[ SHOWGSD-L ] In the "news"

  • From: "David Fritsche" <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <TISHW@xxxxxxx>, <stormy435@xxxxxxxxx>, <fhenry1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:31:56 -0700

As Breeders and Exhibitors we are ALL around this Breed more than ANY Vet 
<SNIP>
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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The big picture does not necessarily fall inline with our individual 
experiences. Carolyn is absolutely right, as usual, in seeing the bigger 
picture.

There are two kinds of evidence: Empirical evidence (Scientific), and 
Allegorical evidence (Our experiences). Most of us tend to create our world 
view from our experiences, yet, others with different experiences form a 
different world view from contrasting experiences. That's why we have courts 
and lawyers and such in our world. To discover the truth, we have to have a 
means of measuring enough of everyone's experiences and studying them under 
the critical eye of empirical studies to find, not a mean average, but the 
truth.

Take HD for an example. I saw it mentioned in one of the posts. I hear about 
it every time we have a litter, from well meaning people who have all 'had a 
German Shepherd when I was a child.' Our breed is known for it (allegorical 
evidence). When I wrote the book for Barron's, Barron's Dog Bible, German 
Shepherd Dogs, I researched the OFA statistics and I believe we were #27 of 
all breeds in incidence of HD. That is a far cry from our former positions 
30+ years ago or # 1-3. But this morning I looked again, and we are now #40 
in incidents of HD.

OK, stand up and shout! This is great news! Now we can argue with the OFA 
statistics: People do not send in bad x-rays, people send in false x-rays, 
etc., but that would also be true for other breeds. It is however, empirical 
evidence.

I never had an incidence of DM until a few years back. Does that mean it is 
on the rise? I don't know. I do know that we now have a scientific track 
working that is going to help us breed away from this. Arguably, it is still 
being worked on and may be imperfect. But, again, the claims of imperfection 
in the scientific data is from allegorical sources. The scientific community 
has already become believers.

So, is the glass half full or half empty? Everyone has to decide for 
themselves, but I challenge you to be careful to not allow your experiences 
and the stories you hear, be the only foundation on which you form a view of 
the breed. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe I lack objectivity. Maybe my love for the 
breed influences my positive view of our breeding progress and of our 
future. But I am not discouraged in the least! Do we have issues to deal 
with? Of course. While HD is no longer a major issue, bloat, torsion, toxic 
gut, cancer and other items seem to have taken front stage. Are they worse 
now than ever before? I do not know that to be a fact. I do know that 
communications systems have improved exponentially, and we now have instant 
access to both rumors, stories and scientific input.  So let's put these 
things to the test! Let's let our scientific community work on them and let 
us know with hard data, the condition of our breed. My personal opinion is 
only as accurate as my objectivity and my accommodation of the big picture. 
So don't listen to me!
Dave


============================================================================
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/
============================================================================

Other related posts: