I am still listening, reading and learning. I do agree that if a condition could be completely eliminated by testing then of course it should be done. However, I am still undecided about the issue of hips and elbows.

It is unlikely I would buy a GSD from a breeder who didn't health test - all three of my GSDs have come from health tested stock btw. If I were to buy another collie though, it would be less likely that it would have had the full complement of health tests set down for BCs, but it would come from eye tested and registered parents (ISDS).

Btw are all your dogs from health tested stock? I wonder what percentage of Dogsey members dogs are from fully health tested stock compared to non health tested. It would be interesting to find out.

You think removing a dog from a gene pool (in a breed with a very large gene pool), that has NO qualifications whatsoever, be it work or show, that has had minimal health testing, including a very poor hip score result is a knee jerk reaction??? I'd call it common sense and the mark of an excellent breeder!

And yet you support a breeder who does the opposite? I just don't get it, I really don't.

I think health tests are important. Of course, they aren't the only issue and other things should most definitely be taken into consideration... I think those things not being considered though, are a different issue.

Jake obviously isn't from health tested parents, as he is a rescue, a cross and we have no idea who his parents are. I will get rescues in the future, that also aren't health tested.

When going to a breeder though, I would never get a pup from someone who hasn't done health tests on the parents. I have been looking at 'breeders', and contacted some to ask about health tests but the majority just went on about 'health checks'... and avoided discussing health tests. I have now found a breed who I am really happy with, and have done the relevant health tests for the breed. I wouldn't want to do it any other way.

Of course health tests are important as will be when more are developed.

We've let many breeds get into a mess. The very least we can do is try to rectify the wrong we have done.

It would be nice to think that in future, only dogs showing clear on present and future health tests will be bred from.

Oooh are you getting a puppy?????

Maybe

What about a breeder that fully health tests and to eliminate conditions breeds the same sire many many times?

Seems the breeder never always thought breeding from an uneven hipscore was good infact she thought it was trouble!! Wonder what changed her mind Mmmm
Taken from a gsd forum





I can only tell you of my personal experience. Back in 1990 ish, a friend had a bitch called Arhaus Flick of Greywing who had a score of 8/9 and mated her to a dog with a score, as best I remember, of 4/2. The pup I bought from this litter ended up with a score of 6/31. I kidded myself that it was due to a serious accident he had when he was 3 months old and bred a litter from him, from which a couple of the pups were severely dysplastic so I never used him again. Later, I bought Flick and when I got her original pedigree, found her mother had a score of 5/32. I would consider a very lopsided hip score as an indication of trouble, though you can get a bit of varience of the xray is tilted.

My GSD was health tested. Good hips an elbow scores.

10 years on hips are fab but spine is riddled with spondylosis.

I will rescue from now on and take my chances!

I think health testing in Pedigree dogs is important but like with anything in life nothing can be guaranteed.

Personally if I was thinking of purchasing a breed that had a criteria of health tests besides hip and elbow scoring I would purchase from a breeder that carried out the tests.

Bernese at the moment only require hip and elbow scoring. They do carry great health risks some of which I think cannot be tested for but DM is a health worry for the breed and it is now becoming more obvious. In America some breeders are now testing by swab. As yet in the UK I do not think breeders are considering it maybe in the future they will especially if the breed clubs make it a stipulation as they do the hip and elbow scoring.

Ollie's parents were hip and elbow scored and not bad scores cannot tell you what they were without digging out the paperwork. I do not know what his scores were as we did not have him scored he was not of the right temperament to breed or show and as you know we lost him early to some rare diseases and one of them DM but in the neck and a rare mutation. The DM may of been picked up if the parents had to be tested who knows.
The other problems would not of been they were there very eary in his lfe but very hard to detect even with the constant 10 days of testing he went through and only showed up at PM. He did however suffer with intermittent lameness from a very early age.

I do know Nadia Neurologist who looked after Ollie said to me DM can now be tested for carriers very simply by swab test.