So have you ever dreamt of cloning your best furry friend? It's quite simple science isn't it? An interesting article popped up on my FB this morning which, for me, raises major questions on cloning our canine buddies. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/dog-spies/the-hidden-dogs-of-dog-cloning/#
Yes I would! I don’t think you would get the same dog, nurture plays as big a part as nurture. But if I could have a clone of my Boogie (RIP) I would - like a shot. There was no other dog like him and never will be again. He was a total Heinz 57 so there would be no getting the same breed either. Boogie was a one off.
As much as i love Penny, shes a nutter lol. I love her to peices but has issues that i wouldnt want to replicate in another dog. Mostly socialisation ones so the nature vs nuture argument comes into play a little as we know some of these are down to her breeder (lied to us about age so was taken from her mother too early) but there are a few genetic ones i wouldnt want to pass on.
Wow @Boogie ! So you would put an unknown number of bitches through surgery to remove their eggs for impregnation and another unknown number of bitches to be implanted as surrogates in the hope that you would get one pup, which might or might not look like your precious dog? What about if there was more than one healthy pup? What about any pups that we're born with health issues. I love my girl to the moon and back but would never consider cloning
Me neither Jojo. Nature is nature, and there is a good reason why no two animals (or humans) are ever alike. But I know what Mags meant - there are certain dogs, your 'once in a lifetime dog', who you would love to have again...
I've not read the article (will come back to it later) so I assume Mags is thinking like I immediately did, would I want a carbon copy of one of my dogs, if that were easily and ethically achievable. My immediate thought is "no way"! I consider Willow to be my "one in a lifetime" because of everything we've been through and how she's changed my life, but no way in hell would I inflict that fear on another living being. If it were a simple scientific study without any emotion getting involved (hah, yeah, as if that could ever happen), I would love to know if I could have done anything different to change how she turned out or if that little black puppy was destined to always be a stress bunny.
No, I wouldn't do it as you could never get the same animal. Identical twins have the same DNA but can be completely different. I think it would just set you up for disappointment.
No, I wouldn’t do any of that. My reply was about my Boogie and the theoretical idea that I could have a pup like he was. Which wouldn’t even have been possible if he’d been mated. He was the product of many breeds as a lot of dogs were back in the day. The serious ethical issues are a different story and will apply to human cloning too
I just don't think there would be another Stanley. He has won my heart in a way I never thought possible and he deserves more than a clone that hasn't got the true Stanley effect. I don't think I'll even be able to get another black Labrador. I'm going to have to rotate all the colours to get me to old age
At first I thought I would if I could do it ethically. But the more I thought about it I realized that the thing I love about adding a new family member is wondering what kind of personality this one would have... no pre-conceived notions.
I wouldn't, not because I don't think Duncan and Brogan were the handsomest pups ever, but just because i think it would make me sad to see a dog that looked just like one of them but didn't have their spirit. And I don't know if I could be fair to the new dog either - I hope I would be, but that disappointment might bleed through in strange ways. Kind of related story (I always have something, right? ) but one of my former fosters was a tiny little black Pomeranian named Grace. She was adopted by the sister and brother in law of a good friend. Grace was adored and pampered and she didn't let it go to her head. She had her quirks, but she was a complete sweetie and absolutely adored spending hours on the lap of her human man. Grace passed away at a respectably ancient age and she was sorely missed, especially by the husband. So they scoured pomeranian rescue and within a year had found what was for all intents and purposes a Grace clone. Same very unusually tiny size, same black with white points on her chest and toes. Her name was even "Ava", which to me goes with the whole "Golden Age screen goddess" theme. Well, you know what I'm going to say: Ava is a terror. Doesn't want to be held, will bite with seemingly no provocation on occasion, impossible to housetrain, barks constantly while hiding under the furniture. I met her last fall when I was in the US and it is really weird - you see her and think it's Grace and then she kind of implodes. Not that she isn't a fine little dog in her own right (and could be much happier with some training, but that's another story) but it does very strange things to your insides to think you see a beloved dog and then realise, "Nope, that is NOT her".
No. It's unhealthy to expect a clone to try to fill the place left by a pet that's died. The clone can never be that dog. it might be Copy physically but it will not have had the same life experiences or be influenced by the same things as. the old dog. Dead is gone and needs to stay gone.life is about evolving developing and moving not about sticking at one point. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
I wonder about the specialness of the relationship too. We know our dogs live shorter lives compared to us and it makes our time with them much more beautiful . Will the replaceability make them more of a commodity. we can replace them easily so we may loose the power and importance of our relationship.it seems to take animals to the level of a mobile phone. My relationships with my animals have been sweet and more valuable to me because they feel so fleeting. The shortness of their lives and their uniqueness makes them so important and I feel honoured to be around them.
Just found this article, might be of interest considering..: "Is the desire to clone a pet immoral or an understandable yearning?" https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...-live-again-barbra-streisands-cloned-dogs?amp
