OMG! You have to SEE this dog!

SadieMae

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Believe it or not THIS is a Whippet, known as a "bully whippet". She, yes, SHE carries a double dose of a mutant gene that makes whippets muscular. Is this scary or what?! Apparently she is sweet and has the whippet personality...thank goodness for that. :eek:

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/s...da7d9b7386a161&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Wendy....

wendywhippet.jpg


A normal whippet....

whippet.jpg
 
Aw bless her. I bet the other dogs dont mess with her though!
 
I read another article, will try to find it. But there are people intentionally trying breeding this type of whippet. Thank goodness whippets are not an aggressive breed. I feel sorry for these dogs...because of their build they will live shorter lives. This "doubled muscled" genetic trait has also been seen in other animals. What horrible thought...what if people could breed this trait in pit bulls.
 
I think she looks sweet......a little muscular but sweet. ;)
 
It has to do with how whippets can run, correct? I read about them not so long ago. The muscle gene that is "switched on" to make normal whippets is off (ETA:I reversed this, what I meant was, normal whippets make a chemical to supress what happens to the "bully" whippets, thus normal whippet's muscles react/"snap"/expand and contract much faster, and they can run better.) for the bully ones, so (ETA:2 the double) gene takes over. They can't run like other whippets can either. (Are whippets meant for distance runs, and greyhounds shorter runs?) Second let me see if I can find something to explain what I am talking about and quote it here. Ok, the Wikipedia article on Whippets touches on what I am saying, and here is an article on the substance mentioned. (I didn't think I was explaining it very well.) Here is a link to an NPR article about the study, (you have to listen to hear it all I believe) which brings up that there is a hope that this knowledge will help find a treatment for muscular dystrophy. This is a link to an MDA article detailing a study on blocking myostatin.

Er, sorry.....I love science. :woohoo: :blushing:
 
Believe it or not THIS is a Whippet, known as a "bully whippet". She, yes, SHE carries a double dose of a mutant gene that makes whippets muscular. Is this scary or what?! Apparently she is sweet and has the whippet personality...thank goodness for that. :eek:

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/s...da7d9b7386a161&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Wendy....

wendywhippet.jpg


A normal whippet....

whippet.jpg
Ive never seen anything like this before but Wendy is beautiful in her own special way:)
 
Did they give the poor thing steroids??????

IMO its disgusting that breeders do such things as to "evolve" pets.
Its one thing to breed a certain breed but its wrong to try to create a new one.
 
I read another article, will try to find it. But there are people intentionally trying breeding this type of whippet. Thank goodness whippets are not an aggressive breed. I feel sorry for these dogs...because of their build they will live shorter lives. This "doubled muscled" genetic trait has also been seen in other animals. What horrible thought...what if people could breed this trait in pit bulls.
Sadie~ Unfortunately I bet people will try to breed this with a pit bull ...so, so sad!!
 
Sadie~ Unfortunately I bet people will try to breed this with a pit bull ...so, so sad!!
Omgosh that could be a huge mistake.
IMO, we don't need meaner dogs for 'mean people' to use as protection or to use for dog fighting.
 
Did they give the poor thing steroids??????

IMO its disgusting that breeders do such things as to "evolve" pets.
Its one thing to breed a certain breed but its wrong to try to create a new one.

No Amraann...this is how the dog was born. It's a genetic defect of the breed. (Pretty much like white Great Danes being deaf and/or blind.) Whippets carry what they call a "muscular" gene. KatK was right on about it. It's so the racing whippets can run faster. A dog can get a double dose of this gene which results in a dog like Wendy. I have read articles where some breeders are purposely trying to get the "double muscled" whippets. I think that's wrong!!!

Omgosh that could be a huge mistake.
IMO, we don't need meaner dogs for 'mean people' to use as protection or to use for dog fighting.
Whippets are very non aggressive dogs. The gene doesn't affect temperament. In fact the ones I've seen are pretty timid and shy. I doubt if a whippet could be turned into a fighting dog. My worry is if that "muscle" gene could be isolated, and used in other more aggressive breeds, ie..rotties, pitbulls, dobermans,presa canario, etc. Can you image running into a Rottweiler built like that!!!???
 
SadieMae, the gene is tied to running though, so wouldn't likely be prevalent in at least some of the breeds you mentioned, would it? Aren't most of those dogs "work" dogs more than hunting dogs? The genes that make endurance for fighting aren't the same as the genes that make muscles respond faster for longer (ETA: running), I don't think. ETA2: Also, the genes that make for fast muscle response for short distances are different from either, correct?
 
SadieMae, the gene is tied to running though, so wouldn't likely be prevalent in at least some of the breeds you mentioned, would it? Aren't most of those dogs "work" dogs more than hunting dogs? The genes that make endurance for fighting aren't the same as the genes that make muscles respond faster for longer, I don't think.
Hiya KatK! I hope it's not in other breeds and not the same thing. But there are so many unethical breeders out there...I can see a dog like this being bred to a more aggressive breed, just to get that gene in it and breeding again to get the double gene. Mixed breed dogs will carry genetics of both breeds. As Amraann stated,these mixed dogs could evole into a highly aggressive type dog by these breeders. I must admit, the dog scared the chit out of me when I looked at the photo not knowing what it was.
 
Something that bothered me in the story was that the same trait that produces the "bully whippets" also makes some of the dogs faster runners for racing.
So some owners may want to breed them for that, then "destroy" the bully whippets that may be amongst the litters. That really ticks me off and i think is horrid.
 
True selective breeding is brutal at times. This is the case with cats, dogs, and other creatures as well. The "bully" whippets are prone to serious health problems, and in the mind of some breeders, it is kinder to put the creature to sleep than let it suffer. I know I don't have the heart to be a breeder though, but some who love the ideal of the breed standard do.
 
Something that bothered me in the story was that the same trait that produces the "bully whippets" also makes some of the dogs faster runners for racing.
So some owners may want to breed them for that, then "destroy" the bully whippets that may be amongst the litters. That really ticks me off and i think is horrid.
I agree with you. Same thing with Danes. A Merle color Dane should NEVER be bred, because the color alone IS a genetic defect. Merles carry the blind and deaf gene. To breed them will result in having a litter with white Danes. A mostly white Dane willl 99% of the time be deaf. Some will not even have eyes or be blind along with deafness. At one time, white Danes were destroyed also. Yet, stupid breeders will breed Merles or Harlequins to each other. Those dogs have all kinds of defects. I have a Harlequin Dane...those should not be bred to another Harl Dane UNLESS both parents came from Black Danes. Owners sometimes are so stupid. They don't realize the coat color of a Dane is more than just a color. I saw a guy I pretty much cussed out in Petsmart asking me about breeding my Harlequin Dane, Apache to his Merle female. Apache is BIG for a Dane, and that's all he saw. Stupid azz couldn't even tell Apache is neutered!!!
 

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