Health certifications Gone too far?

[Julie R.]

Maybe I better just stick to labradors.....

I shake my head when I hear Lab breeders whining about inbreeding, EIC or CNM carriers, etc. and just know they'd have a melt down if they were dealing with a breed with a gene pool as small as the Chesapeake's. Agreed 100 percent with Tim C., you have to pick your poison.

[hotel4dogs]

I have done every available test on my dog, and will continue to do so as new ones become available.
While he still may produce an unhealthy puppy or two at some point, at least I will know it was not because I failed to make use of simple testing that is available. I would be horrified to find out a "defective puppy" could have been prevented if I had only bothered to do a simple blood test.
JMO.

[Bill Watson]

This thought has crossed my old and feble mind--- If we, as humans were as careful when we breed ourselves as we are when we breed our animals, there would not be a problem with overpopulation in this world and maybe we would have a more inteligent group sitting in our Capitol. Just a thought from an 83 year old, no longer in the "stud" pool. Bill

[RockyDog]

This thought has crossed my old and feble mind--- If we, as humans were as careful when we breed ourselves as we are when we breed our animals, there would not be a problem with overpopulation in this world and maybe we would have a more inteligent group sitting in our Capitol. Just a thought from an 83 year old, no longer in the "stud" pool. Bill

Amen to that! My husband shakes his head whenever I threaten to get a t-shirt made that says "Spay and Neuter...It's not just for pets"

On a serious note, common sense on the part of the breeder and the dog owners has to come into play. There is a big difference between a dog that carries a particular gene and one that is affected by that genetic trait. Education needs to go hand in hand with the genetic testing.

[windycanyon]

Back the original post, some great links always come to my mind when thinking about dysplasia (or any polygenetic issue really-- I think allergies could be included here).
http://www.offa.org/ed_faqs.html This one is about elbows and how the incidence *and* severity of the issue is often increased in the progeny if breeding one parent w/ Grade 1 elbows.
http://www.britlabs.com/mating.htm This one (scroll to bottom of page) shows Labrador breeding pairs by OFA ratings.

[pat addis]

Pat, please explain what you mean. Are you saying that a carrier puppy has the potential to become an affected dog?
Or are you referring to owner responsibility in breeding a carrier?
Thanks.

no i am not saying a carrier could become affected. i just think that if you had the litter tested the people that buy the pups have a right to know if it is clear or not. also if parents have any problems with hips eyes or what the hot thing to check on at that time. i would buy a carrier pup if it was one i wanted.but if there were 2 litters of the same quality i think i would get the clear one. i look at it like if i was buying a truck and 2 were sitting side by side one was perfect and the other has hail damage i think 99% of us would get the perfect one.

[blkpudel]

I have done every available test on my dog, and will continue to do so as new ones become available.
While he still may produce an unhealthy puppy or two at some point, at least I will know it was not because I failed to make use of simple testing that is available. I would be horrified to find out a "defective puppy" could have been prevented if I had only bothered to do a simple blood test.
JMO.

Well said! You owe it to your breed to do as much health testing as is available. Especially if you are going to breed. At least then you are armed with as much information as possible. AND, posting the test results to an OPEN public health database like OFA, regardless of outcome, is the right thing to do.

[Scott Adams]

no i am not saying a carrier could become affected. i just think that if you had the litter tested the people that buy the pups have a right to know if it is clear or not. also if parents have any problems with hips eyes or what the hot thing to check on at that time. i would buy a carrier pup if it was one i wanted.but if there were 2 litters of the same quality i think i would get the clear one. i look at it like if i was buying a truck and 2 were sitting side by side one was perfect and the other has hail damage i think 99% of us would get the perfect one.

OK I get it.