Genes, which many people think of as written in stone, can switch on and off or express themselves very differently depending on environmental influences.    Thus, the same gene can express itself as a negative trait or a positive trait, depending on environmental input, especially very early in life.  Take, for example, the aggressive variant of the human MAO-A gene, otherwise known as the “Warrior Gene.”  At its base, this gene causes people to respond aggressively and have less fear, and also create less empathy for others.  Given a supportive, nurturing childhood environment people with this variant grow up to be our presidents and community leaders, make energetic and wonderful spouses and parents, and tend to be financially successful because they have the competitiveness and focus to rise to the top.  If, however, an individual with this variant of the MAO-A gene is exposed to a severely traumatic event very early in life, he has a high risk of becoming a sociopath or even a serial killer.

Now, your dog may never grow up to be president or a mass murderer, but it's  possible that early environmental influence can determine the difference between the dog that shows like he owns the ground he stands on and the dog that’s such a sonofabitch that you need to take Xanax and a good insurance policy into the ring to show him.

The study of environmental influence on genetic expression is still in it’s infancy, but there’s overwhelming evidence that early experiences and input can effect the way genes play out.  But that’s not even the beginning of the story.

The Cane Corso Epilepsy Funding Project is helping support epilepsy research!

ABSTRACT

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic diseases of dogs and a top concern of dog breeders. Despite strong evidence that genetics is important in determining the risk of idiopathic epilepsy, numerous gene mapping studies have failed to identify a locus that accounts for that risk in either dogs or humans. Seizures occur when excessive activity goes beyond the normal threshold for brain function, many factors contribute to that level of activity, and therefore, mutations in numerous genes may collectively contribute to increased activity until that threshold is exceeded, resulting in epilepsy. Any one of these mutations may be present in non-epileptic dogs, but because it only partially alters activity, it would not produce seizures. Therefore, traditional gene mapping studies might overlook that mutation. Using a novel whole genome sequencing approach the investigators hope to identify DNA variations in epileptic dogs that could affect the function of genes such as ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors that have been shown to alter the seizure threshold in humans or rodents. The frequency of such variations in populations of epileptic and non-epileptic dogs will be directly compared rather than the indirect markers used in traditional mapping studies. The increased power provided by looking for specific gene candidate variations rather than linked markers will aid the identification of epilepsy risk factors, perhaps leading to the development of DNA tests to enable breeders to select against such risk factors.

The Whelping Box and HD?

Indeed, there might be another environmental factor we are overlooking- the whelping box! When you have a chance to watch some videos of wild canines, you will notice how the den is shaped like a bowl. Its surface is compact dirt. When the pups are nursing they have great traction under their feet. They do not use knees and bellies to crawl as much as pups in a flat whelping box are forced to do. The concave shape informs blind and deaf newborns where “up” and “down” is, and they all pile at the bottom of the den, forming a thermally efficient little gathering.

What is remarkable about the differences between a natural den and a man-made whelping box is that it just may explain why all puppies are born with normal hips and develop dysplasia afterwards, and why wild canines do not suffer from hip dysplasia. Does the damage happen sometime after birth in a man-made environment?

The Truth Behind Hip Dysplasia
The SV in Germany has proven genetics is only responsible  for about 25% of the bad hips in dogs.  In other words, when looking at a pedigree, the dog may have up to 10 generations of "good" or "excellent" hips and still have a 75% chance of having bad hips.  

This means that 70% to 75% of the bad hips are caused by environmental issues.

Here's some things that may help:

1- Keep your dog thin - when I say thin I mean you need to see a definition between the ribs and loins of your dog. I cannot stress this enough. The more weight a dog carries the more pressure on the hips. This is extremely important when the dog is  growing (between 8 weeks and 18 months)

2- Do not over exercise your young dog. DO NOT TAKE A PUPPY JOGGING !!! Not until its older than one year of age. Over exercise is the fastest way to destroy hips.

3- Feed a high quality diet. 
If  you don’t want to feed a raw diet at least feed it an all-natural commercial diet.