[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: health issues and honesty PS
- From: falkrigia@xxxxxxx
- To: shereemosesgsd@xxxxxxxxxxx, showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:44:44 -0500 (EST)
By the way,
Yes , we have lost dogs to bloat and saved dogs in bloat and lost dogs
to intestinal torsion through the 30 years we have been in dogs
None of it is fun and it would be wonderful if we could all work toward
eliminating these two early death issues, at least, from our genetic
pool.
lynda
Gene Workman
Lynda Bragg-Workman
www.falkrigiashepherds.com
www.thecraftywoodchuck.com
Appaloosa Acres - an Equine and Canine facility
Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue - training director
"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing,
therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow
creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I
shall not pass this way again". du Mabillier (1773-1855)
-----Original Message-----
From: falkrigia <falkrigia@xxxxxxx>
To: shereemosesgsd <shereemosesgsd@xxxxxxxxxxx>; showgsd-l
<showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tue, Jan 24, 2012 11:23 am
Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: health issues and honesty
We are now tacking all of our dogs that are going to be actively
working or showing - as finances permit. We recently lost one of my
favorite working dogs to bloat.....
from lines with NO genetic history of bloat on either side that we
could find. We think it was something he ate that he normally did not
and in a larger quantity than he should have but that is beside the
point.
The point is, had he been tacked, he STILL might have bloated but he
wouldn't have twisted and would be alive today. Tacking does not
prevent bloat - only torsion - and if a dog bloats,...... a dog bloats
and should not be bred.
i want my dogs with me for long, happy lives. i will breed away from it
where I can but considering this dog, it can happen to any of them and
I am just not willing to run that risk with any more than is necessary.
From my perspective, tacking gives the dog the best chance of survival
if it does bloat but bloating would still prohibit breeding of that
animal for me.
The biggest issue is that there are dogs out there that have bloated,
survived surgery and have been - and are still being - used for
breeding. Males and females.
You cannot get rid of it by continuing to breed 'affected animals'.
lynda
Gene Workman
Lynda Bragg-Workman
www.falkrigiashepherds.com
www.thecraftywoodchuck.com
Appaloosa Acres - an Equine and Canine facility
Old Fella Burke County Animal Rescue - training director
"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing,
therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow
creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I
shall not pass this way again". du Mabillier (1773-1855)
-----Original Message-----
From: Sheree Moses <shereemosesgsd@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: showgsd-l <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Mon, Jan 23, 2012 11:52 am
Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] health issues and honesty
This is going to be a little scattered, sorry, just came in to warm up
from
doing dogs. Was reading some of the posts regarding health issues with
some
interest and have a few comments to make.
We used to tack some of our dogs, we are on the road alot and it seemed
like
better safe than sorry. We don't anymore. While there are many issues
that can
precipitate bloat that are not necessarily genetic there are too many
litters
out there where more than 50% are dead at relatively young ages from
bloat or
mesenteric torsion (which seems to me to be a totally separate issue).
When you
start seeing pedigrees where you can't go a single generation w/o a
first degree
relative who is dead from a gastric issue I think we need to ask
ourselves how
it could NOT be genetic. There are other breeds out there where
tacking is the
norm, but now bloat is endemic in the breed. I don't think we want
that for our
breed, nor is it a fair practice for pet buyers, which is where most of
our
puppies go. More than 50% is not normal, or coincidence. Anyone who
says it is
not genetic either has their head in the sand or something to hide,
IMHO. The
same goes for hip/elbow issues, seizure
disorder, EPI, and dentition, to name a few.
Another issue that's gotten alot of recent play is DM. In over 32
years of
breeding shepherds I have never had a dog that I knew had DM. I did
have a
co-bred/co-owned bitch about 15 years ago, whose father I thought for
sure had a
"fixed" tail....when she was about 3 I realized that her tail was
starting to
look "fixed" too, so maybe there was something else going on. We quit
showing
her and placed her, she died at about 10 (still w/a dead tail, dragging
her toes
a little) from something else. Last year a German dog I adore was
diagnosed at
7 w/DM by two reputable veterinarians. We started calling people who
had his
progeny and suggested testing. A few daughters got spayed and placed as
pets.
The dog has such a heart and personality we were devastated, and we
have tried a
number of therapies. The most recent involved stem cell therapy, but
the
treating DVM wanted a positive genetic test before they started
treatment.
Surprise....he is CLEAR. I talked at some length to
the director of OFA (who used to have GSDs and now breeds Labs), and
she told
me that DM is a disease of old age, and that many of the dogs who are
diagnosed
w/DM actually have one of several other problems that have the same
symptoms....so that's not much help....The Labrador people are at the
forefront
of genetic testing, and have managed to virtually eliminate a variety
of
problems w/genetic testing and careful breeding, allowing them to
preserve the
good while eliminating the bad......People, we have so much information
(both
testing and easy communication via the Internet) available to us today
that it
is shame on us if we don't work to better the health of our breed. I
just rec'd
about $1000 worth of DM test kits from OFA and am testing every dog I
plan to
breed on my property (plus a couple of well-known geriatrics just so we
know)
and I will make the results public. On that note, perhaps we should
re-visit
the definition of "honesty" as a couple of the posts I rea
d from people who don't think these issues are genetic and haven't
had
these
problems don't seem to understand the word.... I have dispensed alot of
Gas-X
over the years, hauled out the bloat tube quite a few times, and have
driven
more than one dog to the vet in the middle of the night...funny thing,
honesty.
I am always happy to talk about dogs we've bred or own, am hard to get
on the
phone as I am usually out w/the dogs but email is easy. Being truly
honest
w/each other is the only way we will fix the problems we have, it
doesn't mean
you have to throw the baby out with the bath water, but it would keep
us from
doubling (or tripling) up on the issues. Sheree
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author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of
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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
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For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org
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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
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