Reply #143: what a load of nonsense

[TorchTheWitch]

If only it were possible to have such control over breedings. Wouldn't it be wonderful if breeding could be so manipulated and controlled as to get nothing but perfectly healthy and perfectly obedient dogs of any type with no need for any socialization or training other than simple commands. How wonderful to be able to breed out all diseases and disorders, too... and that actually has a possibility since many diseases and disorders that are inherited can be identified on the DNA strand and carefully bred out, yet even then it only creates a higher level of likelihood that a dog won't get hip dysplasia or low thyroid or a host of other identifiable diseases and disorders. And the amount of money and work that goes into that DNA discovery in order to attempt to breed out certain diseases and disorders is astronomical.

Behavior is not and CANNOT be bred. Such a thing is not possible any more than it would be possible for humans or any other creature. Specific breeds of dogs merely have a stronger than average POSSIBILITY of certain specific behaviors all of which can be trained into or out of them. Nearly all breeding traits for certain behaviors like herding, hunting, retrieving, racing, etc. have far more to do with physical characteristics than behavioral ones anyway since breeding for behavior just is not possible. The best that can be done is to breed for behavioral tendencies and hope for the best and only to make it easier to train for certain behaviors which any reputable breeder can tell you is still quite a crap shoot.