Part II
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Dam’s Genetic Defects |
Dam’s Carrier Risk |
Sire’s Genetic Defects |
Sire’s Carrier Risk |
Breed Carrier Risk |
Puppies’ Risk of Defect |
|
Hip Dysplasia (3rd cousin) |
6.2% |
Hip Dysplasia (1st cousin) |
12.5% |
34.3% |
1.9% |
|
Degenerative Myelopathy (grandparent) |
50% |
- |
- |
13.2% |
- |
|
Umbilical Hernia (full sister) |
66.6% |
Umbilical Hernia (uncle) |
25% |
32.0% |
41.6% |
|
Epilepsy (great-grandparent) |
12.5% |
Epilepsy (1st cousin, once removed) |
12.5% |
15.5% |
3.9% |
|
Missing Teeth (full brother) |
66.6% |
Missing Teeth (half-aunt) |
25% |
30.0% |
41.6% |
|
Pannus (grandmother) |
50% |
- |
- |
11.8% |
- |
|
Perianal Fistula (half-brother) |
50% |
Perianal Fistula (GGG Gparent) |
6.25% |
6.2% |
7.8% |
|
- |
- |
Subaortic Stenosis (half-uncle) |
25.0% |
13.2% |
- |
|
- |
- |
Elbow Dysplasia (parent) |
100% |
19.6% |
- |
The chart we are reprinting above was
prepared for the AWSA seminar. It helps people to “see” the risk
factors they are working with. It clearly shows the “carrier risk” of
both the sire and dam (individually) as well as the risk for this
particular breed (taken from their health Survey reports) as well as (most
important item) the risk percentage for the puppies out of that particular
combination!! If you just look at the 2 columns that name the disease and
then compare the risk for this particular breeding – against that of any
“random” breeding within the WS population (last two columns on the
right), you can clearly note where the risks are increased, or decreased
for those particular problems!! For example this pair actually increases
the risk for Umbilical Hernia’s and Missing teeth .. BUT the risk for
Epilepsy and Hip Dysplasia is reduced significantly!!
Does this sound a bit like a “breeders shopping mall”? Well … IT
IS!!! That is what true REB’s have done since “dog breeds” came into
existence!! Of course as time (experience) and technology improve, we have
much better tools to work with ;-)
On a “personal” note;
I
have been involved with breeding and working with some of the top “REB’s”
for over 4 decades. One of the things I find that (we) they ALL share is true
dedication to their goals!! I have never met one that does not “live
and breathe” for their dogs! Their entire life revolves around this “creative”
passion they have to reach “their” goals! Just like a scientist (e.g.
Madame Curie) that is totally consumed in finding a cure for a specific
disease, or an archeologist’s search for the “holy grail” the
commitment is the same!! It is almost like an “art” with these people,
they are never fully satisfied with each litter they produce, instead they
look for ways to improve the next one! When you call such a person, they
will literally ‘talk your ear off” with stories about the dogs they
have produced decades ago!! These dogs are like children to them, they
represent a form of “immortality”
for these REB’s!! These people work like slaves 24/7 to attain the
goals they have set for themselves, just so that ‘someday” their names
will go down in the history books!! When you talk to these “old timers”
.. if you really dig deep .. you will find that THIS is their driving
force .. NOT profit from puppy sales .. but a reputation (acknowledgment
of their triumphs) that will live on LONG after they are gone!!
Unfortunately the public still purchases puppies from pet shops that are supplied by puppy mills, or from Back Yard Breeders that only have “litters” to make a few bucks!! It is this type of ‘support’ that is actually very detrimental to any breed that starts to gain some popularity ;( If there are not enough good breeders out there to fill the void, puppy mills and BYB’s (back-yard breeders) spring into action to mass produce puppies, with NO thought of future consequences .. because once this breed starts to fall apart, they will just jump over to another one! They have no commitment to the breed, or the people that purchase their pups .. they are only interested in making a bunch of money as quickly as possible, without taking any responsibility for anything! If that wasn’t bad enough, they pollute the genepool with dogs that have a higher carrier risk for more diseases then the original population, and to further complicate things .. they encourage their puppy buyers to continue to do likewise!! No REB could ever keep up with that much pollution, resulting in severely limiting the genepool for all future generations! Unless another true REB comes along and tries to repair the genepool the entire breed could be doomed, but as soon as progress is being made (after 10-20-30 years of literal blood-sweat and tears) another crop of BYB’s jump right back on the bandwagon to destroy things as quickly as they can! This vicious cycle will never end, unless future owners become more selective (and educated) when purchasing a new member (best friend) for their family!! By supporting true REB’s you not only help them to continue their work, but you are putting the destroyers (byb’s) out of business, and you are gaining the best dog you can for your family!!! It’s a WIN – WIN situation!! When people impulsively purchase a cute puppy, they are encouraging the BYB’s to continue mass producing unhealthy dogs, thus polluting the entire breeds genepool .. and every body (except for the BYB’s that have pocketed those big bucks) ends up losing!!!
The “Golden” reputation this breed once enjoyed is tarnished and the new owners end up spending thousands of dollars on vet bills!! Just take a good look at any breed that has gained popularity! What happened to them? Where are they now?? WHY? Take a good look at the chart printed above, and be sure to ask your “potential breeder” about the risk factor % of the litter they have!!! If they tell you that “their” pups have no problems .. HANG UP THE PHONE! A true REB will never tell you that their lines are perfect! What they will tell you is the TRUTH .. DO NOT run from the truth!! Praise that person for their honesty, and then go into specifics!! All REB’s have to make very serious decisions when selecting their breeding stock. They have to ‘weigh” the “pro’s and con’s” for each future litter .. carefully! Yes, it is almost like going to a shopping mall and having to select items to purchase. Do I want the purse or the gloves? Should I increase the probability for CHD, but reduce the risk for Missing teeth ... OR? The good news is that true REB’s are not wearing a blindfold, they can look deeply into their lines, and make proper selections for future generations, from the data they have accumulated over the decades! That is exactly what the ISSR set out to do for all Shiloh breeders … provide them with this data so that they can have the tools they need to produce the best litters they possibly can!!
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Click on the chart to see it at full size.
Please note that we have access to complex data on each puppy born into the ISSR, via The Complete Computer Place (TCCP) in TX. We are also working on a very detailed chart showing all of the hip data we have accumulated on these dogs! Despite “gossip” you may have heard to the contrary, our hip records PROVE that we have a much lower rate of CHD than most other breeds!! (chart updated Feb. 2003)
You must also keep in mind that many of the “pet” owners whose dogs were x-rayed but not submitted to the OFA never bothered to send in the results, especially if there were no problems noted.
More of this data will be available soon! Don’t miss out! Visit our web site, www.shilohshepherd.com often! Over the next few months as more reports come in, we plan to update our charts and place them in the Learning Center. If you do not have a computer, you may have a friend who can print these charts off for you, or you can visit your local library for free Internet access! Be sure to follow up on the latest news from this important Health Survey 2000!
Out of a total of 1434 dogs over three years of age that are in the TCCP database, we have recorded results on nearly half of them. I believe that this is a much better average than any other registry (aside from the SV in Germany) has ever been able to document, on any particular breed! Just compare this record to the statistics complied just a decade ago on the GSD.
(Reprinted from What Are We Breeding For, written by Tina Barber in 1993)
“The Chart on page 16 of the OFA booklet shows that from 1/74 until 3/89 a total of 24,827 G.S. dogs were evaluated and 23.9% of these DID NOT PASS! So that leaves only 18,893 dogs that passed IN 15 YEARS!
That would average out to only 1,260 G.S.D. which received a PASSING GRADE from OFA yearly; BUT, if we look at the first chart, we can clearly see that the number of LITTERS born (and remember it takes TWO dogs to produce a litter so these numbers should actually be doubled!) well exceeds the number of OFA certified animals!
| YEAR | LITTERS BORN | DOGS MATED |
| '84 | 18,310 | 36,620 |
| '85 | 17,834 | 35,668 |
| '86 | 17,149 | 34,298 |
| '88 | 17,808 | 35,616 |
| '90 | 18,782 | 37,564 |
| '91 | 20,672 | 41,344 |
That's a Total of 146,763 litters born with each litter consisting of 2 Parents (POSSIBLY 293,526 GSD's.)--All this out of approximately 10,080 OFA CERTIFIED adults. That would total approximately 3.43%. Does that mean that LESS THAN 4% OF THE DOGS BRED had their hips certified or does it mean that over 96% of the dogs bred had no hip certification? If we read the OFA booklet on H.D. (and I would advise EVERY PERSON THAT PLANS TO BREED EVEN ONE LITTER TO WRITE FOR THIS BOOKLET!), you will learn some VERY interesting facts! For example: Right on page 1 this book clearly states that HIP DYSPLASIA CAN ONLY BE REDUCED BY SELECTIVELY BREEDING FOR NORMAL HIPS! SINCE IT IS NOW A FACT THAT H.D. IS CAUSED BY A POLYGENIC MODE OF INHERITANCE, IT IS THEREFORE VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT YOUR DOG'S ENTIRE GENE POOL! JUST BREEDING INDIVIDUAL DOGS WITHOUT SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THEIR ANCESTORS AND LITTERMATES IS PURE FOLLY! “
