Join Us for the Origins Conference
April 5th and 6th, 2025
The Origins Conference
is a virtual two-day event dedicated to the future of dog breeding and well-being. This collaboration between The Functional Dog Collaborative and IAABC Foundation is designed to advance your knowledge of dog health, genetics, and behavior —empowering you to support dogs in reaching their full potential, both physically and behaviorally.
Featuring 10 Presentations
Each with a live Q&A, you’ll have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions with the leading experts in their field. Whether your interests are dog breeding, behavior, training, or veterinary health, this conference is a unique and special offering.
Be a part of shaping the journey of every dog—from their origins to the heroes they have the potential to be.
Presentations and Q&A sessions will be recorded and available to you for a minimum of one year or as long as you have an active IAABC Foundation account (minimum of one purchase per year).
CEUs
The Origins Conference has been approved for 15.0 CEUs through IAABC, KPA and CCPDT
Schedule
April 5th
9:00 AM Alison Skipper, MA VetMB Cert VR MA PhD MRCVS
Why History Matters: Understanding the Past to Improve the Future of Pedigree Dog Breeding
11:00 AM Jessica Perry Hekman, DVM, PhD
Deconstructing Personality: What Are We Actually Breeding For?
1:00 PM Sameera Nalla, DVM
Raising Pawsome Pups: A Vet Behavior Resident’s Perspective
4:00 PM Julie Cecere, BA, DVM, MS, Dipl.ACT
Dystocia Preparedness; best laid plans always work; until they don’t!
6:00 PM Sophie Liu, DVM, CDBC
The Doberman Diversity Project: Harnessing the Power of Citizen Science to Improve All Dogs
April 6th
9:00 AM Bart Broeckx, MSc Vet Med, MSc Stat Data Analysis, PhD
Conscientious Breeding and Clinical Genetics: Dealing with DNA
11:00 AM Jennifer Rogers, BS, M.Ed.: Nuerosicence and Trauma Response
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning: Choosing the Best Puppies to Train as Potential Service Dogs
1:00 PM Frances Chen, DVM, PhD
Bridging Research Discovery with Genetic Selection: A Collaborative Approach to Developing Next Generation (Genomic) Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for Canine Health and Behavior
4:00 PM Emily Bray, PhD, CAAB
Shaping Minds and Traits: How Individual Differences in Maternal Care and Cognitive Development Impact Later Dog Behavior
6:00 PM Mary Peaslee, MD, MPH
Hip, Hip… Huh? Understanding and Using Hip Scores to Promote Long-Term Health
Learn more about each presenter below
Member Discount
An additional discount is available for members of the Functional Breeding private Facebook group. You’ll need to be a member prior to making a purchase, as refunds cannot be applied retroactively. A discount code will be provided in the group.
Alison Skipper, MA VetMB Cert VR MA PhD MRCVS
Why History Matters: Understanding the Past to Improve the Future of Pedigree Dog Breeding
Talk Description
Most canine enthusiasts believe that good dog breeding and care means prioritising health and welfare. Yet understandings of what that actually entails have changed over time and vary between countries today. ‘Best practice’ is constantly evolving in response to new scientific evidence and changing ethical standards; today’s cutting-edge recommendations may be superseded tomorrow.
This presentation reframes three themes in current dog breeding by considering their histories. It discusses the history of closed breed registers to show that outcrossing of pedigree breeds is not a new concept; it traces the history of breed community health action to demonstrate what can be achieved by motivated breeders; and it reflects on how evolving understandings of disease might influence future engagement with breed health. By setting the story of ‘good breeding’ within its historical context, Alison Skipper will get you thinking about how things might change in the future – and why they should.
Jessica Perry Hekman, DVM, PhD
Deconstructing Personality: What Are We Actually Breeding For?
Talk Description
What are personality (or temperament) traits? How do we define them in dogs? How do we measure them? How accurate are those measurements? Are some personality traits connected, so that breeding for one brings along another? Are behavioral traits associated with coat colors or patterns? What does this all mean for your breeding program? Jessica Perry Hekman, DVM, PhD is a behavioral geneticist and veterinary researcher who is passionate about understanding personality in dogs. In this talk, she will review the scientific literature about “factors” (suites of behavioral traits) in personality; measuring behavioral traits; and how accurate we can expect those measurements to be. She will also talk from her experience from multiple research projects about what we know about selective breeding for behavioral traits, how traits may be connected to each other, and discuss any evidence for the connection between behavioral and morphological traits such as coat color.
Sameera Nalla, DVM
Raising Pawsome Pups: A Vet Behavior Resident’s Perspective
Talk Description
Dr. Nalla will go over information that will be useful for any breeder who wants to raise behaviorally sound puppies so they are set up for success when they reach their loving new homes. This includes going over what she considers general “green flags” and “red flags” when potential adopters are considering different breeders, desired physical and mental health characteristics of adult breeding pairs, going over the developmental stages of dogs, age appropriate puppy socialization practices, and how to help match a potential adopter to their new best friend.
Julie Cecere, BA, DVM, MS, Dipl.ACT
Dystocia Preparedness; best laid plans always work; until they don’t!
Talk Description
This talk will cover the topics of pregnancy management in preparation for a successful natural whelping as well as normal and abnormal whelping scenarios. We will pay particular attention to the things that we as breeders and veterinarians can control before and during whelping and how to recognize when things are not going as planned. General treatment recommendations and the outcomes based on current literature will be discussed.
Sophie Liu, DVM, CDBC
The Doberman Diversity Project: Harnessing the Power of Citizen Science to Improve All Dogs
Talk Description
As a direct consequence of selective breeding, certain dog breeds are particularly susceptible to specific diseases. While selective breeding has increased recognizable forms and consistent type, it has also generated consistent increased risk of “breed-specific” disorders. A prime example is the modern Doberman, which is now plagued with multiple serious diseases that have dropped the average lifespan to only 8-9 years. What might seem to be a curse for one breed, however, actually represents a unique opportunity for research – and serves as a cautionary tale for other breeds.
In 2017, the Doberman Diversity Project was founded to address the modern Doberman’s serious health issues through a focus on genetic research. Through a collective citizen-science effort, thousands of Doberman owners and breeders have genetically tested their dogs, allowing us to take a deep dive into the population’s genetic structure and provide a blueprint for future research. The implications extend beyond the Doberman, providing valuable insights for all breeds that face the challenge of balancing genetic diversity with the preservation of a distinct, consistent type within a closed breeding system. This presentation will highlight specific ways in which dog enthusiasts can develop their own communities to better monitor and proactively safeguard the health of their breed’s population.
Bart Broeckx, MSc Vet Med, MSc Stat Data Analysis, PhD
Conscientious Breeding and Clinical Genetics: Dealing with DNA
Talk Description
In times where new DNA tests are developed every single day and are readily available, where owners contact you with questions regarding breeding permission or the government thinks about imposing bans, dealing with genetic diseases certainly did not become easy… Whether you manage a breeding program or encounter diseases with a genetic background in your practice, correct advice is of paramount importance. How to handle results from DNA tests? What if DNA tests are not available? What can make interpretation hard? Is exclusion from breeding really the best method to improve population health? In this presentation, correct management with and without DNA tests is discussed from a practical point of view based on examples related to managing breeding programs and patients seen at the department of clinical genetics
Jennifer Rogers, BS, M.Ed.: Nuerosicence and Trauma Response
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning: Choosing the Best Puppies to Train as Potential Service Dogs
Talk Description
Not all puppies are created equal. Puppies don’t get to sign a work contract to commit to a life of service, so let’s make sure we’re using a recipe for success in selection among them, both for their sake as well as for the sake of their future human partner. This presentation will give breeders some ingredients (traits) to select for, to include in their puppy “recipe” for breeding choices. Trainers will also get insight into what some puppy profiles for specific working roles look like to help in matching the best specific service job to a puppy they are working with. Best practices and international standards around both breeding and training these puppies will be referenced throughout this presentation in relation to puppy wellness and well-being.
Frances Chen, DVM, PhD
Bridging Research Discovery with Genetic Selection: A Collaborative Approach to Developing Next Generation (Genomic) Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for Canine Health and Behavior
Talk Description
The demand for dogs that are physically and behaviorally healthy, as well as well-adapted to their roles—whether as companions or working partners—far exceeds the current supply. Traditional breeding approaches based solely on observable traits (phenotypes) fall short in addressing complex traits like health and behavior, which are influenced by multiple genes and environmental factors. By leveraging tools from statistical genetics, such as estimated breeding values (EBVs), working dog organizations like Guiding Eyes for the Blind and the International Working Dog Registry (IWDR) have demonstrated how genetic (as opposed to phenotypic) selection can improve outcomes in guide dog populations.
This talk explores how implementing EBVs can have a transformative impact on breeding programs to produce healthier and more behaviorally reliable dogs. This approach has already achieved remarkable outcomes at Guiding Eyes for the Blind, including reducing the prevalence of hip dysplasia and noise sensitivity, all while managing inbreeding and improving overall rates of success.
Currently, we are engaged in collaborative efforts between dog breeders, working dog organizations, and researchers to make it possible to develop and implement genetic selection through EBVs in broader dog populations. At the same, we are bringing together leading expertise in genomic data science, statistical genetics, and working dog breeding to apply EBVs and genomic approaches to combat hemangiosarcoma, a devastating cancer affecting both companion and working dog populations. Through this research collaboration, we aim to show proof of concept that genomic EBVs can reduce the risk of this disease while advancing our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of both human and canine cancer. Finally, by working with IWDR we will establish the foundation for genomic tools to be integrated into the canine breeding world and leverage their use to improve the health and welfare of both dogs and their human companions.
This talk explores how implementing EBVs can have a transformative impact on breeding programs to produce healthier and more behaviorally reliable dogs. This approach has already achieved remarkable outcomes at Guiding Eyes for the Blind, including reducing the prevalence of hip dysplasia and noise sensitivity, all while managing inbreeding and improving overall rates of success.
Currently, we are engaged in collaborative efforts between dog breeders, working dog organizations, and researchers to make it possible to develop and implement genetic selection through EBVs in broader dog populations. At the same, we are bringing together leading expertise in genomic data science, statistical genetics, and working dog breeding to apply EBVs and genomic approaches to combat hemangiosarcoma, a devastating cancer affecting both companion and working dog populations. Through this research collaboration, we aim to show proof of concept that genomic EBVs can reduce the risk of this disease while advancing our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of both human and canine cancer. Finally, by working with IWDR we will establish the foundation for genomic tools to be integrated into the canine breeding world and leverage their use to improve the health and welfare of both dogs and their human companions.
Emily Bray, PhD, CAAB
Shaping Minds and Traits: How Individual Differences in Maternal Care and Cognitive Development Impact Later Dog Behavior
Talk Description
Dr. Bray’s research strives to understand how individual dogs think and behave, along with which aspects of their development and environment might make them differ from one other. Because dogs perform diverse roles in our society, including the beloved role of companion, a deeper comprehension of these factors allows us to best set dogs up for success. In this talk, Dr. Bray will provide an overview of our decade-long research into canine cognition and maternal care. To answer questions about dog behavior, the research team has implemented the Dog Cognitive Development Battery, consisting of a suite of standardized tasks, in over 1,000 individuals from a population of assistance dogs. We aim to measure cognitive traits, such as impulse control and interest in humans, as well as temperament traits, such as dogs’ boldness or lack thereof in the face of novel objects and unexpected events. By testing both puppies and adolescents, we can begin to determine when skills of interest start to emerge and how they change over development. By testing many of the same dogs at multiple timepoints, we can look at the extent to which puppy behavior predicts adult behavior. And by testing dogs with known pedigrees, we can calculate how much of the variation that we see in any given trait (i.e., the heritability) is due to genetics. Finally, by tracking key aspects of the dogs’ early environments, we can investigate the impact of maternal care on later life outcomes.
Mary Peaslee, MD, MPH
Hip, Hip… Huh? Understanding and Using Hip Scores to Promote Long-Term Health
Talk Description
What happens when a preventive medicine doctor, acquires a dog from a rare breed and falls in love, only to discover the breed is affected by hip dysplasia? The saga that followed provides the background for this talk. Spanning over 30 years, the journey involves Mary Peaslee, MD, MPH, becoming a dog breeder and grappling with the challenge of breeding healthy dogs despite a small breeding population, a complex health problem, a lack of breed-specific data, and institutions and recommendations driven by ideology rather than practicality. The story isn’t over, but it is one that many breeders may identify with, as the issues are fairly universal.
By sharing insights from her journey, Dr. Peaslee hopes the audience will leave with an understanding of how hip dysplasia develops, what the various hip tests reveal, the rationale behind some commonly heard recommendations, and why those recommendations should not be applied in a “one size fits all” manner.
While all breeders aim to produce healthy dogs, there is no formula that guarantees 100% success in this endeavor. The best approach is to stack the odds in favor of success, understanding that there will always be an element of risk in any chosen path. The goal is not to eliminate risk—an impossible task—but to consistently apply pressure over time to move in the right direction.
Dr. Peaslee also hopes to encourage breeders by sharing that hip dysplasia, of all the challenges faced, is actually quite straightforward. There are many variables in the equation, many of which can be adjusted to achieve the goal. Importantly, there is not one singular “right” way.
