Although I do not agree with this vet "bad-mouthing" GSDs, I have to agree with some of his assessments. When I began breeding and showing under the tutelage of my mentor and best friend Ellen Heintz in the 1970s, I DID NOT SEE the multitudinous problems that I AM seeing today. I DID see DM. But within the last 10 years, I have BOUGHT dogs that died of bloat, torsion and toxic gut. I have acquired dogs that had 2 UAP elbows, one that had to be put to sleep due to crippling hip dysplasia. Bad temperament? Let's not even talk about that. AND, despite careful research over 5 years ago, MY LAST LITTER contained toxic gut, bloat, torsion, bad hips and elbows. Then the dam, my beloved Jeddie, bloated and died at our handler's. These examples are from all different bloodlines, up front at least. Carolyn is right when she says "most of us would not last long in this breed." I have almost quit MANY times. Take off the blinders, folks. There are problems. Penny in NC The Farm Dog Forever Member, GSDCA since 1981 I totally disagree with this assessment of the Breed by this Vet!! Some of us may have seen one of these problems over the years or at most two; but to experience these as ongoing consistent problems...I DON'T THINK SO! Otherwise most of us would not last long at all in this Breed. No one could stomach that..... It is unfortunate that someone like this comes off as an expert. Carolyn marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.marhaven.com Thanks Stormy. I've been around a long time and I don't think GSDs have any more problems than any other breeds. Tish On Jun 13, 2013, at 3:42 PM, Fran Henry <fhenry1@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Dr. Marty Becker, in a Vetstreet.com article entitled "Five breeds this veterinarian wouldn't mind seeing less Of" writes: > "German Shepherd: A good German Shepherd is an awe-inspiring dog, and the best have served in so many ways. German Shepherds were the original service dogs for people who can’t see, and they’ve long been used for police and military work, and for search and rescue. Their popularity has been pretty steady since the days of Rin Tin Tin, but the problems with the health of the breed seem to have increased with every decade. German Shepherds are prone to epilepsy, vision problems, bleeding disorders and digestive problems, as well as bad hips and degenerative myelopathy, an incurable condition that causes progressive paralysis. The German Shepherd is the world’s first media-darling dog, and remains the classic example of the problems of popularity." > > The other four breeds, Chihuahua, Golden Retriever, Pit Bull, Bulldog > > Sigh. > > Fran Henry ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2012. 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/ ============================================================================