Abstract:

Inbreeding occurs when relatives are mated together, possibly decreasing fitness. Tools to assess the potential for inbreeding in a population from selection and mating decisions could provide more robust populations. The Kennel Club (KC) tool Mate Select provides support for making informed mating decisions by offering inbreeding information spanning 222 breeds. Information on usage was assessed from 2011 to 2018 in relation to dog registrations. Breeds with up to 70 dams had an increase from 2 to 10 searches per dam registered, while breeds with 20,000 registered dams declined towards 2 searches per dam. There was significant variation between breeds of the same census size, and breeds participating in recording schemes leading to the publication of EBVs had more searches per dam (P<0.001), however this was not directly related to the availability of the EBVs.