I sent in 4 cheek swabs to the OFA for the DM tests--ALL came back as carriers. I was disappointed, to say the least. 3 are bitches and 1 is a male--all different bloodlines. How would you feel if this happened to you? What would you do, if anything? I'm very interested in hearing people's heartfelt opinions. Penny in NC The Farm Dog ===========================================================================There are many things in our breed, as is true for all breeds and mixed breeds as well. The positive thing is, with the advent of DNA knowledge and the ability to isolate the genes of disease, we are learning what causes some of these problems. a.. We have a great tool for breeding away from hip dysplasia b.. We now can identify the gene for DM c.. And there are other items we have greater knowledge about... Years ago we had an epileptic dog and I started to search through the genealogical records to find the line that started it so I would not breed on it. Then I discovered that it is in the breed â?? everywhere! Where did it come from? It had to have been in the genetics of the original dogs, so it probably cannot be eliminated until we isolate and identify the gene. Same with DM. Which lines have it? Probably all of them to some degree â?? but now we can start selectively breeding away from it and reduce it to insignificance. We are searching for the gene for Bloat/torsion, cancer, epilepsy, and so on... It can be discouraging when we find that our dogs have a disease, but then, we bred their ancestors without knowledge to get to where we are. So, another way of feeling about it is that we have made progress and are making more. The problem is, what do we do with the dogs who test positive for something or are a carrier? The OFA site recommends that we not discard a dog that has other positive values to offer in our breeding program if it is a carrier for one thing. It is important though to not double up on a carrier gene and to be sure to test the mate in the breeding for the problem we carry. To think that we blindly bred before but now do not have to for some things. Progress is both wonderful and painful. Dave ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2011. 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. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. 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@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================