Genetics Of Sprinters Vs Distance Runners:

[sandgrubber]

A genetic dissection of breed composition and performance enhancement in the Alaskan sled dog

Heather J Huson^1,2, Heidi G Parker¹, Jonathan Runstadler² and Elaine A Ostrander^1*

They're starting to work toward understanding of the genetics of athletic performance in dogs.

See:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/11/71

Fascinating article on genetics of performance-selected mix-breed dogs. I found lots of things interesting about this, including charts of degree of heterozygosity comparing 141 AKC registered breeds (conclusion, sprint dogs are more inbred than distance runners . . . and strangely, a few purebred dog breeds show levels of genetic diversity that imply considerable outcrossing). One thing I didn't expect comes from the pictures . . . the sprint racing dogs show sloped hindquarters that approach those of the much maligned modern GSD.

p.s. I didn't put this in studies about dogs cause that part of the forum doesn't permit Topic Titles . . . which greatly reduces its usefulness.