Dog cloning: Should you copy your pup?

Dog cloning. If you’re a dog owner, the thought has likely crossed your mind. Maybe reading articles about celebrities who have cloned their pets provided you with information about the cloning process.

If you`re a dog owner, you realize that your faithful dog will die someday and, unfortunately, it’s inevitable.

And that threat is the fundamental reason for dog cloning because as dogs get older, their owners become more likely to think about cloning.

Most people consider their dogs family members. That’s why it can be hard to cope with losing a four-legged friend.

But before you decide to clone your dog, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of dog cloning.

Advantages of dog cloning

Your beloved dog can live on: The main advantage of dog cloning is the chance to give a second (third, fourth and so on) life to your four-legged friend. With the help of cloning, you can bring a dog that has died back to your home and again walk, feed and enjoy spending time with your beloved pup

Cloning your dog can ease grief: Losing a dog hurts because you lose not just a dog, you lose your best friend.  Having a dog adds structure to your routine, keeps you active and can even help you overcome certain difficulties in your life. Having a dog gives you a purpose.

Cloning available when you`re ready: You can use cloning any time you want — provided of course you can pay the fees. If you think you might want to clone your dog in the future, you can freeze your dog’s genetic material so it’s available to use when you’re ready.

Disadvantages of dog cloning

Very expensive process: According to Viagen Pets, it isn`t so cheap to produce a genetic twin to your dog. How much does it cost to clone your dog? The minimum cost to clone a dog is $ 50, 000.

Differences between the original and the clone: No matter what researchers say, you should know personality cannot be duplicated. Much of personality is shaped during the first months of a puppy’s life. A clone is a twin and in reality, twins can have personalities that are as different as night and day.

High mortality rate: Unfortunately, so far the mortality rate of cloned dogs is much higher than dogs born naturally. Clones are born as newborns and while no one really knows what causes aging in mammals, most scientists think it has to do with a part of the chromosome called a telomere that functions like the cell’s clock. Telomeres tend to be long when animals are born and shorten as the animal ages. Clones tend to have shorter telomeres than animals born naturally.

Dog cloning offers every dog owner a genetic copy of his or her beloved four-legged friend. But before you make such a big decision, think carefully to determine whether you really need to clone your dog.

– By Linda Mathews

Linda Mathews is an editor of catspurfection.com. Animals have always been her passion. She enjoys animal science, animal husbandry, training, and market animal research.