| My Dog's Sire AM CH Jencola American Dream CD, OA, OAJ, RN, CGC A Hard Lesson Learned About Hip Dysplasia Sources to back up my opinion on HD are listed below |
| It is with a heavy heart that I must put this on a web site for the entire world to see. However I feel that I must do something rather than just sit back and say nothing while my dog, her breeder and my own reputation are being trashed by the owner of my dog's sire and her friend. Perhaps this page will serve some greater purpose besides clearing my dog's name from this petty situation. The owner of my dog's sire publicly listed him has having Severe Hip Dysplsia five years after he was neutered. The stud owner took something that was discussed openly but not publicly and made it a public issue. My dog has an Excellent hip rating with OFA. That and all of her other testing results can be found on OFA's web site. Along with her sire and dam's info and other relatives. I have bred my dog. I waited for four years to do so and only after she was fully tested and bred to a stud who was likewise. Most importantly I did not breed until I had spent years learning and researching about the issues that affect Border Collies and dogs in general. My other breed is Shetland Sheepdogs and what I learned applies to them also. I am by no means an expert but I am a reasonably intelligent dog owner who wanted to make the most educated decisions I could. My research came from talking to those who have been in the sport of dogs longer than I have been alive, multiple veterinarians, the Internet, email's directly to OFA about my dog and her background and books on dog genetics. I would also like to add some of my own personal history that has gone a long way to influence my opinion of canine genetic illness. All the dogs mentioned below were well bred, three were from show kennels. I have owned a dog that DIED of a genetic illness. We have a DNA test for this disease today in part because of him. What was not preventable then is now. I hope HD will one day be the same. I have owned another dog that also had a genetic illness her breeder was not at all helpful. I learned the hard way about why you need to check breeders out and not buy from novice breeders. The disease she had is polly genetic and we still do not have a way of preventing it today. My foundation bitch Casey may have died from a genetic illness she is the first of her breed to have two copies of the gene for degenerative Myelopathy. The test only became available recently shortly before she died we are still learning about this disease which is similar to ALS in humans. My mother's dog, Duke, a rough coated tri color male Collie spent his entire life with SEVERE HD. In old age his HD along with his huge size (mom couldn't help him get up) led to a family decision to humanely end his life at the age of 13 (old for a collie by anyone's standards). This is some of what I learned about HD. Hip Dysplasia is polly genetic meaning there is more than one gene responsible for HD and the environment a puppy is reared in plays a role in the development of HD There is NO DNA test for Hip Dysplasia Therefore, HD isn't something a breeder can "prevent" Any breeder no matter how hard they try to avoid producing a pup with HD can produce a pup with HD. There is NO Border Collie pedigree that I have found to date that is 100% free of HD. You can be fooled at first but with a little research even in a pedigree that looks perfect you will find aunts, uncles, cousins, litter mates, half brothers and sisters etc that didn't get a hip number or are unlisted. This may be hard to believe but I have spent hours on the subject. Because I did want to breed my dog I went looking for the "perfect" pedigree and to date I haven't found one. Therefore I have this advice for anyone thinking of getting or breeding a Border Collie that is concerned about Hip Dysplsia IF YOU ARE OVERLY CONCERNED ABOUT HIP DYSPLSIA DO NOT GET A BORDER COLLIE! There is NO way to guarantee that a Border Collie (or any breed) will not develop HD Why? Hip Dysplsia is too common in Border Collies. If we were to eliminate EVERY dog that has produced HD or came from stock that produced HD the gene pool would be so narrow that we would have even more health problems due to hidden recessives and lack of genetic variation. There is NO DNA test for Hip Dysplasia and there is no way a breeder can control something that we do not have a DNA test to screen for possible carriers. Furthermore a breeder cannot control the environment that puppy is reared in after it leaves his/her care. What a responsible breeder will do is asset you in making the right decision and or replacing your puppy (if it is a breeding prospect) if your puppy develops HD. Please ask the breeder what the policy is and get it in writing BEFORE you buy your puppy! Ask the breeder what they have done when a puppy buyer had a genetic problem with a puppy. If they say they have never had a genetic problem DON'T BUY! This means they are either lying or are a novice breeder! Chances are this isn't a breeder that is going to be there for you years later when and if you have a problem! Check them out! Ask for puppy buyer references if they can't provide this look elsewhere for a puppy. If you own a bitch don't make the mistake the breeder of my dog did. NEVER breed to a stud that isn't OFA or equivalent! A reputable stud owner will hip score their dog and proudly list the result before ever allowing their stud to sire his first litter! As for my situation., I believe the actions taken by the stud owner only succeeded in showing the world how irresponsible she is as a stud owner. Was his HD purely genetic or a combination of that and the environment she raised him in who knows. But what is important is this. He was a great dog. He came from great dogs. He had great attributes and produced offspring with those attributes. I have to the best of my ability responsibly tested and bred his daughter and will do the same with his grand-daughter. I hope to never produce HD or have HD in my dogs. However, I think it is better to produce great dogs that might have a problem than mediocre dogs that might not. Sometimes things happen that breeders cannot foresee. This is why responsible breeders can only be responsible to the buyer and the pup if the puppy buyer acts responsibly rather than bad mouth the breeder and the breed. The stud owner, her friend and others like them are not helping the situation with Border Collies and HD. Their smear campaign is doing nothing more than fostering more un-truths about HD and encouraging people to be less open about HD in their breeding programs. What they are doing is, in my opinion, hampering the process of stamping out HD in our beloved dogs. Personally as a puppy buyer who has bought dogs with and without genetic problems I would never want to become involved with or purchase a puppy from someone who engages in this type of behavior. Their behavior says to me that they care very little for the dogs and the people they deal with. Only through clear communication and responsible actions can we improve the genetic health of our beloved dogs! By putting our differences aside and using testing results to assist in making responsible breeding decisions instead of weapons to ruin reputations can we come together and eliminate HD and other genetic problems from our beloved dogs. Sources links listed below At the time I was researching my dog's situation I NEVER imagined I would need to keep track of sources to be able to PROVE my opinion's stated above. However thanks in part to rumors made by the stud owner mentioned above and her friend. I am now in the process of going back and listing as many of the sources as I can that I read when I was learning about HD. Once again I am not a veterinarian but I am a concerned owner who wanted to make the best decision I could for my dog, and her possible puppies. PLEASE when researching this disease keep an open mind and do not take ONE person's opinion as the truth and act on it! The dog show world is full of unsavory people! That person that you think is your mentor or friend could have their own motive and might not have your best interest at heart. That person could feel that they must do unethical and mean things to increase their odds of winning that ribbon or selling that puppy! However, I have found throughout my journey that those breeders who have been in this sport a long time (20 or more years) are a wealth of knowledge and like all people who have been involved in the sport of dogs for many years they have dealt with HD. I have been so fortunate to have a few of them take the time to explain to me their experiences with HD. They are my greatest source of information and assistance and I am so grateful to them. Many of them are breeders of the breeds I have but not all. I would especially like to thank one of them who is a veterinarian and breeder/exhbitor of cocker spaniels. Her very frank and honest advice prevented me from acting on the bad advice of the stud owner's friend I have talked to multiple veterinarians some of whom are involved with other dog show people or are involved in the sport themselves. Try to find a veterinarian that is involved with our sport or has been in practice a long time. I have found, unfortunately, recently that many of those who have recently entered the profession are somewhat dishonest when it comes to giving advice to people who breed and show dogs. I have had the unfortunate experience to come across one who will give false information just to convince an owner get a dog spayed or neutered. It did not work in my case because I sought a second opinion. Besides all the wonderful long time breeders and veterinarians who assisted me here are some of my other sources of info. This is still a work in progress as I come across the rest of what I read I will make additions Good luck in your journey towards being a responsible breeder and pet owner and I hope by reading this you will avoid some of the pitfalls that I fell into Hip Dysplasia In The Border Collie by Janet E Larson USBCC Newsletter Summer 1994 Skeletal Diseases of the Growing Dog Nutritional Influences and the Role of Diet by Daniel V Richardson DVM Managing The Carriers a breed and replace strategy by Carmen L Battaglia The Canine Cronicle March 2009 The Versatile Border Collie by Janet E Larson Practical Genetics for Dog Breeders by Malcom B. Willis Sheltie Talk revised edition by Betty Jo McKinney and Barbara Rieseberg The American Border Collie Association Health And Genetics of Border Collies A Breeder and Buyer's Guide 2002 OFA--- However I take this with a grain of salt as I have noticed that OFA has changed some info on their web site and personally feel that they want people to believe one thing over another for because the end result will be more x rays and therefore more fees for OFA. I have questioned the ethics of OFA before on a database not related to HD. If you have questions email them directly and then cross check their advice with other sources. The Morris Animal Foundation great site to keep on top of the latest studies for many different diseases of our companion animals. You can also read about ongoing and completed studies and sponsor studies. There have been multiple articles in the AKC Gazette over the years and veterinary journals are great too. I have posted the ones I have been able to locate on-line below: World Small Animal Veterinary Association Nutritional Influences on Hip Dysplasia by Herman A.W. Hazewinkle DVM, Phd, DECVs,DECVCN Are Hip Dysplsia and Elbow Dysplsia Hereditary Diseases? by Herman A. W. Hazewinkle DVM, PHd. Canine Hip Dysplsia as influenced by genetic and environmental factors by A. Hedhammar Dog Food studies are an interesting read and food for thought on issues that involve skeletal deformities in dogs. Once again as I come across the ones I read I will post them. The following articles can be found on Purina Pro-Club's web site I haven't figured out how to link them yet Assessing Hip Dysplasia In Herding Breeds July 1st 2005 work by Gail Smith DMV, Phd shows that 13 herding breeds have a greater hip laxity than German Sheperd Dogs and loosest are the Pembroke Welsh Corgi and the Polish Lowland Sheepdog Understanding Congenital Hip Dysplasia Aug 2002 Scientist Seeks Genetic Cause of Hip Dysplsia July 29 2002 Canine Lameness Learning Module by Heather Caprette and Jonathan Dyce DVM Border Collie Health this is a great database for people interested in DNA only health databases. Only owners of dogs can post the results and it is checked Border Collie Society of America The AKC parent club for the Border Collie. You can access some responsible BC breeders in the USA here. However, be careful! Do not treat BCSA membership as a stamp of a responsible breeder. Anadune Border Collie Database. Great info for a "basic" start on researching pedigrees. I love the charts on comparing the different hip schemes used in different countries throughout the world. However BEWARE. Anyone can post information on Anadune. It is not checked. False information was posted about my dogs on this site. For a long time I would constantly check to see what was posted and then email them complaining. I even tried to get them to remove my dogs some of which were added without my knowledge or permission. Check anything you see on Anadune to see if the same info is listed on multiple sites and or genetic health databases. Border Collie Databases for pedigree research that I feel are better than Anadune because I haven't found as much false information as I have found on Anadune Border Collie Database DK , First Dutch Border Collie Database great source of info has two sites one for show BCs and one for trial BCs Most kennels have web sites and post pedigrees of their dogs this is better than any database to check pedigrees and learn info. Email and ask these breeders and owners about their dogs you will learn a lot! Sheltie Information Sheltie Pedigree Lines a great source for pedigrees for Shetland Sheepdogs/Shelties. Unlike Anadune (for BCs) the info is actually checked for accuracy before it is posted. This stops people from listing false info about dogs. sbowlingsite Sheltie pedigrees history etc The American Shetland Sheepdog Association The AKC parent club for the Shetland Sheepdog. While no club membership means they are an instant responsible ethical breeder stamp of approval the ASSA does at least try. They have a code of ethics to punish or remove those who are unethical breeders and exhibitors. Back To Luna's Page |