I have a friend who has a very wise vet say "you could never do a particular breeding enough times that every "bad" would show up". That doesn't mean we don't try to remove the "bads" from a breeding program or count on dumb luck....in my case it means I do my homework AND I do some very serious praying in the whelping box. I agree with your analogy Ginny. We've all know of cases where the first breeding went well, it was repeated and things didn't go so well. Kathy, member GSDCA, DVGSDC Celebrating generations of Dual Titled TC'd Champions visit _http://www.pinehillgsds.com/_ (http://www.pinehillgsds.com/) In a message dated 6/28/2010 5:06:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, Ginialtman@xxxxxxx writes: But not so strange when you think about it-- if you have a dam that is a carrier and half of the eggs that get fertilized have "carrier status" her eggs have a 50/50 chance -- then you throw in that stud dog who is a carrier but he has a million sperm competing for those 6-10 eggs and---like the "roll of the dice" it happens that the 3-5 sperm of the million that "hits" the carrier egg is "clear" --that leaves the other 3-5 clear eggs "clear" and bingo--no affected puppies. But next breeding--"roll of the dice" carriers hit carriers and there you are ---puppies that are affected. That is why it would be such a blessing to have a genetic test for carrier status--then you could over time select for clear and we could eliminate the inherited form of the disease. We still need a better understanding of those adult dogs who acquire mega secondary to thyroid or some other event that triggers the precipitation of megaesophagus--but that is likely to be a different genetic thing if it is, in fact, genetic and I do not know the answer to that in the adult onset mega. Ginny Altman In a message dated 6/28/2010 3:27:29 P.M. Central Daylight Time, shadowland22000@xxxxxxxxx writes: But Ginny the strange thing about this disease is that identical breedings produce such varied response. One litter none and the next litter all or almost all. Morgan Lewis, RPh. Member GSDCA Board Member Canine Pet Rescue _http://www.caninepetrescue.com/_ (http://www.caninepetrescue.com/) "So Much to Do, So Little Time" From: Ginialtman@xxxxxxx <Ginialtman@xxxxxxx> Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Megaesophgagus To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: genoaktortoise@xxxxxxxxxxx, kthalfen@xxxxxxxxxxx, myJoyGS@xxxxxxx Date: Monday, June 28, 2010, 3:19 PM Looking back on my experience and that of others I am expressing "Just my Humble Opinion" I do not have the "last word" on it all but-- It will be a blessing when a genetic test is developed to identify the carriers. I think that an affected can produce it when bred to a dog that is not a carrier. And in the case of dogs--of the million or so sperm only 50% of the sperm will have the "carrier status" and 6-10 sperm succeed in getting to the egg which produces the puppy--so--it is a crap shoot:-) if you dont already know one way or the other Ginny ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2010. 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@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================ ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2010. 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@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================