How do you feel about cloning?

[The Pooky Professor]

Interesting article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/18/trakr-dog-september-11-...

[Adina P]

It's amazing to me that they can do it...so in that sense it's kinda cool.
But for me, personally...if I were to think of cloning my dogs...creepy wins out over cool.

If I were to look at it purely as a thought experiment and purely out of curiosity...the things that pop into mind are:
--If I were to clone Thule (who we got as a rehome at 11 months) could my raising of her from puppyhood have prevented
some of her bad habits and frustrating quirks? If she were raised differently during that critical developmental period would her personality be different? Could we have ended the humans-are-lollipops licking looong ago?

--If I were to clone Rosco...would he have been as much of a maniacal nipper with my now more experienced self? Could I have trained him out of it sooner? Would I have reached success with him sooner in all aspects of training now that I've grown in skills (at least a teeny bit) myself?

Those are things I'd be curious about. But as much as I LOVE my doggies and wish they lived longer than dogs do, I don't want to repeat the same exact dog every 15 or so years.

[The Pooky Professor]

My thoughts exactly, if I only knew then what I know now......!

[Adina P]

It's not really 'new' stuff I know (not that I haven't learned new things)...I just think I'm more confident and better skilled than I was then. I was so tentative and my dog SCARED me when he'd bite. I read books and articles on puppy raising before, during, and after getting my pup...so it wasn't for a lack of getting prepared. But sometimes experience teaches you more than words on a page--even if it teaches you the same thing you read on a page ... LOL. Kinda like a kid learning to play the piano or violin merely by reading instructions before each recital (without a teacher or practice) or a wannabe basketball player only reading a book before each game (with no coach or practice sessions). That's what it felt like to me. read, read, read...execute poorly...read read read...execute poorly...decide it obviously doesn't work...read read read something else...ad nauseum.

[Kyoko]

Cloning is scary to me in general....selective genes, polishing and perfecting whatever that is.....that's scary to me.
Because whatever that is being classfied as "Good" or "Perfect" is an opinions of people.

I can see it being used for farming purpose or something for now, like making biggest and fattest cow, most milk producing cow, etc.... But, if it keeps going, years and years from now, they will be able to create greatest athletes, certain "beautiful looks", re-create late love ones, etc..... That's scary to me. I just think that, when I was a little kid, people didn't think of cloning anything, or at least it wasn't know to us public. And that's not that long ago.....so, what can they do 20 years, 30 years, 40 years from now? I know I'm thinking too much into it......

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Ya, I find it disturbing too. I think random selection of nature exists for a reason. I dont think we should interfere. Not because of some religious beliefs but because some things in the universe either just plain old feel right. Or feel wrong. Cloning feels wrong. I can't tell you why - it just feels wrong. Like a karmic faux-pas.

[Joy Originator of GiantSchnoodles]

I'd clone Xena & Mirage in a minute. I wouldn't clone me bcs I think I've got some defective health genes. But Xena & Mirage, while not clones, I genetically engineered them. I developed their breed. I tested & studied them to the empth degree. I researched the things I couldn't test for like cancer & epileptsy. I raised them from birth, trained them & developed them exactly to the goals I chose before I bred the first one. I bred with a very clear & detailed plan in mind such as the ability to alert to blood pressure, blood sugar & other human health issues. I think it has to be in the genes & then be passively trained, recognized & reinforced. I've acheived that. Now I'd want exactly the same dogs. HOWEVER, from what I've read abt cloning, the clones die sooner, have breeding & health problems. I think there are still some things that have to be developed & perfected. Puppy love from Joy & furry folk

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

From Joy's point of view, cloning is great and she makes me see some true advantages. Overall, it kinda creeps me out because you just can't replicate everything - and actually would you want to? We could be down to 12 different people and 4 different dogs, 7 different cats...... I am making that up but possibly there would be no new people or animals and no matter if you cloned to have the best, things would get booorrrring.

[Kyoko]

And out of those best's, it will be the bestest of the best, and some will always be undesired.....never ending story....

[Joy Originator of GiantSchnoodles]

HI N&N & Kyoko, Thx for seeing my point of view. I don't think you get down to a small limit for several reasons.
1. You are not going to develop every animal for 1 cause. Like I want medical alert dog. But you may want an S& R dog or an agility dog & on to more diverse goals. And I don't know if you ever want to stop improving. Like if you could clone Man of War, but the track, weather conditions, location changes etc. Then maybe another horse would be more suitable for the circumstances, so you may breed & clone & breed & clone in another direction.
2. I am talking abt intentional breeding to very specific identified goals. The very essence of these goals requires some genetic study. In studying genetics, it is totally clear that you need a diverse gene pool. so you don't in breed, you outbreed.
3. I guess to acheive goal #2, you can't just clone. You would have to have some natural breeding to get the diversity in the gene pool bcs just cloning only would bring the whole program down, I think.
4. Then there would be, I suppose some intercloning like the ears of a bloodhound for S& R combined in a dog with medical alert genes if those genes can even be identified.
But of course all of this is just theory bcs there is so much more to learn before even beginning to plan a program, never mind implementing one. They did Dolly the sheep just to see if it could be done. I don't think they had specific goals. Now, I think they'll learn a lot about cloning when they study these S&R shepherds. I think its a good thing bcs of my reasons for genetic engineering in the first place even tho what I did, definitely isn't cloning. But if I take a medical alert dog & breed it to another med alert dog & study the puppies to see if I increase the # of med alert dogs in the litter, then that would be genetic engineering. I guess we would learn a lot about what dogs to clone from that info. & I guess that is what they will hopefully learn from the shepherd S&R clones. Of course that is if they objectively study the results, training methods etc. & not just get all emotional over having the 9/11 S&R dog. They have to make the effort to to do scientific documented objective study if we are really going to learn from it. Does that make any sense?
Would you believe that in college, my most hated stubject (after math) was genetics?LOL
Puppy love from Joy & furry folk

[Jersey, Jasmine, Jypsy and Diane]

I would not be interested in cloning, I see it as playing God.

[Joy Originator of GiantSchnoodles]

What about genetic engineering ie testing for HD, genetic testing, researching & only breeding dogs or others that show impeccable genetic health. Is that playing god? Puppy love from Joy & furry folk

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Just have to add this - in 1967 at my University in Michigan, I was nominated for a beauty pageant that fed into the Miss Michigan pageant. One of the questions - the only really hard one - that I was asked was this exact question. Crazy, huh. I was a science major, but for all I know it was asked of everyone. My reply was something like this " it's a little strange, maybe theoretically possible, but probably will not be practical. And probably will not result in what is expected. Mother Nature is pretty powerful." At the time we were so far away from even cloning a multicelled organism, it seemed like a riduculous question. I think I still answer the same, in view of cloned cats of different fur patterns, etc. Everything is unique, I believe, even if only slightly and sometimes a very very small difference in gene pattern can make a very big difference in outcome. Incidentally, I was released after the first round. A big relief, one of the worst experiences of my life!