DEGENERATION AND GENETICS
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Now I will explain the degeneration or non-degeneration principle from genetical point of view.
Genetics has two main features:
1) Heredity, that is to say the ability of organisms to breed descendants similar to themselves.
2) Variability, which exhibits itself through the number of differences among living creatures. Without variability, there could not be any development both in positive and negative sense.
Genetic information is stored in chromosomes in a form of deoxyribonucleic acid, which is DNA (DNK).
Dog inherits only the genes (endowments) that are decisive for the development of certain traits and features of it's organism. Rarely can be demonstrated genetic memory of concrete events, experienced by the dog’s ancestors.
Genes can be divided into two groups:
1) Genes of major influence - majorgenes
These genes decide the color and length of coat, position of ears, type of the dog’s constitution, some hereditary diseases etc.
2) Genes of minor influence - minorgenes or polygenes
These genes are related to the dog’s qualities. Above all, they characterize it's dispositions for the work that it's breed was bred for - in hounds it is hunting, in guard dogs abilities for guarding etc.
These genes are to a small extent influenced by the environment that the dog lives in, by nutrition, upbringing, training, by the kind of experiences it lived through etc.
The influence of majorgenes cannot be changed by the owner, but he or she can change the influence of minorgenes to a degree.
One interesting fact - if we tried to develop in our dog only the dispositions not characteristic for it's breed and at the same time suppressed it's natural dispositions, the result could be a so-called genetic stress, or internal discrepancy between the unsuitable training and the opposite natural dog’s dispositions.
From the above we may learn the following: If single breeds will not live in the way they used to for centuries during their development, the positive influence of minorgenes - where are coded endowments for e.g. working or guarding - will be gradually decreasing, and the breed will step by step lose it's natural positivities. If this will proceed for several generations, the breed will degenerate. That is why we must “revive” minorgenes by deliberate development of such dispositions which are natural to the breed. And we will breed only dogs with fully developed desirable dispositions.
Three examples of degeneration:
Minimal degeneration (in dogs in whom we strictly keep their natural endowments):
Slow degeneration (in dogs in whom we keep their natural endowments only partially):
Quick degeneration (in dogs in whom we do not keep their natural endowments at all):
