Breeding for health and mentality

The breed and the population

Breeding within the family is harmful for both humans and animals. When dogs are related, this is referred to as the increase of inbreeding and can be counted statistically upon as an coefficient. (COI). When two dogs are matched that have similarities in one or more places in the pedigree, the inbreeding coefficient is gradually increased. This can lead to previously hidden diseases or reduced fitness emerging.

This affects all breeds. The Tibetan Mastiff, which is a relatively recently recognized breed, has not fallen as deeply into the inbreeding trap as some other breeds have. However, the breed has a several ancestors in common in Western pedigrees. In-depth studies of the pedigrees are needed to prevent the increase of inbreeding getting out of hand.

The kennel clubs monitors the increase in the inbreeding coefficient in a statistic way, to ensure it does not get out of hand. That is not enough. The reality in the DNA can be completely different from statistics.

To work towards keeping actual inbreeding, i.e. the extent of homozygosity in the DNA, low, it is necessary to measure the genetic inbreeding coefficient.

In the image above, all purebred dogs are shown as a line, and a number of Tibetan Mastiffs are shown as bars, from EMARK Laboratory in the USA. Bod Khyi now tests its breeding dogs to determine their genetic inbreeding coefficient.

At each dog’s page, the genetic COI and results are specified for the one tested.  Humla, Chilla, Tosca, Fuega.

Mentality and dailylife 

The Tibetan Mastiff is one of the most original dog types that exists today. Historians believe that the breed developed from dogs that became isolated in the Himalayas and its surrounding areas more than thousands of years ago.

The dogs adapted to life in the Himalayas, with the climate and weather conditions that prevail there. The Tibetan owners were in need of protection for themselves, their animals and their property, which became these dogs’ task in service of humans.

The Tibetan Mastiff is a guard and livestock guardian dog. Their tasks have looked the same for thousands of year and, to this day, have not changed in their regions of origin. The tasks are in their blood.

Most correctly, it should today be described as a guarding dog. Its guarding style differs from, for example, the working dog breeds.

A Tibetan Mastiff will primarily try to scare off intruders through its powerful bark and by rushing forward in a threatening manner. At home it is a sharp guardian. The guarding instinct can be channelled in different ways in different individuals towards: food, objects, people and territory. Away from home it is relaxed as long as its integrity or personal space is not invaded.

It should be a confident and stable dog. Fearful or aggressive dogs should not be used for breeding.

Relevant health tests

The SKK requires known hip status before breeding.

In addition, the breed club recommends known elbow status and eye status.

Bod Khyi performs hip and elbow X-rays sometime between 1 and 2 years of age, depending somewhat on how the puppy’s growth has been. A dog who grows evenly and becomes robust quickly can be X-rayed earlier. A lanky dog with a major growth spurt is X-rayed a bit later. 

Eye examinations are carried out sometime after 1 year of age. In Sweden there is, yet, no demand of repeating it before breeding. 

Elsewhere in Europe and USA, breed clubs recommend checking the thyroid gland. This has been done on some of our dogs, although not as a routine. 

However, if the dog has had blood samples taken for another reason, thyroid values have been requested at the same time. In that case, Free T4, Total T4 and TSH are all checked.

Healthcheck rutines and demands varies around the globe and often shows the history of the breeds sickness known in the country. If you are more interested in Swedish TM stocks health over time. Please, welcome to contact the TM- club.