I personally wouldn't use a carrier dog over my clear bitch, because the gene pool is big enough in SBT for there to be a clear dog to use.

If I had a bitch that was of outstanding quality that was a a carrier then I might consider breeding from her using a clear dog.

It sounds daft but with a breed with a huge gene pool why would I introduce to my breeding a condition I don't have.

If you are breeding for health as well as looks, a dog who is a carrier of a genetic problem (say something like Von Willebrands) is not furthering the overall health of the breed. No matter how good a specimen it might be, I don't think it is acceptable. I believe it is detrimental to any breed as a whole, especially when breeders should be trying to breed out or minimise genetic problems. I don't know much about the complexities of genetic inheritance, but why should it be OK/acceptable for a "pet" dog - even if neutered, when there is a risk that a pup may actually have the condition and not be just a carrier?

the pup cant get the condition. thats the thing. the worst it can be with one clear parent and one carrier is a carrier. the puppies would have to have two carrier parents for it to get the condition.

I think I understand x-clo-x and thank you. So disease inheritance is the same as with coat colours then. When, for instance, if a genetically black dog is bred to a black dog that carries liver the litter will be of all black pups, but some (query 50%) will be carriers of the liver colour.

Yes I would, because only using clear dogs and bitches limits the gene pool, which can introduce new diseases and health problems. We are in our situation at the moment through inbreeding, we don't want to do more inbreeding otherwise we make it worse.

yes thats how i first got to understand it, with the colours of flatcoats

I didn't know that genetically inherited disease conditions were as simple to follow as the rules for colour inheritance x-clo-x - shows what I know, but I still would feel uncomfortable producing puppies from a parent who was known to be a carrier for a disease which is easily preventable by using a clear animal.
I do know of an instance where a breeder deliberately put his bitch to an imported VonW. carrier and there was an awful lot of trouble and anger about what had been done. I think the KC were involved and because of the resulting publicity, I do believe he now regrets having done it.

can you test for vonW when the pups are born? also i dont think i would breed from something that could pass something that causes problems to a dogs movement. although saying that i suppose its all the same.

I am fairly sure the pups could be tested x-clo-x - the parents can be screened for Von.W, so its logical that the pups bred could also be tested (I think this chap did test the pups when he couldn't sell them). Given that there is a screening process for many inheritable diseases, I do wonder why some people feel it an advantage to breed from dogs which are not clear (or within the parameters) for inherited diseases. Even if a dog is good in many other ways and may have attained champion status - to me it seems like a backward step for a breed as a whole to deliberately breed from a known carrier dog.

Depending on what the genetic condition was it would depend on the quality of the dog & the gene pool available for the breed. It would also depend on the mode of genetic inheritance as some genetic conditions are not simple dominant/recessive genes)

For example I would not breed from a BC carrying TNS or CL as both conditions are killers, however CEA isn't fatal & carriers can be carefully placed to ensure that they are either not bred from or only bred from to a normal. The ISDS rules are such that any puppy by my Rjj could only be registered if 1.it was from a normal bitch(by DNA test or heritage) & 2. it was DNA tested. This way there is no loss of the bloodlines of outstanding dogs. This ruling has meant that offspring of such brilliant dogs as Blwch Hemp bloodlines are not lost as they have allowed dogs by him & from his offspring to be registered if they have been DNA tested.

If the gene pool is small & the genetic condition is life shortening or fatal then I would consider using a carrier, but would ensure that I kept control of any carrier offspring. Eventually there would be enough normals to no longer use carriers(this is the case with Irish & Irish Red & White Setters & CLAD they had 5 years in which breeding from carriers to normals was allowed & then the KC register was closed to carriers-only puppies from tested normal or normal by heritage can be registered)