Rare Dog Breeds – The Genetic Bottleneck

With the continued reduction of our canine rare breeds, another consequence of shrinking populations would be the genetic bottleneck effect.

A genetic bottleneck occurs when a drastic reduction in population size leaves the breed with a permanently smaller genetic diversity then there was originally. Regardless of whether the number of individuals is able to increase again, the gene pool remains reduced.

This again can lead to an increased risk of hereditary diseases and possible mutations. We need to work together to prevent such risks to our canine rare breeds!