What is RC and how is it used in a breeding program? Why is it promoted so heavily in the ISSR?
In essence, an RC is a measure of pedigree relationship or the correlation between the breeding values of two individuals due to pedigree relationship alone. It means that the pedigree is a probability roadmap and its usefulness (and RC and Inbreeding Co-efficient (IC) percentages derived from it) depends entirely on how much you know about the lines (dogs) themselves. The sire and dam can be affected with a genetic disorder (could be the same, could be different, could be more than one disorder) and the RC or IC percentages could be very low and it still will not give you healthy puppies! In the same vein, if the line is healthy and stable, you stand a good chance of getting a healthy, stable puppy even if the RC and IC percentages are fairly high. Properly used, it can help a breeder determine the probable percentage of genes coming from a specified ancestor.
