_spring 7y ago
Your attempt to not come across as snide unfortunately didn't land. What on Earth does your little soapbox rant on purebreds have to do with the article? The dog was smart as fuck and lived a long life to 15.
- shultays 7y ago
  Dogs are happy no matter what. Poor things can lose their sight, hearing or/and ability to walk but they would still hapily wiggle their tails when pet Most "cute" dogs out there are deformities that are breeded into a race
- RaceWon 7y ago
  > your little soapbox rant on purebreds I'm soo sorry if my obvious point was over your fucking head. Here's an article for the more enlightened members who might actually be interested in alleviating the suffering of dogs--which are freakin awesome animals. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/although-purebred-dogs-can-be-best-in-show-are-they-worst-in-health/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/although-purebred...
  - dang 7y ago
    Personal attacks will get you banned here, regardless of how provocative another comment was. Would you mind reviewing the site guidelines and using HN as intended? We'd be grateful. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- dang 7y ago
  Would you please not break the site guidelines, regardless of how annoying another comment is? We've had to ask you this before. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
anonymfus 7y ago
>I have to wonder what types of ailments Border Collies are prone to due to the inevitable inbreeding The Wikipedia's page about Border Collies has a section about their common health problems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Collie#Common_health_problems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Collie#Common_health_pr...
colechristensen 7y ago
There is the International Sheep Dog Society which registers dogs filtering out some genetic conditions and allows new registrations by passing a sheep herding trial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Sheep_Dog_Society https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Sheep_Dog_Societ...
cmrdporcupine 7y ago
I think your comment is a little off target with border collies to some degree. Of all the pure breds (and I also have problems with 'pure breeding' to some degree) they are probably the least like what you are calling out here. All the other breeds you mentioned are bred for looks. Border collies are bred for behaviour. The definition of a collie is fundamentally personality and behaviour traits, not a look. There is a wide variation in the physical profile of border collies. Size, colouring, physical comportment, etc. Ours is completely black, others are black and white, or grey, etc. Ours is under 30lbs, some get to be 40 or 50. I've always preferred mutts, but our dog before our BC was a mutt, a rescue, some sort of a collie cross. Her health problems were numerous: hip dysplasia, pancreatitis, and she died at 6 from lymphoma. She got dealt a bad set of cards. Poor lovely soul. But our BC in contrast is the measure of health. Extremely vital. But I still miss the old dog :-(
- craigsmansion 7y ago
  "Show lines" for Border collies have been long opposed by those who work Border collies, fearing inbreeding and health problems. Unfortunately, when things become popular (who wouldn't want the "smartest" dog?) they become lucrative, and the "working dog" heritage that protected them from genetic deficiencies now became a point of sale for them, leading to the inevitable inbreeding. Whereas before what constituted a Border collie was general physical ability and endurance combined with "the eye", now many regions have show standards for Border collies as well. So, simply getting a Border collie is no longer a guaranteed way to get away from the "pure breed" mentality and all the problems associated with it.
  - cmrdporcupine 7y ago
    That's unfortunate, and I guess we got lucky with our dog then. We have never had a pure-bred dog before, so it was kind of interesting to get her ancestry information from the border collie association, and see that her ancestors were Welsh herding dogs just a few generations back. They're really lovely dogs, in personality. A challenge, to be sure, but she has such a strong desire to please and work hard.

seattle_spring 7y ago

Your attempt to not come across as snide unfortunately didn't land. What on Earth does your little soapbox rant on purebreds have to do with the article? The dog was smart as fuck and lived a long life to 15.

shultays 7y ago
Dogs are happy no matter what. Poor things can lose their sight, hearing or/and ability to walk but they would still hapily wiggle their tails when pet Most "cute" dogs out there are deformities that are breeded into a race
RaceWon 7y ago
> your little soapbox rant on purebreds I'm soo sorry if my obvious point was over your fucking head. Here's an article for the more enlightened members who might actually be interested in alleviating the suffering of dogs--which are freakin awesome animals. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/although-purebred-dogs-can-be-best-in-show-are-they-worst-in-health/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/although-purebred...
- dang 7y ago
  Personal attacks will get you banned here, regardless of how provocative another comment was. Would you mind reviewing the site guidelines and using HN as intended? We'd be grateful. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
dang 7y ago
Would you please not break the site guidelines, regardless of how annoying another comment is? We've had to ask you this before. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

anonymfus 7y ago

>I have to wonder what types of ailments Border Collies are prone to due to the inevitable inbreeding The Wikipedia's page about Border Collies has a section about their common health problems: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Collie#Common_health_problems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Collie#Common_health_pr...

colechristensen 7y ago

There is the International Sheep Dog Society which registers dogs filtering out some genetic conditions and allows new registrations by passing a sheep herding trial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Sheep_Dog_Society https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Sheep_Dog_Societ...

cmrdporcupine 7y ago

I think your comment is a little off target with border collies to some degree. Of all the pure breds (and I also have problems with 'pure breeding' to some degree) they are probably the least like what you are calling out here. All the other breeds you mentioned are bred for looks. Border collies are bred for behaviour. The definition of a collie is fundamentally personality and behaviour traits, not a look. There is a wide variation in the physical profile of border collies. Size, colouring, physical comportment, etc. Ours is completely black, others are black and white, or grey, etc. Ours is under 30lbs, some get to be 40 or 50. I've always preferred mutts, but our dog before our BC was a mutt, a rescue, some sort of a collie cross. Her health problems were numerous: hip dysplasia, pancreatitis, and she died at 6 from lymphoma. She got dealt a bad set of cards. Poor lovely soul. But our BC in contrast is the measure of health. Extremely vital. But I still miss the old dog :-(

craigsmansion 7y ago
"Show lines" for Border collies have been long opposed by those who work Border collies, fearing inbreeding and health problems. Unfortunately, when things become popular (who wouldn't want the "smartest" dog?) they become lucrative, and the "working dog" heritage that protected them from genetic deficiencies now became a point of sale for them, leading to the inevitable inbreeding. Whereas before what constituted a Border collie was general physical ability and endurance combined with "the eye", now many regions have show standards for Border collies as well. So, simply getting a Border collie is no longer a guaranteed way to get away from the "pure breed" mentality and all the problems associated with it.
- cmrdporcupine 7y ago
  That's unfortunate, and I guess we got lucky with our dog then. We have never had a pure-bred dog before, so it was kind of interesting to get her ancestry information from the border collie association, and see that her ancestors were Welsh herding dogs just a few generations back. They're really lovely dogs, in personality. A challenge, to be sure, but she has such a strong desire to please and work hard.