@senjisilly just now saw your reply. Thanks for the pedigree website. I knew about it and it’s a great resource.
What does it mean to add genes?
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<'If they would now present most people one of the Basenji's that started the breed, they would say it is not a real Basenji, that it is a Basenji type of dog or even a mutt.'>
I suppose we are lucky here in that there are fewer dogs but I'm sure that this could also be said in the US - there are still Basenjis in the UK that resemble some original imports and no-one but no-one says they are not real Basenjis or mutts. Unfortunately most breeders here now have lost sight of breeding for the breed's sake ring and hence the breed and its standard does and has changed.
Unfortunately, unlike the early 1900s, there are very few areas now where no other breed has been introduced.
I think this is a never ending but rather important thread - there is such a variety of opinion and I don't think we'll persuade others with opposite views. Nevertheless I find it very interesting to hear opinions from every one.
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I agree Patty. I am learning so much reading this thread. Where would non registered african dogs fall into all of this? Think of them as village dogs with nothing to add to the gene pool or watch to see what they produce and go from there?
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I really doubt the COI on Native Stock is very high. I would be interested to hear from someone like Dr Jo, about what she has observed about breeding in the native villages but we cannot apply terms like BYB to native stock, they are not kept, used, nor bred anything like what we do.
I also encourage people to go through lots of old magazines and see how much diversity we have lost. If you compare Native Stock strictly to what is seen today, I think most people would be sorely disappointed. If you compare Native Stock to the natural variations observed in past decades, I think you will begin to see that some fall within the spectrum of expected characteristics and others clearly fall outside. The problem is that with the narrowing of the gene pool many are becoming less accepting of variation which will only serve to further reduce the genepool.
I think that before we can adequately address how to manage the inclusion of Native Stock, we need more education about developing breeding programs in general, and why it is good to have different people using different approaches. Once we have a good grip on what a breeding program is, then we can move into how does Native Stock and preservation of founders fit in.
I couldn't agree more. I would imagine that most breeders who have been doing this for twenty or more years might not be interested in a general 'breeding program education'; but maybe (hopefully) people who are newer, or reluctant to jump in might be. I think this is a really interesting idea Lisa, and one that should be seriously considered for the future.
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I would think the African bloodlines Are as inbred as you can get. We are importing what equate to African BYB oops litters. There is a reason they look like the fl rescue dogs. Better to import well bred dogs from other countries with established bloodlines is generic inbreeding health issues is your worry
Sorry but the bloodlines in europe and other countries fall back to most of the same dogs. Nor do I think there is any way the african bloodlines are inbred. Pretty much shaking my head over that one.
The 1/32 is a bit simplistic. Some genes have a bigger impact then others. And with a good breeding program, some other mixes with fresh imports would have paired to the other mixes, so percentages will allways be higher.
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Same will happen to the Basenji. The Basenji's we have here, are no longer the same dogs that started it....
expect to find show quality dogs in African villages now that are exactly the same as the ones we have here and can be used in breeding programs without having to worry their offspring wouldn't be able to win some prices at shows. Better to take a step back at first, and then to be able to take 2 steps forward if you ask me.Thank you. Exactly.
I remember looking at the polar bear zoo population. They have a program that actually keeps track of all the bears, who are related, and work to keep the zoo breeding program as diverse as possible.
LOL not that anyone cares, but about 10 yrs ago someone said "Debra can find anything…I bet she can find out how many polar bears are in zoos in Brazil." That's how I came to contact and learn about the above.
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I couldn't agree more. I would imagine that most breeders who have been doing this for twenty or more years might not be interested in a general 'breeding program education'; but maybe (hopefully) people who are newer, or reluctant to jump in might be. I think this is a really interesting idea Lisa, and one that should be seriously considered for the future.
And yet, wouldn't it be marvelous if the older folks took on a "guardian of the breed" view and dug in, dedicated a part of their breeding program precisely to saying–- okay not going to be winning for a generation or 2 or 3, but I'm helping the breed long term. Or if BCOA helped support more African percentage classes (ie 1/4, 1/2 and pure). I am not sure if AKC would allow such classes as part of their shows, or how it would work.
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I also encourage people to go through lots of old magazines and see how much diversity we have lost. If you compare Native Stock strictly to what is seen today, I think most people would be sorely disappointed. If you compare Native Stock to the natural variations observed in past decades, I think you will begin to see that some fall within the spectrum of expected characteristics and others clearly fall outside. The problem is that with the narrowing of the gene pool many are becoming less accepting of variation which will only serve to further reduce the genepool.
Maybe this is what the fancy needs education on, or at least a reminder of how much variation there used to be, or perhaps should be? Maybe now since more information about the breed history is being added to the BCOA website, new people will have access to the information, but I'm not sure the appreciation would be there. There would probably be a lot of value of an organized breeder mentoring program, particularly from this perspective.
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And yet, wouldn't it be marvelous if the older folks took on a "guardian of the breed" view and dug in, dedicated a part of their breeding program precisely to saying–- okay not going to be winning for a generation or 2 or 3, but I'm helping the breed long term. Or if BCOA helped support more African percentage classes (ie 1/4, 1/2 and pure). I am not sure if AKC would allow such classes as part of their shows, or how it would work.
What my mind keeps coming back to is that there would need to be a vision of what they are trying to accomplish in the end (darn corporate america brainwashing :rolleyes:). If diversity is basically providing more choices, what does success look like? How many more choices is meaningful? How you know the breed is sufficiently more diverse than it was before? I like Quercus's suggestion around taking inspiration from the zoo world, I bet a lot information could be mined from there as well as other dog breeds.
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I couldn't agree more. I would imagine that most breeders who have been doing this for twenty or more years might not be interested in a general 'breeding program education'; but maybe (hopefully) people who are newer, or reluctant to jump in might be. I think this is a really interesting idea Lisa, and one that should be seriously considered for the future.
raises hand I have only been breeding 19 years <vbg>but I would love to go to a seminar on this topic. True, I have strong opinions on some topics but I am open minded about new ideas that are presented in a logical manner. I would find this topic very interesting.</vbg>
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Related to Dr Jo's comment on the other thread that prompted this one, I also keep getting the perception that the health of the breed is doomed and the only way we can save it is through importing native stock. I'm not sure where it comes from, maybe because I haven't been around this for very long at all.
I have grown weary with people using "health" as a reason to import new dogs. Thanks to the diligence of breeders from early on until present, the Basenji is one of the healthiest pure breeds there is. I do feel that importation can be important to the breed as a whole but not for the purpose of "improving" health.
People seem to forget that imports do not come with researchable pedigrees and therefore we have absolutely no idea of what health issues they could potentially carry. We got lucky with the Avongaras as they turned out to be quite healthy overall but it could easily have gone in the opposite direction.
For clarity, I am not saying imports are unhealthy, just that inherited health problems are an unknown factor for several generations, long enough for recessives to appear.
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Lisa, thank you for starting this thread. It is fascinating and I am intrigued by people's perceptions and beliefs about this issue. In fact, there are many layers of important discussion points with this topic. I would like to see us vet many of them in discussion.
I apologize for not joining in sooner, but I've got an awful lot on my plate right now and only able to check in online intermittently. Even then, I only check here once in a while.
There has been a lot put forward in this thread and some very complex issues. I hope to come back throughout the weekend or early next week and comment on a couple of points that have been made.
But until then, for those interested in some excellent, thought-provoking reading, I strongly recommend that you take the time to go through a couple very good articles.In no particular order:
FROM THE EDITOR by Wanda Pooley, published in the BCOA Bulletin magazine, Vol. XLVI, No. 3, July/Aug/Sept 2009, page 3.
Wanda did an analysis of the number of Basenjis registered in the AKC stud book over the 10-year period 2000-2009. The numbers she presents illustrate a steady decline and a difference of 47.47% between years 2000-2009. This indicates a shrinking population of breeding stock.WHAT IS DIVERSITY REALLY? by Mary Lou Kenworthy, published in The Modern Basenji Worldwide, Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer 2011, page 3.
Mary Lou comments that,
"the main problem [she] noticed is that most people try to apply population genetics to individual breeding programs and cannot separate the two in their minds."
She is a proponent for breeders establishing separate breeding lines. She says,
"If breeders create and monitor their own lines, the breed, as a whole, will prosper. No breeder can maintain diversity by himself, and any attempt to do so will lead to disaster for the breeder and the breed. It takes a network of breeders working together with individual lines to maintain diversity."IN DEFENSE OF BREEDING by Chris Maxka, published in The Modern Basenji Worldwide, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2011, pages 6-7.
Chris addresses the belief that the "lack of diversity" mantra came into full throttle in the wake of the Fanconi Syndrome tsunami. Subsequently, AKC was petitioned to open the Stud book for new founders. She wraps up with the statement,
"A lot of good work has been done in many breeding programs, and we would not be helping the breed if we were to incorporate new imports with major flaws or of atypical type, for the sake fo the amorphous concept: 'diversity.' "
This article can be read online at -
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Voodoo, apparently the Canine Genome Project has established the Basenji as the oldest domesticated breed and also that many of the others so claimed have actually been reconstructed.
When the 'originals' were imported to the UK they were brought in from areas where no other breeds of dogs were found - remember that so much of the area has been opened up since that time and many other dogs of all sorts have been introduced. However that's not to say that there are not still pockets where pure bred dogs do not exist. I'm sure that Dr Jo will bear me out there.
There are lines in the UK that go back to the original imports where apart from Fula of the Congo very few imports have been introduced. Therefore their genetic makeup is limited. However as has been already said their health has not deteriorated. I personally have always been able to maintain when I sold puppies that they would seldom need medical veterinary intervention between puppyhood and old age.
Unfortunately there has been such a preponderance of using studs merely because they do well in the show ring that the breed has changed here. I stick my neck out for the block in saying that poor breeding knowledge is resulting in the Basenji decline in the UK -nothing to do with a limited gene pool.
I can't speak for other countries. I think countries where breeding is only approved after prospective breeders have explained their reasons for breeding are producing 'better' examples of the breed.
Jo, I have just become a subscriber to Modern Basenji and so have only read Mary Lou Kenworthy's article and I do agree with her opinion on the establishment of separate breeding lines and am also in agreement with her on line breeding (and even in breeding)to establish these separate lines.
I am still trying to read Chris Maxca's article but don't seem to be able to open the link.
I'm still trying. Is the BCOA bulletin available on line? -
Voodoo, apparently the Canine Genome Project has established the Basenji as the oldest domesticated breed and also that many of the others so claimed have actually been reconstructed.
I'm still trying. Is the BCOA bulletin available on line?
From what I know, the Canine Genome Project only investigated 85 different breeds, so that doesn't seem like a really reliable way to find the absolute oldest breed. And 14 breeds came out to be the oldest, being the
Afghan hound, the Akita Inu, the Alaskan Malamute, the Basenji, the Chow Chow, the Lhasa Apso, the Pekingese, the Saluki, the Samoyed, the Shar Pei, the Siberian Husky, the Shih Tzu and the Tibetan terrier.Is this the bulletin you are looking for?
http://www.terrierman.com/BasenjiConservationBCOATheBulletinfinal.pdf -
@JoT:
FROM THE EDITOR by Wanda Pooley, published in the BCOA Bulletin magazine, Vol. XLVI, No. 3, July/Aug/Sept 2009, page 3.
Wanda did an analysis of the number of Basenjis registered in the AKC stud book over the 10-year period 2000-2009. The numbers she presents illustrate a steady decline and a difference of 47.47% between years 2000-2009. This indicates a shrinking population of breeding stock.Yes and no. I believe that there are just as many Basenjis born every year, perhaps even more now than there was 10 years ago. The decline in AKC registrations may be due to the following reason:
1.) There has been a steady increase in puppy mills and BYBs using disreputable registries such as the Continental Kennel Club instead of the AKC.
2.) Responsible breeders are using AKC limited registration and spay/neuter contracts.
3.) Public education has led to an increase in the number of pet owners who are eager to spay/neuter instead of breed.
WHAT IS DIVERSITY REALLY? by Mary Lou Kenworthy, published in The Modern Basenji Worldwide, Vol. 1, No. 2, Summer 2011, page 3.
Mary Lou comments that,
"the main problem [she] noticed is that most people try to apply population genetics to individual breeding programs and cannot separate the two in their minds."
She is a proponent for breeders establishing separate breeding lines. She says,
"If breeders create and monitor their own lines, the breed, as a whole, will prosper. No breeder can maintain diversity by himself, and any attempt to do so will lead to disaster for the breeder and the breed. It takes a network of breeders working together with individual lines to maintain diversity."I agree.
IN DEFENSE OF BREEDING by Chris Maxka, published in The Modern Basenji Worldwide, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2011, pages 6-7.
"A lot of good work has been done in many breeding programs, and we would not be helping the breed if we were to incorporate new imports with major flaws or of atypical type, for the sake fo the amorphous concept: 'diversity.' "I agree to a point. Every animal that is submitted to the BCOA for AKC approval must go through a process. It isn't perfect but it does give everyone the right to vote. Even if you do not agree with the majority decision, you still have the choice of whether to breed to them, their progeny, or to avoid them altogether. If a dog with numerous or serious faults somehow gets accepted, it is unlikely that people will flock to it for breeding. If they do breed to it, they will probably "bury" it deep in their pedigrees as fast as possible. By the time the animal is 4-5 generations back, it's conformational faults will have very little impact. (Assuming the breeder "has a clue", that is.)
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From Dr Jo
When viewed globally, the Basenji metapopulation has a fragmented populace; those inside their native home in central Africa, here called the source population and those outside, here called the modern population. The source population is genetically diverse resulting in a low chance that any two negative genes will combine and individuals have a very high chance of being healthy. Conversely, the modern population is not genetically diverse and the chance of two negative recessive genes combining rises in direct relationship to the degree of homogeneity. The evidence that the source population appears to be "clean" is indicative that it is still diverse enough that negative genes are not yet combining.
Exactly. Thank you.
Okay, ding ding ding… precisely what I asked... and the article answered. 18 foundation dogs... doesn't that worry those of you who don't think we need a bigger gene pool?
Therefore, the Basenji modern population was derived from 18 original progenitors, with varying degrees of gene representation.
As a result of this very small pool of founders, some more heavily represented than others, the modern population of the Basenji suffered indiscriminate loss of genetic diversity. In response to the high degree of inbreeding and the lethal expression of some health related recessive traits, in 1990 the Basenji registry was opened to allow additional new founders (those whose genes contributed to future generations, leaving aside those which did not reproduce) imported from the source population in the Congo (Zaire). An additional eight dogs …This brought the founder number for the AKC registered modern population up to 26 contributors (see Table 2);From 18 to 26.. even with limited breeding, that helps. Or would have if all had been used a lot. The stats following that were daunting… one stud ending up with nearly all the contribution of Y.
Thus anything that limits the number of males in use drastically restricts the effective breeding population. Overuse of popular sires is a tremendous deleterious factor in genetic impoverishment.
And here we go to the bane of ALL breeds… popular studs. Truly, breeds would benefit if they limited the number of times a stud can be used. Instead we are freezing straws and using dogs dead many years. I always felt if a dog hasn't produced a son and grandson who can produce, thus replacing him, why would you keep using him?
You article is overwhelming. We have a basic 26, and need to TRIPLE that (50 to 100 foundation) to maintain health... yet each opening we bring in a handful?
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I'd like to make some points in relation to items raised on this thread.
a) If we are satisfied that the the African dogs that have been added to the stud book are in fact African village dogs from the same isolated populations from whence our original Basenjis came from, then they are to me more true Basenjis than any else where in the world. They have bred, largely amongst themselves to survive African conditions and no doubt forage and hunt for their own food etc. Surely its up to us to educate our breeders and judges that perhaps our understanding of what a good Basenji is has shifted away from the African Basenji to now be the International Basenji?
b) Secondly someone made comment on the poor structure of the African dogs? Really - have they not looked at many of the dogs now gracing our show rings? Straight shoulders and over angulated rears seem to be the name of the game at the moment, throw in a few weak pasterns, undulating top-lines, unfit dogs and I really don't think the African dogs are any worse than our non African stock. A flashy side gait does not make a sound dog able to stand up to a life of finding your own food and no veterinary treatment, for a sore back after a lure coursing run. These African dogs are different maybe, but I sincerely doubt structurally worse.
With regard to adding in African stock I think it does some excellent things: - its starts discussion - we may not all agree but we start talking about aspects of this dog that feel are essential to it being a Basenji.
However I also find it interesting reading the Coppingers' 'Dogs a New Understanding', who are evolutionary biologists focussing on dogs and that they say that the 'Natural Breeds' are constantly shifting and changing in response to their environment, food sources, disease etc - and paraphrasing is that the type of dogs that were taken from African and called 'Basenji's' no longer exist, as their core population did not freeze in time, even if the Avongara and Lukuru pups are direct relatives to the dogs that were exported, they've been exposed to environmental pressures, periodic shifts genetic frequency which means that they are no longer exactly the same.
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Dr Jo, I got to see Dexter this weekend. What a lovely boy he is. We who love this breed are living in exciting times for the next generations. IMO.
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I have now read Chris Maxca's article 'In Defense of Breeding' and find I agree with much that she says particularly in regard to the knowledge required to breed. No doubt most here will have read the article but for those who haven't I quote - "Serious breeding requires a significant amount of knowledge of genetics, of the breed standard, and of the background of the proposed mating pair, their parents, their siblings, their parent's siblings, the grandparents and beyond. One should know the strength and weaknesses of the breed, have an idea what traits are dominant, what traits are recessive, and the heritability estimate of any particular trait." -
May I suggest that it is ignorance that produces a decline in any breed including our own? The introduction of other dogs bringing what they may to the breed won't of itself correct this ignorance.
Jaycee speaks about 'education of breeders and judges' but while I agree, I quote - 'there is none so blind as him who will not see'.
Robyn's posting - 'Even if you do not agree with the majority decision, you still have the choice of whether to breed to them, their progeny, or to avoid them altogether' - is certainly true Indeed in the UK when the acceptance of brindle into our standard was accepted on a very close vote only one or two breeders incorporated the colour and so they remain in a minority here.
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My apologies for taking so long to return to this thread. My schedule and workload has kept me away from the Forum. I hope we can continue this discussion, which I think is very important.
Thank you for the gentle reminder that was sent privately.
To refresh my memory, I have just gone back and quickly skimmed through the discussion. Wow, so many good comments!
I am trying to attach a picture with my comments. Please bear with me …
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I checked in the FAO's and see that it is possible to attach a file (a picture from my computer) to my post through the 'New Post' option. But, I don't see how to do that.
Can anyone explain how for me?
Thanks,
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http://www.suite101.com/content/central-africas-dog--congo-origin-of-the-basenji-a224967
For this post, I have chosen to avoid using the label "Basenji" for the native dog because that serves only to distract and confuse people who get hung up on something that is no more than a Westernized word.
As a professional who continues to spend most of my adult life analyzing and studying the biomes of Africa and the variation of animal types across landscapes as well as living and working on the continent for 20 years, I would like to comment. I bring to this discussion a career of looking at the geographical distribution of animals at different taxonomic levels across Africa. Based on my extensive research, training, experience, and education, I thought we could look at this from a bit of a different perspective ... a perspective focused on selection pressures/ processes and the mechanisms / barriers that have regulated gene flow over the past 2,000 years (not including the recent 200 years), which includes ethnicity (tribalism), culture, language, geography, technology, logistics, history, environment, etc.
First, let's consider the geographic location of different biomes. A biome is simply any major ecological community of organisms, both plant and animal, usually characterized by the dominant vegetation. Biomes are defined in terms of the entire biotic community of living organisms and their inter-relationships with their immediate environment. To this end, I have attached an illustration of the most dramatic biomes of Africa that we might want to consider hypothetically for this discussion. These biomes have a direct and significant impact on the biotic (plant and animal types) assemblage available and the human lifestyles (including how the dogs are routinely employed) that evolved in each region.
The polygons illustrated are representative of some of the most distinct overall regional ecosystems on the continent :
MD = desert south of the Mediterranean ;
DG = Dahomey Gap ;
EF = Equatorial Old-growth Forest ;
RV = east of the Rift Valley ;
SA = Southern African countries.
All aboriginal (original or earliest known domesticated) dogs have a very similar morphology. The primitive canid body shape is known as the "long-term pariah morphotype" (LTPM). The LTPM silhouette is characterized by a "wolf or fox-like appearance, with sharp-pointed, erect ears, a long, pointed muzzle and a long, fish-hook shaped tail." This is the generalized form that is at the root of the domestic canine ancestry.
Before humans selectively bred for conformation, the earliest dog ancestor diverged into populations of separate types based on natural selection (including the mechanisms identified above) and their abilities to function in each biome.
Over the past few thousand years, each geographically specific variety of dog (with a distinctive common gene pool, consistency of type/ appearance, and consistent function) evolved from the basic / original LTPM form into a recognizable, visible type, landrace breed. The resulting distribution of general breed types are specific to their biome of origin.
This is one of the first points I would like to make. So often I read people referring to dogs that are "basenji-like" in that they have a common general silhouette.
What I believe they are actually observing is the LTPM starting place. It can be seen in all the primitive, aboriginal breeds : Australian Dingo, African Basenji, Canaan Dog, Carolina Dog, New Guinea Singing Dog, etc. But, "basenji-like" is NOT necessarily Basenji.
Given this background of landrace breeds specific to their biome, for the purpose of this discussion I can identify a unique type (breed) that will be called "EFb" (i.e., Equatorial Old-growth Forest breed) because it originates in the EF biome. EFb, as with the other landrace breeds, began with a primitive canid body shape thousands of years ago. Over those passing thousands of years, once the LTPM was introduced into the EF biome its form evolved into the distinct breed type recognized by early Westerners as the Congo Terrier (= EFb).
lvoss started this thread in order to discuss genetic diversity as it applies to the importance of adding Native Stock to our breed to provide "new genes." But, what do we really mean by needing to "add" genes to the breed (outside the EF biome of origin)?
One of the principal arguments for adding additional native stock to our registered breed is to expand / increase genetic diversity. But what does that really involve?
Possessed within the EFb population in their biome of origin we find the full breed complement of genes distributed across each individual EFb genome. Some individuals have some genes and others have others but together they have all the genes that make up the distinctive genetics of the EFb. It is that EFb genome at the population level that holds the maximum degree of genetic diversity.
Basically what we have is the wolf-dog common ancestor with the most diverse genome. As the population split / diverged, those that became the LTPM (primitive / original dog) had less diversity in the original genes (those from the wolf/dog genome) but added diversity through mutations, ect. As the LTPM were established in the various biomes, each discrete population diverged from the LTPM into distinct types associated with the biomes where they adapted to the regional conditions. Each of those types was genetically less diverse than the LTPM common ancestor but also gained "new" and different genes through the processes of evolution. [BTW, evolution through natural selection / natural processes does not happen over decades but requires thousands of years.] So, we ended up with different "breeds" (each consistent in type and with a distinctive population genome).
Side-track Note : Consistent in type is not the same as cookie-cutter phenotypic clones.
This can be illustrated with two examples.- A writer/photographer team from National Geographic came to my Congo base to write an article that had nothing to do with dogs. In fact, we had never even mentioned anything about the dogs. But, as we arrived in the villages, the NG team openly commented (without any prompting or even mention about dogs) : ?What breed of dog is this?? My astonished response was ?Why do you ask that (in those words)?? and they said ?They all look exactly alike!? Even laymen who have no background in the world of purebred dog breeds could identify the visible uniformity and consistency of type. But, they did not have the discriminating eye to distinguish the variation of individuals.
- Before we bred any of my native dogs, I had a long-time breeder visiting who has been breeding for several decades. They were very impressed with my dogs as purebred Basenjis. There was never any question about the purity of my dogs as Basenjis. The breeder spent many hours with my dogs, watching them and handling them intimately. When the breeder went home, they contacted me to tell me how taken aback they were after spending the day with my pack and then seeing their own conformation-show-line Basenjis, how much our breeding practices have made the breed into match-stick dogs, cookie-cutter clones.
Back on track : So a dog from the very heart of the EF biome would potentially contribute "new" (as in new to the Basenji gene pool outside the biome of origin but not new to the EFb gene pool) genes that are found within the original EFb population genome.
The question that the Basenji fancy must answer is do we want to add genes from any dog population across Africa which will potentially add "new" genes because other populations (for example, the MDb or DGb or RVb or SAb) have some different genes not found in the EFb ... essentially outcross to a different landrace breed. Or do we want to add genes from within the EFb genome?
Somebody said it already : We want new and diverse BASENJI GENES [the EF population genome]. That is the crux of it all.
If the fancy chooses to include any African dog that exhibits the LTPM silhouette because it offers different genes, then I agree that our breed will be no more than an African village mongrel and does not reflect its unique ancestry or origins. That is the choice the BCOA members must make.
And a related point that was made in this thread : sharronhurlbut asked, "Wouldn't the point of being able to add more, to allow folks who have gone to Africa or new folks to go, to check out different areas that maybe aren't open now?"
This is a critical statement. The value of adding additional native dogs to access other EFb genes only comes from adding dogs within the EF biome from areas not already represented by current founders. To continue bringing in dogs from the same geographic area(s) within the EF biome does not add "new" genes or contribute to gene diversity.
DebraDownSouth posted that we have 26 founders (as stated in my article published in 2007). However, since that article was published we have added 15 founders. So, we are now up from 26 in 1990 to 41 native dogs registered with AKC as Basenji breed founders in 2011. Of those 41 dogs (with varying degrees of representation in the gene pool), 20 come from the same area. That is contraindicated in the argument for adding gene diversity.
When we state the number of founders, the assumption is that each founder is equally unrelated to any other founder in the population except their descendants according to their pedigree representation. Our reference number does not take into account the degree of relatedness. There a mathematical calculation that can be used to determine the proportion of genetic material contributed to the current population by each founder by comparing a target representation with actual representation. Negative values denote founder over-representation. This requires that we decide what target level of representation is acceptable for breed preservation.
Has the breed changed since we established it outside its biome of origin?
My example above might suggest that we have now created a different (some might say "improved") phenotype. But, I would argue that does not take into account the full spectrum of AKC registered Basenjis that do not appear in the conformation show ring.
Further, I think it is very important for us to consider whether the Basenji at the source (the EFb, for the sake of this discussion) has changed. Here I refer you to pictures from the website linked in my signature line. On the Lukuru Basenji Conservatuers website home page there is a black&white picture of my four native imports in 2009 and a comparable black&white picture of five "Of the Congo" dogs in the late 1930's. Even after 70 years, it is striking how similar my native imports resemble F1 generation from the original imports. In fact, both my husband and I had to take second and third looks at the old picture because it looks so much like our dogs. In this case, I think the evidence indicates that in some areas within the biome of origin the EFb of today is uniform and consistent with the EFb of yesteryear when we first established the Basenji as a registered breed.
