Genetics of the CWE

                                              CWE Kate 1983 (My great-grandfather's dog)                           CWE Dixie 2010 (My current dog)

"When a newly formed colony is small, its founders can strongly affect the population's genetic make-up far into the future."
While this defines the WEBPS's program we are faced with the reality of the bottleneck effect.

The basic alaunt was the herding and fighting dog of the herdsmen / warriors known as the Alans. The basic alaunt was high on leg to keep up with the herds and herdsmen on horseback. Numerous variations of the alaunt type descends down through the ages, and were interbred. 

The Carr family bred their WEB mainly as fierce guard dogs for livestock and family, as they rounded up the cattle only in the fall. This produced it's own type, a bit lower on leg, through the Founder Effect. "Mr. Jake was an old southern gentlemen that farmed along with his sons and grandsons. He always kept a WEB in the truck with him as he rounded up the cows, took a hog in the pen, or play with the babies to keep them from harms way. If nothing else, the dogs kept valuable things from growing legs and walking off. His dog of choice was a big headed WEB. He always said, 'the bigger the head the more sense they had'. Well, after 60-70 years of breeding dogs, you think he might know a thing or two about bulldogs." John Conner 

With only two Carr bred specimens sharing the common sire, Carr's Spike, (thumbnail below right), we crossed back to common WEB stock, known to be part CWE, to avoid the bottleneck effect. While this process produced throwbacks to the basic 'high on leg' as well as a larger type, we back-breed to preserve the Carr type. Since the Carrs had done the same and selected for type, we are simply following the same breeding program past down for family generations.

Population Bottleneck

"A population bottleneck (or genetic bottleneck) is an evolutionary event in which a significant percentage of a population or species is killed or otherwise prevented from reproducing.[1]

Population bottlenecks increase genetic drift, as the rate of drift is inversely proportional to the population size. The reduction in a population's dispersal leads, over time, to increased genetic homogeneity, (purity). If severe, population bottlenecks can also markedly increase inbreeding due to the reduced pool of possible mates.

A slightly different sort of genetic bottleneck can occur if a small group becomes reproductively separated from the main population. This is called a founder effect." Wikipedia

The Founder Effect

"The founder effect is a special case of genetic drift, occurring when a small group in a population splinters off from the original population and forms a new one. The random sample of alleles in the just formed new colony is expected to grossly misrepresent the original population in at least some respects.[33] It is even possible that the number of alleles for some genes in the original population is larger than the number of gene copies in the founders, making complete representation impossible. When a newly formed colony is small, its founders can strongly affect the population's genetic make-up far into the future.

A well documented example is found in the Amish migration to Pennsylvania in 1744. Two members of the new colony shared the recessive allele for Ellis-van Creveld syndrome. Members of the colony and their descendants tend to be religious isolates and remain relatively insular. As a result of many generations of inbreeding, Ellis-van Creveld syndrome is now much more prevalent among the Amish than in the general population.[20][34]

The difference in gene frequencies between the original population and colony may also trigger the two groups to diverge significantly over the course of many generations. As the difference, or genetic distance, increases, the two separated populations may become distinct, both genetically and phenetically, although not only genetic drift but also natural selection, gene flow and mutation will all contribute to this divergence." Wikipedia

'a small group in a population splinters off from the original population and forms a new one...
the two separated populations may become distinct, both genetically and phenetically'.

This is how the CWE came to be so far removed from other WEBs, they separated through selective breeding to "become distinct, both genetically and phenetically'. The Founder Effect however is a naturally occurring phenomenon, however it can be manipulated by selective breeding if you know what you're doing. Above right: Head study. CWE Gus and CWE Dixie  For more information on proper CWE type, see the CWE.

Above: Head study - left: 1969; right: 2010

This is how purity is reached; a homogenous population such as the CWE, and most certainly other existing strains of other breeds and species. The CWE is far from being the only homogenous strain of canine, rather it is one of a number that are still found today in rural isolated areas of the world. "Even today, dogs of this old type may be found here and there, some recognized as distinct breeds and others lost in the obscurity of unorthodoxy." The Book of the Dog

 We are currently working towards establishing a DNA profile and database for the CWE. Above right: Pictured are CWE Gus & CWE DIxie

diagram courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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