What's the B.I.G.S., and how can this help the mess?
B.I.G.S. (Boerboel International Genetic Screening) is a series of DNA tests to look for properties and disorders in a dog's genetic makeup. In this case the boerboel.
This can be: eye, heart, kidney and other disorders etc.
170 health tests in total.
32 tests concerning the genotype of the dog.
Is the dog e.g. carrier of the liver nose, long hair or Black and Tan gene etc.? Also information about coat color etc.
Included in the B.I.G.S. package is also the DNA profile (the genetic fingerprint of the dog) according to the ISAG standard.
The DNA profile can be used, in the BI database, to determine parenthood if DNA profiles of the father, mother and puppy are present.
Every dog that has been B.I.G.S. tested now has a result regarding the Gentische Diversiteit(GD) and the Genetische Gezondheids Index(GHI).
The GD or Genetic Diversity. What does this actually mean ?
The GD determines the genetic diversity in the dog. The higher the number, the more diverse. !! There are 3 known values.
1 x from your own dog. The GD.
1 x the average (Median per 23-2-2017 is 38.90%) of all tested boerboels. (Over 300)
1 x the average (Median per 23-2-2017 is 34.60%) of all dog breeds tested at the laboratory.
The GD at the boerboels is 12% higher compared to other dog breeds!
Example:
Your dog has a GD of 38.40%. This means that your dog has scored about the average and nothing is wrong.
Among the farmers tested, the :
Lowest GD score at the moment (i.e. less diversity) : 26.10% (with an inbreeding of 20.10%)
Highest GD score at the moment (i.e. more diversity) : 43.50% (with an inbreeding of 5.6%)
The GHI or Genetic Health Index. What does this actually mean?
The Genetic Health Index (GHI) describes the relative health level of the dog's genome in relation to the other tested dogs in the database, considering both disease test results and measured genetic diversity.
The dog's GHI is not stable and is likely to change when the number of tested dogs increases. The average dog has a GHI value of 100 - the healthier the dog, the higher the index. For instance, severe inherited diseases, as well as low genetic diversity, would lower the index.
The GHI value becomes broad-specific when a sufficient number of dogs have been tested within a wide !!!!
Please note that the GHI value ALONE should not be used for breeding selections. Mating of two dogs with a high GHI will not necessarily lead to healthier offspring as the dogs might be too closely related.
Use the Mate Select Tool in the BI database to evaluate the genetic match and to see the estimated genetic health of the offspring.
The genetic health index does not take into account known inherited diseases within a broad for which there are no DNA tests or any test results obtained outside the database.
Below BI will try to explain why testing is so important:
Many breeders / owners may have heard of Piona Lugar, a very famous stud dog from the past. He can be found in many pedigrees.
Piona Lugar, along with a number of other old dogs, is also one of the dogs used to determine the breed profile.
He has: 236 children, 1925 small children and 4696 behind small children.
What a lot of people don't know is the fact that Piona Lugar was a carrier of:
Canine Multifocal Retinopathy 1 (cmr1). This is an eye disorder.
Hyperuricosuria and Hyperuricemia (HUU) or Urolithiasis. This is a kidney disorder.
Also carrier of the liver nose gene.
So in this case he passed on 3 disorders/properties. Genetic means this:
Mating carrier X not carrier = 50% of all offspring are also carrier. 50% is free.
Coverage of carrier X carrier = 25% suffers from the disorder. 50% is carrier. 25% is free!
This is exactly the reason why BI always asks breeders to watch out for the Popular Sire Syndrome! ( Popular male syndrome )
Imagine how many dogs in your dog's pedigree are suffering or are carriers of a disorder that has not yet been discovered.
This proves once again the importance of complete testing of your breeding dogs !
The costs of the B.I.G.S. and DNA tests can be found in the main menu under: "Contributions and Costs".
