The Canine Diversity Project - http://www.canine-genetics.com/ - A general resource website on canine genetic diversity, including valuable articles written by the late great Dr. John Armstrong, a pioneer of the canine diversity breeding movement.
Evangelizing Canine Genetic Diversity, by Dr. Hellmuth Wachtel - http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0192.htm - Seven key points about inbreeding and genetic diversity. Hellmuth Wachtel explains how close breeding methods, at one time a useful tool in breed formation, have now become a disastrous abuse.
Genetic Diversity -- The Dark Side of Inbreeding, by Catherine Marley - http://www.netpets.com/dogs/healthspa/diversity.html - A simple explanation of how the overuse of popular sires causes problems in dog breeds and how outcrossing can help.
The Genetic Cul-de-sac Dogs as an Endangered Species, by John C. Cargill and Dr. Susan Thorpe-Vargas - http://www.siriusdog.com/dog-genetic-mutations-genome.htm - A good discussion of the origin of domestic dogs, genetic mutations, genetic diversity, founder effect, genetic bottlenecking and inbreeding.
Essays for the Dog Breeder, by Dr. Susan Thorpe-Vargas - http://dogdimension.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=shared:geneticsandbreeding - A thoroughgoing and detailed exploration of the basics of canine genetics for the dog breeder. This concentrated multi-chapter long article also explores many current genetically-related issues for dog breeders, such as adding country-of-origin stock to existing gene pools, codes of ethics, the genetics of cancer, autoimmune disease and vaccination protocols. Highly recommended!
The Village Dog Genetic Diversity Project - http://villagedogs.canmap.org/ Cornell University Department of Biological Statistics and Computational Biology has a project for gathering, mapping, and analysis of DNA samples from world non-purebred village dogs, as a means toward understanding the evolution and domestication of dogs. Be sure to visit the Microsatellite page with its great explanation of bottlenecking!
The Canine Genome, by Elaine A. Ostrander and Robert K. Wayne - http://genome.cshlp.org/content/15/12/1706.full - This scholarly paper by two titans of canine genetics research explains current knowledge of the canine genome from the geneticist's point of view. Its valuable discussion of clustering and linkage disequilibrium helps us understand the origins and nature of today's wide variety of dog breeds. Fascinating, and relatively accessible for the layman, as scholarly papers go.
Small Population Breeds and Issues of Genetic Diversity, by Jerold S. Bell DVM - http://www.wwsva.com/small-population-breeds-genetic-diversity-issues - Dr. Bell is probably (along with Dr. Carmen Battaglia) the canine geneticist most biased in favour of the American Kennel Club and its closed stud books. Nevertheless, a careful reading of this article will reveal how far most rare breeds like the Chinook fall short of reasonable and prudent genetic practice.
Population Genetics in Practice: Principles for the Breeder - http://www.seppalakennels.com/articles/population-genetics-in-practice.htm - How may the dog breeder go about her hobby so as to do the least possible damage to the gene pool of her chosen breed? This ground-breaking article from J. Jeffrey Bragg lists no fewer than twenty ways in which the breeder can use the principles of population genetics to create a responsible breeding programme.
A New Direction for Kennel Club Regulations and Breed Standards, by Koharik Arman - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1950109/ - This 2007 article from The Canadian Veterinary Journal was inspired by Jeffrey Bragg's "Purebred Dog Breeds Into the Twenty-First Century: Achieving Genetic Health for Our Dogs," which it references several times. Dr. Arman suggests revision of breed standards to restore balance, discouraging selection of physical traits detrimental to breed health, getting registries to introduce new gene inflow in all breeds, regulations for minimum founder populations of new breeds and maximum permissible coefficients of inbreeding, and use of modern technology to monitor breeder compliance.
Litter Size in Dogs - http://www.royalcanin.us/library/littersizeindogs.aspx - This anonymous article from Royal Canin's Crown Partners Scientific Library gives an excellent detailed overview of the many issues affecting litter size in dogs, all very clearly explained. Every breeder should read and heed this one.
