Breeding Ethics and Transparency

BREEDING ETHICS & TRANSPARENCY

While many potential puppy owners go for the look of a certain breed, many people don’t tend to dig deeper into the health or pedigrees of the parents.

You may think, pedigrees and health testing – that’s all a breeder’s job – why should I be concerned as a puppy buyer?

It’s not always enough to have the basics completed, such as hip/elbow x-rays and DNA testing. It certainly helps, but the most common health issues in dogs aren’t always things that breeders can test for.

The most common canine diseases (mixed breed and purebred dogs) seen by veterinarians include allergies, hip/elbow dysplasia, heart disease, cruciate ligament disease, patellar luxation, cataracts, hereditary cancers.

Dog’s lifespans are only a fraction of our own. This means when we lose our best friends, we grieve as they are a human family member. Shouldn’t genuine dog lovers, including breeders want them to stay with us as long as possible? If we as breeders we can be proactive and make a positive difference for health and longevity, why wouldn’t we?

As times goes on, modern science can assist breeding programs in developing more DNA tests, but at this point, it can be somewhat limited. For example, recently it came to the attention of White Swiss Shepherd breeders that there was problem in their breed with Cerebral Hypoplasia. Thankfully, was a DNA test was recently developed for the breed and many breeders are now testing for it, which is good news.

Some of the most common health issues cannot be determined via a DNA test and that brings me to the point of genetic health databases.

As a potential buyer, you may want to understand the likelihood or risk of your puppy being affected by any health issue, so asking questions about this subject should certainly not offend a breeder.

What about this? If you think your breeder is ethical or serious about their dogs, ask them whether they contribute to, or are a part of a breed club that tracks and reports health issues in a database. If not, ask them why not. Health databases are a crucial tool to track health issues and traits and a great way for breeders to reduce the incidence of health issues in dogs.

I have conducted, used and contributed to such health and genetic databases long before the Lykos Wolfalike breed and found it to be an incredibly helpful tool in making the soundest breeding decisions.

Without honest breeders willing to research and contribute, there is a high chance of breeders doubling up on genetic issues and producing affected dogs.

Personally, I keep records of any health issue (whether it be genetic or not).

When people chat to me about puppies and ask about the health of the breed and bloodlines, I tell them what things have come up to date. I’d rather that potential puppy owners know that I’m happy to chat about these things, rather than act like my lines are perfect – because in reality – no bloodline is perfect!

Statistically speaking, a dog carries at least 8 genetic diseases! They may be ‘clear’ on their DNA report, but again, the most common diseases can’t always be tested for.

Sticking your head in the sand and pretending your lines are perfect, does not reflect well on any breeder.

On the other hand, using reported health information to denigrate a breeder is reprehensible and is the exact reason so many breeders choose to hide genetic information.

TESTICLES IN MALE DOGS

So far, like most breeders, I have produced a handful of undescended testicles in males – very common across all breeds unfortunately.

CANCER

I have also had reported 2 cases of dogs who have developed different types cancer at the age of nearly 6 years old.

HIPS

In the Lykos Wolfalike Council of Australia, dogs hips are assessed and graded (CHEDS scheme or Monash). Additional consultation is done with Dr Ray Ferguson BVSc, who has also received the Australian Medal of Honour for his service to the veterinary industry. Along with reviewing hips/elbow scores, Ray also consults on planned matings. The Lykos Wolfalike breed is fortunate to receive this advice from a highly regarded industry professional. More about hip scores can be found here.

As of 2026, across all puppies bred and registered under Lykosia (180 pups in 11 years - average of 16-17 pups per year) - which includes litters bred by my puppy owners, only 3 dogs have recorded hip scores above the total breed cut-off of 10. The higher scores range from 10 to 26 under the AVA/CHEDS scoring system, (with those 3 comparable to OFA Fair through to Borderline). 2 out of the 3 dogs with the fair or borderline hip gradings were noted as overweight between the age of 4-10 months old, with owners advised at the time to reduce the weight of the pups (which was before any x-raying occurred or issue detected).

The overall average hip score for all dogs produced is below 5, which is the same as the Lykos Wolfalike breed average. By comparison, the average hip score for all mixed breed dogs recorded under the CHEDS scheme is 9.74 (i.e. worse). This means we are still doing significantly better than most mixed breeds.

This is not the kind of information most breeders track - let alone publish, but genetics and health is a keen interest of mine and we always do the best we can to reduce the incidence of any issues in the breed.

With hip scores, outliers do occur, even generations of excellent graded parents. If the issue did not have a polygenetic/ mode of inheritance combined environmental factors, it was easy to eradicate – but it’s something all breeders need to be aware of and consider in their breeding programs. Breeders should keep records and track any issues over time.

The higher hip scores over the cut off score of 10, acquaint to only 1.57% of ALL Lykosia pups. This also considers the many pet-only dogs that have been x-rayed and scored. To date, progeny directly from this line are coming back with no issues going forward after undergoing PennHip evaluations as pups, followed by official grading as adults.

It used to be standard practice for all puppy owners (even pet only i.e. desexed pets ) to x-ray their dogs at 12-18 months as part of the health guarantee, until a few people kicked up a big fuss about doing it in the past couple of years (even though they signed a contract to do it). It's in the dog's best interests being a large breed. I’ve never had an issue with this when breeding White Shepherds for 20 odd years, but it seems nowadays people aren’t as honourable when it comes to these sort of things, even if it is of benefit to the dog to know the status of its hips, being a large breed. As a result, x-raying for pet-only pups is optional now.

Breeders who can openly admit and discuss it and aim to improve the health in that particular bloodline, makes them brave and committed to forward planning for improvement.

TRANSPARENCY

In 25 years, I have experienced 3 unplanned litters, and in each instance, I have openly shared the circumstances surrounding them. Breeders should feel comfortable being honest about such situations without facing harassment and cyber-bulling from anonymous individuals who engage in toxic online attacks with false stories and accusations. Ironically, many of those who initiate these defamatory campaigns have bred females on consecutive heat cycles, producing more than three litters within two years (violation of breeding legislation), being expelled from multiple breeding organisations, mating dogs without conducting health tests, and failing to disclose health/DNA results to conceal their lack of responsible breeding practices - and much more. The saying, "Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones," is particularly relevant in these circumstances. We choose not to engage in such drama and believe that time is far better spent focusing on responsible breeding and the well-being of our own dogs.

When breeders are honest and work together and track the health in their dogs and pups, they make an informed decision to try and reduce the incidence of recessive genes in a gene pool and improve the probability of healthy genes.

Ask for pedigree information

I have also noticed that many breeders will not advertise the pedigree of their dogs and health test results, which I personally find a bit strange. There is no reason not to list these tests. Generally, I make an effort to publish all the information about the dogs in my breeding program, having links to the parents, grandparents etc on my website or listed on a public database.

There are many breeds suffering from issues due to inbreeding, as some breeders don’t know or research their lines and double up on hidden, recessive faults.

If there is a random deleterious recessive mutation, it can quickly spread throughout the bloodline, if not the entire breed. Excessive inbreeding or linebreeding (especially when done without care, knowledge or purpose), increases the risk of genetic disorders. It can create inbreeding depression, which means a reduction in fertility, vigour or overall health. An inexperienced breeder should never do such a mating, without the guidance and support from a mentor or someone very experienced with the actual bloodlines being used.

Closely related parents produce predictable offspring because there is less room for variation, but if the common ancestor/s carry recessive genes, especially that of which cannot be tested for, those genes have a higher risk of resulting puppies or further down the line.

‘Hybrid Vigour’

Some people believe that mixed breeds are healthier due to a thing called ‘hybrid vigour’. This is not something that I personally believe and I have seen evidence of myself. Mixed breeds can have the same recessive traits as purebred dogs, which also pass down faulty genes to the next generation. In some cases mixing more breeds can increase the incidence of bringing in additional genetic issues into a breeding gene pool. We always breed to reduce the COI in dogs too, using Embark DNA.

At the end of the day, the proof of a breeder's true ethics and what is being developed in terms of pedigrees and health, will be evident by breeders who are open and transparent about their breeding programs and their pedigrees.