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Health and nutrition How to feed a Wolfdog, information about dog food, how to vaccinate and what to do if the dog gets ill.... |
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03-02-2010, 05:45 | #1 | |
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HD and bone problems
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Of course there are other diseases that can affect structure too. Most of these are rare/sporadic - but should definitely be noted and considered. HODS disease (since you mentioned it) isn't generally thought to be genetic - but probably caused by a bacteria (since fever usually presents with the initial onset), diet or possible vitamin deficiency. Could this present problems similar to HD? Maybe. Is there a way to know for sure if HODS caused the problem or if it is genetic? Probably not at this point in time, I would guess. I have very, very serious doubts that I would take the risk in breeding such a dog with any major structural disease, genetic or not - it would have to be an exceptional situation to account for the risk involved in breeding a dog with disease of unknown origin. I can only think of some very rare cases where waiting to breed a dog until 24-36 months would be a bad thing (especially a male, who are statistically prone to more bone/structure problems) - maybe if a bitch was older and ready for her final covering, and the particular, incredible male was only 12-18 months...but that is all I can really think of. So, why not wait to get the most reliable results at an older age, even if it might only make some small difference in results? I see breeding as a patient, carefully calculated process - not something to be done in haste. It's hard to say if more diseases are showing up in the breed, or if they are just becoming more public. I think a big problem in this breed/breed community is that people have been afraid to announce their dog's health problems. Now that fear is - maybe - slowly starting to fade (I hope!), so we start to see more problems when people announce them. But I think this conversation is going on in other threads. So I will leave it there.
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03-02-2010, 17:58 | #2 |
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Thanks Marcy
I like the Idea of waiting until 36 months for final HD tests and Breeding (I also like the Idea of us beginning to track the changes throughout development)... I want to be hasty about developing the BEST CsVs possible. So, if waiting 36 months is what it takes to pick the best, then that is the fastest way . Not wating, and mass breeding for a decade to create a mob of potentially problematic puppies, while searching for the best out of those, will probably not produce any signifigantly greater number of better dogs, and is cruel to all those who will suffer later in life due to these problems we are attempting to do away with.
Last edited by AMERICANI; 03-02-2010 at 18:05. |
03-02-2010, 18:06 | #3 |
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Confused yet?
I just reread my post and I apologize if I have confused anyone.
Last edited by AMERICANI; 04-02-2010 at 07:56. Reason: misspelling |
21-02-2010, 02:53 | #4 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 370
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I better keep Fred Lanting away from this thread. He'll write a(nother) book on the subject in here.
While genetics is a factor (and there isn't anything you can do about that "after the fact") there are many ways you can help prevent HD becoming severe. As mentioned, diet is extremely important, especially in a puppy's youth during their development. But also keeping them in shape is a great way to help prevent HD. Larger dogs (not just in size - but also overweight) have a higher chance of getting HD - keep your dogs fit and in shape! The big issue is that when a breed becomes popular, unethical breeders start to pop up an then the breed started to get damaged (we see this with today's GSDs). As a technician, I'd have to label the GSD breed (especially "show" lines here in the US) as DBR (Damaged Beyond Repair). Even pet homes now are looking at German lines and importing - some potential adopters even ask us "your puppies won't look like inch worms, will they?". I really hope this doesn't happen to the CWD breed.
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21-02-2010, 15:28 | #5 | |
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21-02-2010, 16:10 | #6 | |
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 370
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One of our largest grips with the AKC judging style is that it is too common for judges to judge by the wrong end of the leash. Many times they look at the names and the handlers more than the actual dog (most of the time a judge has their mind made up as soon as the dogs walk into the ring). The emphasis is also on looks, not the whole package (temperament, working ability etc..). We officially gave up showing Kiri (our GSD) on this day: Kiri does extremely well in the Sieger show ring as well as UKC shows. Her movement is only topped by her daughter (Athena) and structurally she looks like the GSDs we saw before the breed got ruined (WWII style GSD - straight back, big head, intelligence etc...). At this show, my wife was in the front of the line (she had the lowest armband #). Behind her was a bitch who was scrawny and could barely walk. The entire time her tail was tucked between her legs (mind you - the AKC / GSDCA-WDA standard states "must show confidence"). Behind that female was a male who looked like he was dragging his rear end on the ground when he walked and, as the other female, had his tail tucked between his legs the entire time. There were 2-3 other dogs in the ring behind those two. When the judge was doing his final look over he looked to my wife and said loud enough for everyone to hear "You, go to the back of the line". (In a nutshell he was saying "I want everyone to know I think your dog is the worst one here"). Guess who got BOB and BOS? The two (now) in the front. We've seen breed given to dogs that snark at other dogs (in and out of the ring). We've seen breed given to dogs that could barely walk - one was even limping the entire time. Heavily overweight dogs, you name it. At least with the Belgians there's some inconsistency. Some judges to look at the dog and others don't. Collies here are a different story.
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