no propaganda please wrote:
On the surface, your idea of checking the DNA sounds good. however, there are so many genes involved in temperament, not a single gene for any behavior in either man of dog. You would have to find all the genes for fear aggression, which are different from those which modify reactive to noise, territorial, food protective, toy hording aggression. The genes may be located in different areas for different breeds, so the crosses might have new locations, not like either parent. Studies to find the gene for primary lense luxation in terriers took years and thousands of dollars and it is only a single gene, no modifiers. Way too much of a task. then you have to add envirorment, epilepsy, brain tumors, diabetes as causes for aggression and you can see what an impossible task it really is. Suggestion for anyone buying a dog. go to a reliable breeder, handle their adult dogs, watch the dogs at dog shows and performance events, check the pedigrees, then train and socialize the dog well, feed it well and make sure that if you bought it as a house dog, not a working dog for livestock or hunting, it lives in the house with you. Make sure the breeder will help you any way they can, and get references from people who have purchased dogs from that person. A bargain dog seldom really is a bargain.
On the surface, your idea of checking the DNA soun... (
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valid points and I agree that determining which gene(s) may cause aggression would be tricky, if not impossible. Besides, there are all those other factors to consider.
I'm thinking, though, it'd be useful, through DNA checking, to determine how many dogs involved with attacks on humans are inbred (brother to sister). Line breeding (parent to offspring), which is SOP in most breeding operations, is another matter.