Testing times for labs

The diminishing labrador gene pool means the UK’s favourite breed is open to a host of hereditary diseases, as David Tomlinson explains

- David Tomlinson

SPOT THE ODD ONE out: grey wolf, labrador, golden jackal, coyote. All four are members of the genus Caninae, and have scientific names prefixed with the word Canis. However, a big clue is that the labrador is the only one that can be trained to retrieve pheasants, sniff out drugs or work as a guide dog, for it is the only one that has been domesticated. This definitely makes it the odd member of this small canid pack. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s also the only one that is endangered.

Endangered? I can hear the splutterings of indignation. How can Britain’s most popular breed of dog possibly be endangered? All of us have been brought up around or even with labradors, making it all too easy us to take them for granted and to forget that they are a man-made breed of dog, not a unique species like the other canids I mentioned.

However, according to the Kennel Club, the labrador has an effective population size (EPS) of 81.7. The EPS is a measure of how many individuals are contributing genetically to a breed population and the size of the gene pool. Anything below 100 is regarded as critical and below 50 the breed is threatened with eventual extinction.

Selective breeding

Though there may be hundreds of thousands of labradors in the UK, the great majority share similar genes as a result of years of selective breeding and the multiple use of favoured sires. This, sadly, makes the labrador susceptible to a host of hereditary diseases, ranging from hip dysplasia to epilepsy.