What is COI Efficiency

What is Coi Efficiency? How does it affect our dogs?

Over the last few years the world appears in adverts coi efficiency.  So what is it exactly?  This is a term used for how a dog is bred, ie in bred or line bred or outcrossed.  You have people bragging in adverts that they have the lowest COI. But there is a catch!

The Hungarian vizsla has a small gene pool.  The more you look at the ancestors you begin to realise their is hardly any new blood lines to go too.  You also realise that all of our dogs today are related to 2 pairs brought into the UK, and then more but because the breed nearly died out in the First World War, their was not a big gene pool to go too to buy a new dog blood line. 

If you took any pedigree and went back 6 gens, 10 gens, 20 gens you're going to see your COI going up higher and higher. All because dogs go back to the same dogs. 

So where does that leave us?  Well it's a bit of a. pickle.  For a dog with a true 0 COI buy a cross breed dog.  A Poodle cross cocker spaniel.  A cockerpoo. But now with cross breeds they are getting inbred also. Because you could choose then going down the line brother and sister to mate together again. So the first cross is in fact the most outcrossed you will get.  But as breeders do not keep tracks of a pedigree, there lies the problem.  When buying several generations you could be mating so close together again. 

But back to Vizsla. Our litter at the moment is outcrossed, so with in 5 gens very little or none similar ancestors.  This is as good as it can possibly get, with a low COI. But just remember all pedigree dogs if you go back far enough will have same dogs.

So what about health problems? Well again here lies the problem. Those early dogs did carry genetic health issues.  Their is no such things as hundred percent healthy in any living animal. Humans are a witness to this.  There is now a movement wanting breeders to breed healthy dogs.  Well this we agree on, but it's going to be nearly impossible to cut out all bad health from dogs.   The followers of this movement aren't really dog lovers either, so they would love to see breeding done away with. 

But support your pedigree breeder because you know then certain behaviour traits, certain health problems that could occur, same size and colour.  A cross breed dog is an unknown on all of that.  Plus you can put together cross breeds which both carry the same genetic health problem. So it does not mean they are fit and healthy. Far from it. 

We actively try to breed with health testing paramount.  But we also breed by avoidance if there is no health test.  This means dont repeat a breeding if it produces something. Avoid it. Using a different sire, or a different dam, but don't repeat the mating.   Taking notes, and if it appears over and over, then something needs to be done. Which can mean stopping a blood line, stopping a sire or dam.  Stopping the repeat. Listening to vets advice.

So be smart and go to good breeders who health test.  As they are more mindful what they are doing. Go to breeders who will be mindful on the COI.   But also established well known breeders.  I was recently told that someone was waiting for a puppy from a friend of mine, but at the last minute dropped out and went to another breeder.  Because they are well known on advertising site.  But no one has heard of the breeder.  If no established breeder has heard of them it's probably for a good reason.  

We can give you a list of breeders who have puppies available across the country.