[Peggy]

Originally Posted by Michael Romanos

Peggy - if you can't see or appreciate the difference between someone cloning to produce another pet dog as similar as possible to the last pet dog he/she had, and breeding to standard, then its sadder than i thought.

You know Michael I'm really tired of when I give my opinion, which is just as good as yours that you have to belittle me. WHY do you have to be so hurtful and nasty? On every other list or forum I'm on the moderators keep themselves above that. They are there to keep the forum/list a welcome and place for everyone.

And why is my opinon sad?

I can see the senimentality, but it is not the same. You do not get your dog back. So IMO, it's not any different than breeding. You don't even get one that looks exactly like the dog you lost. Even if it does look like the one you had the personality won't be the same. So IMO, that defeats the purpose and to me it's the same as just putting puppies on the ground.

I have lost many dogs over the years. NONE of them can ever be replaced. Yes, I would LOVE to have them back. That isn't possible, even with cloning. I can get the same breed, and some similarities, but I can also get that by breeding.

So no, I can't see the value in cloning. It does not give you an exact replica and it does not replace the dog you lost.

It is worth repeating that the vast majority of people get a dog or dogs simply as pets and not for show standard purposes which doesn't in any way deny that breeding to standard is important especially if it always involves the soundness and health of the breed and the individual dogs.

As Debbie points out the standard is important because it's that standard that makes a corgi a corgi. Their looks, their traits, their temperments. Without standards you have mutts.

There are horses for courses and dogs for logs.

What?

Close related breeding and inbreeding is rampant within the dog breeding to standard circles. My Taylor has the same greatgrandfather on both sides of his parents.

The same grandfather on both sides is not inbreeding. That is linebreeding and it's how you set type. That is considered responsible breeding in the dog fancy. All over the world.

Inbreeding has it's place too and is a useful tool when used by a responsible, knowlegeable breeder.

I still see no useful purpose to cloning. I don't see how it's any better than breeding. And I don't see how someone who has the money doing it is any better than a casual breeder. Yes, I see the senimentality but it's not the same dog. That is impossible.

Peggy