Poodle Pulse: Understanding Canine Genetic Diversity Research and What it Means for Poodle Breeding

🐩 Why Genetic Diversity Matters for Standard Poodles

Preserving the Standard Poodle means more than producing pretty dogs with correct coat and adorable faces. At SPFL, we believe every litter starts with a purpose: to honor the breed’s history while safeguarding its future through health, structure, temperament, and vitality.

Thanks to advances in canine genetic research, ethical breeders now have powerful tools to guide smarter decisions—tools that help reduce inherited disease, extend longevity, and preserve the poodle’s purpose for generations to come.

🔬 What Is Genetic Diversity in Dogs?

Genetic diversity refers to the variety of genetic material present within a breed or population. In simple terms, it’s a measure of how genetically similar or different dogs are from one another.

Why does this matter? Low diversity, caused by inbreeding or genetic bottlenecks, can lead to:

Weakened immune systems
Increased risk for disease
Reduced fertility or litter viability
Shortened lifespan

Preservation breeders work hard to reduce these risks by balancing structure and type with genetic diversity.

📊 Pedigree COI vs. DNA-Based Diversity Testing

For decades, breeders have relied on the Coefficient of Inbreeding (COI)—a pedigree-based calculation of how closely related two dogs are.

But COI is only an estimate.

That’s where DNA-based diversity testing comes in. Tools like the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL) Canine Diversity Test and BetterBred’s analysis measure the actual genes a dog inherited, offering deeper insight than pedigrees alone. These tests assess:

Immune system diversity (DLA haplotypes)
Genomic inbreeding
Genetic compatibility between mates

📍 At SPFL, we’ve been using this DNA-based testing since 2018 to make informed, thoughtful breeding decisions.

📈 What Is AVK and Why Does It Matter?

If you’ve explored the Poodle Pedigree Database (based in Germany), you may have seen something called AVK — short for Ahnenverlustkoeffizient, or ancestor loss coefficient.

AVK measures how many unique ancestors appear in a dog’s pedigree. A higher AVK (closer to 100%) means greater pedigree variety, which typically reflects lower inbreeding. For example:

AVK of 100% = All ancestors in the pedigree are unique.
AVK of 87.5% = One or more ancestors appear more than once.

AVK doesn’t replace DNA testing—but it does give us a big-picture view of pedigree diversity. Used together, AVK and genomic analysis help breeders strike the balance between breed type and breed health.

🧠 SPFL’s Genetic Testing Philosophy

At Standard Poodles of Forest Lakes, we use multiple tools to support our mission:

CHIC Certification through OFA (hips, eyes, heart, thyroid)
DNA disease panel (over 200 tests, including PRA, DM, vWD, NEwS, rcd4, etc.)
DLA diversity and inbreeding analysis via VGL + BetterBred
Pedigree analysis and AVK metrics

These tools help us make intentional breeding choices—with each pairing carefully designed to reduce risk, maintain soundness, and preserve the Standard Poodle’s remarkable versatility.

🐾 We’re not just breeding for one great dog—we’re building for a healthier future.

🚫 Why We Do Not Support Intervariety Breeding

At SPFL, we are committed to preserving the integrity of the Standard Poodle as its own variety. While all three sizes of poodles—Toy, Miniature, and Standard—share a common origin, they have diverged significantly over time in terms of structure, temperament, and purpose.

We do not support intervariety breeding (e.g., Miniature to Standard) because:

It introduces inconsistencies in size, structure, and temperament.
It can disrupt health tracking, as diseases expressed in one variety may not appear the same way in another.
It compromises the breed type and purpose that careful preservation breeders have worked to maintain.

Our goal is to honor the Standard Poodle’s legacy by breeding within variety—focusing on genetic diversity within the standard population, not across size types.

💬 What This Means for Future Puppy Families

You don’t have to be a geneticist to appreciate the value of a well-bred poodle. But we believe in full transparency.

As an SPFL puppy buyer, you’ll receive:

Clear explanations of your puppy’s pedigree and health background
Access to CHIC numbers, AVK stats, and DNA health reports
Support, education, and guidance for the lifetime of your poodle

We’re proud to invest in science-backed breeding practices that protect the breed we love—and give your future companion the healthiest start possible.

🔗 Learn More

Here are some trusted resources we use and recommend:

📸 Want to see how we pair this science with sweet puppy faces?

Follow us on Facebook or browse our Health & Testing page to see real-world examples of how these tools help us raise poodles that are smart, sound, and stunning.

Questions? Comments? We’d love to hear from fellow breeders, future puppy families, or poodle lovers who want to learn more. Drop a comment below or contact us directly.