[ SHOWGSD-L ] DM Carriers

  • From: "David Fritsche" <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <ketchy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "The List" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:45:35 -0700

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
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