Not at all - if you read what I wrote I said ... than people who don't health test or people who breed solely from pets.

It has been my experience that pet breeders often do not care for the health and welfare of the breed and are simply breeding because they want their bitch to have a litter or to make money. Even though they may have health tested their dogs, you will find that very few of the dogs in their lines (if any) have also been health tested as this was not their priority. Therefore although their dog may be health tested, their parents could be affected for a certain condition which has yet to manifest itself in their offspring (late onset conditions) or for which their offspring are carriers.

Lovely dogs Mick, but if I were to purchase a Husky my first priority would be to make sure the pup I bought didn't come from working lines. Secondly I would ensure my pup hadn't come from an inbred line.

I agree. Finding a good breeder is a minefield, you need to make sure you can trust the breeder, making sure the dogs they are breeding from are top quality both health and behaviour wise. Neither showing or working guarantees this.

Then, to be honest, I think you would get a pretty poorly bred Sibe

Sounds like we need to agree to disagree on that one then.

However, how will you know if their lines are healthy if the dogs in their pedigree have never been tested for inherited conditions?

IMO, going to a reputable breeder who knows their lines inside out, including what conditions may appear in the line is far preferable to taking pot luck on a breeder who although they may have health tested their own dogs, comes from a line that is completely unknown health wise.

http://www.canine-genetics.com/Default.htm

http://www.genetics.org/cgi/content/abstract/179/1/593

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99jul/9907dogs.htm

http://www.canine-genetics.com/cake.htm

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...981964,00.html

http://www.filadog.com/inbreedingdepression.htm

http://www.seppalasleddogs.com/closed-stud-books.htm

http://www.epinions.com/kifm-review-...39A44BE3-prod1

http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com...-thinking.html

Quite probably

I don't think you are ever going to convince me that breeding from pets is ethical, betters the breed and that you are far more likely to get a healthier dog than I will convince you that line breedng isn't the source of all evil you think it is

I believe when you are breeding, you should be aiming for as close to the breed standard as you can. SH are a working breed and should be breed to be able to do a days work, anything else is a diluted Sibe. We should be aware of the essence of a breed, not just the looks.

Hmmm, several of those links don't work and many are people's own personal opinions. Do you have any case studies and scientific research to back up the statements?

The one thing I will agree with is the 'Popular Sire Syndrome' as mentioned in the canine diversity project. You'll have a hard time finding a good ethical breeder who agrees with using a popular sire, simply because they are the flavour of the month Mostly it is uneducated or pet breeders who simply flock to the dog that is doing well at that point in time, not caring what genetic diseases they carry