Archives for April 7, 2014

In my last blog, I defined words that described when symptoms may present themselves in a dog affected with a genetic condition.  Today’s topic of discussion is how those symptoms show up (or not show up).  These terms are easily confused with each other.  I’ve even heard some geneticists can get these definitions mixed up.  Let me introduce two terms: Incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity.

Incomplete penetrance is a term that describes symptoms, which may or may not be present in a dog with an at-risk or affected genotype.  The dog has the mutated gene in the right number of copies to cause the disease, but the dog may not show physical symptoms of the disease.  As you can imagine, this can cause some confusion when examining the pedigrees of your dogs and this is when genetic testing becomes an important tool.  If genetic testing is positive, we know the dog has the mutation that causes the disease. Regardless if there are symptoms, this dog can pass this mutation on to its offspring.  Knowing this information may impact breeding practices, as discussed in previous blogs.  The concept of incomplete penetrance is an ...

A medium-sized hunting dog that originated in Hungary, the vizsla has a devoted following of both hunters and conformation enthusiasts. While they are essentially pointers – locking up on game and indicating its location by pointing with their nose – they do have an inherent desire to retrieve as well. If introduced to water and encouraged to work in it, they can make passably retrieve waterfowl in many settings.

Perhaps the most recognizable feature of the vizsla is its coloring; shading of solid rust gives it a very distinctive look. The coat is short, flat and dense without an undercoat. They are medium in size, standing a strict 21 to 24 inches in height at the shoulder and run 40 to 65 pounds, with females being slightly smaller. While they are lightly built to withstand the rigors of the hunt, vizslas are robust and well muscled – even sinewy. Agile and energetic, they were bred to hunt the fields, forests and waters of Hungary with power, drive and endurance. That being said, they are “people” dogs and make one of the best family companions of all the pointing breeds.

According to the AKC, the vizsla's ancestors were hunters and ...