Mesenteric Torsion is GENETIC They have know that for years in Humans, horses, cows and very other breed of dog - it isn't until recently that they are now including the GSD However, Bloat is familial. They have not found the way it is passed on, nor how HD is passed on - that might be because it is a three gene triat or there is a gene that turns it on - not basic genetics on those two problems However, I find it more interesting to look at the horizontal pedigree than the vetical one Let's say LITTER A is a litter of 8 GSDs -4 male and 4 female 6 of the litter ( 3 males and 3 females) have crippling HD by age 2 and one male is not tested, and one female just barely passes her ofa. This one female is then bred. The discussion is WOULD YOU HAVE BRED THIS BITCH and WHY or WHY NOT LET'S TALK BITTER B. LITTER B is a litter of 8 GSDs -4 male and 4 female 6 of the litter ( 3 males and 3 females) BLOAT BY AGE 2. One Male dies, cause unknown. WOULD YOU HAVE BRED THIS BITCH and WHY or WHY NOT ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2009. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================