What is the difference between inbreeding and linebreeding?
To a geneticist there’s no difference between inbreeding and linebreeding – it’s all inbreeding. That’s because the mating of any relatives, even distant ones, contributes to the level of inbreeding within a line or breed. But in the dog world, inbreeding is commonly taken to mean the breeding of first-degree relatives (parent/offspring and brother/sister) and sometimes second-degree relatives, too (grandparent/grandchild, uncle/neice, aunt/nephew and half-brother/half-sister). Line-breeding is considered a “milder” form of inbreeding and usualy applies to the mating of third-degree relatives, such as first cousins, and beyond.
