What are some of the most overrated breeding traits in wolves and how can we work to make them better?

I’m going to be discussing wolves, but I think the topics of importance could as well apply to dog breeding. I’ll be listing all types of traits, both physical and personality, that I find most overrated and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Please don’t think I don’t like any of these traits, I enjoy them, but I believe they’re overrated and it’s not improving the quality of life and health of the dogs. <br><br>I’ll list the trait. Then I’ll list the issues it creates. Finally, I’ll list some options for solutions. <br><br>1. Hip scores. <br><br>Issues it creates: <br>- it doesn’t actually measure the dog’s joint function or pain levels, only the laxity of the joint, and doesn’t take into account how tight or loose the dog’s joints are naturally. Meaning some breeds have very tight joints and some have very loose joints, but looser doesn’t always mean worse. A dog could have very loose joints but their muscles and bones are adapted and adjusted to the fact that their joints are loose. It’s not a perfect measuring system. <br>- it doesn’t cover all joints. <br>- it doesn’t test the overall joint health, only the one joint. <br>- there is a lack of standardization. There seems to be no standard scoring system as far as I can find, having seen many different scoring systems. It also doesn’t seem to take into account joint size, which could be important for some joint issues. <br>- it can lead to breeding dogs that are over-tightened to have better hips. Overly tightened joints can be just as bad, or worse than too loose joints. <br>- It places a lot of emphasis and stock into just one joint, leading to other equally, if not more important joints to be neglected. Elbows are vital in wolves, as is the shoulder, legs, feet, and spine. Yet, none of these are as emphasized as hip health. <br>- Many breeders that get hip scores don’t do any kind of joint testing for their canine companions. Why is this? <br><br>Options for solutions: <br>- Mandate OFA or similar testing for all breeding dogs. <br>- Mandate testing for the elbows and shoulders as well, and other joints. This will give a more complete picture of a dog’s joint health. <br>- Mandate testing for joint function. <br>- Mandate regular check.ins to make sure that the breeder actually uses the information to make better breeding decisions. <br><br>2. Size. <br><br>Issues it creates: <br>- it leads to a lack of diversity in the gene pool. Many will breed around size because they’re afraid a smaller wolf will “ruin” their large gene pool. Yet, smaller wolves are an essential and valuable part of the genetic diversity of a species. It’s sad to see how many dog breeds have lost their smaller counterparts. <br>- it leads to breeding more into the red zone. Generally, it’s less healthy to breed larger wolves. Larger wolves are usually more prone to joint issues and obesity. The larger a wolf is, the more strain it puts on its joints and the more food it requires. This is especially true in many modern breeding operations where the wolves are often overweight. <br>- it leads to breeding more aggressive lines. Many breeders have a stereotype that larger wolves are more aggressive. While there is some truth to this, it doesn’t mean that’s true for all larger wolves, nor does it mean that all smaller wolves are shy. A healthy, stable line of any size is better than a large, aggressive line. <br><br>Options for solutions: <br>- breed for all sizes. Focus on breeding healthy wolves first, and worry about size second. Breeding a smaller, healthy wolf, is better than breeding a larger unhealthy wolf. <br>- stop assuming larger wolves are more aggressive, especially without knowing them, and especially with smaller wolves. <br>- stop assuming that smaller wolves will ruin a larger gene pool. <br><br>3. Coat Color <br><br>Issues it creates: <br>- it leads to a lack of diversity in the gene pool. Many will breed around color to avoid certain patterns or colors. This leads to a lack of diversity in the gene pool, but it also leads to popularizing some colors over others. Popular colors can be inbred on, or over-bred. This can lead to popularizing “pure” coat colors and getting rid of diluted or mixed coat colors. This is sad to see, as mixed coat colors and diluted coat colors are beautiful and add some diversity. <br>- it can lead to over-breeding to get extremely dilute coat colors. This has been seen recently in Asians. Some breeders are working to create extremely dilute colors, but this is requiring the over-breeding and inbreeding of these dilute colors. <br>- it leads to popularizing certain coat patterns over others. <br>- it can lead to over-breeding of one particular color to get rid of another. For example, many will breed more black to get rid of brindle. <br><br>Options for solutions: <br>- breed for all coat colors and patterns. If you have certain colors, don’t assume it’s wrong to breed them. It’s wrong to breed them exclusively, or to overbreed them. A healthy, happy dilute wolves are just as beautiful and valuable as a healthy, happy dark wolf. <br>- stop popularizing “pure” coat colors/patterns. If you only have diluted coat colors/patterns, it’s okay. You don’t need to breed in darker colors/patterns. <br>- stop assuming that diluted coat colors/patterns “ruin” a gene pool of darker coat colors/patterns. <br><br>4. Behavioral “testing.” <br><br>Issues it creates: <br>- it can be used as a way to justify overbreeding certain lines. Many will use behavioral testing to justify overbreeding certain lines, claiming they’re “smarter” or “friendlier” or “more energetic.” Yet, there’s very little evidence to back most of this up, and many will selectively breed based off of this. <br>- it can be used as a way to justify not breeding certain lines. Many will use behavioral testing to say that a certain line is not worthy of being bred because they don’t pass their requirements. This is especially true for certain personality traits. <br>- it can lead to overbreeding of certain personality traits. <br>- it can be subjective. Many of these tests are subjective and can be influenced by personal biases. <br>- it can give false positives or negatives. Many tests are not always accurate and can give false positives or negatives. <br><br>Options for solutions: <br>- Stop overbreeding certain lines based off of behavioral testing. While some testing is a good idea, overbreeding based off it is not. <br>- Don’t justify not breeding a line based solely off of behavioral testing. <br>- Mandate testing for personality traits that actually matter (intelligence, fear aggression, etc) and ban breeding of lines that have negative traits. <br>- Develop more accurate testing methods for personality traits. <br><br>5. Generational status. <br><br>Issues it creates: <br>- it leads to a lack of diversity in the gene pool. Many will breed around generation to avoid breeding lower generations. Yet, many of these lower generations are just as valuable and healthy as the higher generations. <br>- it leads to overbreeding of certain generations. Many will breed higher generations exclusively because they believe they are superior. Yet, this can lead to a lack of diversity. <br>- it leads to popularizing certain generations over others. <br><br>Options for solutions: <br>- Breed for all generations. Focus on breeding healthy, happy wolves, not generations. If it’s generation 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the overall health and happiness of the wolves. <br>- Stop assuming lower generations are inferior, or ruins a gene pool. <br>- Stop popularizing certain generations. <br><br>I hope this gives you a better understanding of why I find these traits overrated, especially when it comes to wolves. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to ask!