I was recently told by a friend who is a breeder with pretty good contacts in Europe, that the Czech stud dog "Gero" had both elbows replaced and was then brought back to be bred many, many times. He was supposedly told this by a former Czech breed warden.

I know for fact, that this guy did breed a litter from a Gero son and over half of the pups have now...two years later, been diagnosed with severe elbow problems...two males have already been put down...one of them with a completely blown/shattered elbow. (I came so close to buying this dog that it scares me)

I want to make it VERY clear that I DO NOT KNOW if Gero really does tend to throw bad elbows, so please do not accuse me of feeding the rumor mill, but I figure if this is not pure BS, someone on this board will have also heard something.

Keep in mind here the following: a) This guy is a breeder and uses mostly Belgian / W.German lines; b) He could have been "fed a line" by his alleged source, who may or may not have axes to grind with others; and c) Rumors, lies and unsubstanciated information have caused untold problems for honest men, good dogs and reputable breeders everywhere...one of the great things about this board is that we do not engage in such behavior.

You are absolutely correct about the lies & rumors making times difficult for honest people Im going through that right now, have a good day,Kim

I would say that your "friend" may not have as good contacts as you think <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Just another example of people who don't know a thing about Czech dogs talking crap to make out that they do. Go to http://www.jinopo.cz and email his owner direct.
LMFAO

We are all aware of the bitchy backstabbing that can go on around dogs and that it is unethical, but what drives me mad is that there is a possibility that these types of rumours can have truth in them, that there ARE people out there who are quite aware that their dogs have problems but continue to breed anyway! Other than the fact that it is deceitfull to the buyers , what about the poor dogs that hae to live and die with the pain these problems can cause! I have hip problems myself and i would not wish it on anyone letalone an innocent canine friend.

Chris,
Gero is in Slovakia and has been for sometime now. Gero's owner is Marek Ivanecky.

Annie,

I have recently been told the same thing. I was considering having another bitch imported in whelp to Gero. SEVERAL people have tried to talk me out of it. I did have a litter sired by Gero. All pups have been x-rayed hips and elbows. All came back good. I have heard it comes from his dams side. Don't know. However, yes I have heard it as well.

This news or rumor makes me feel wonderful. I'm waiting for this beautiful bitch ( prelims excellent) to pass her OFA, and Gero is her Great Grand Father.
Golly Wobbles - Art <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

Like I said, we had a litter out of him. All pups in the litter prelimd hips and elbows. No problems. Believe me, I don't want it to be true. However, I did hear about it recently.

See I have also heard things about Dargo Ha-Ja-Da. I just have a hard time believing anyone would spend the amount of time money and effort to put the titles on these dogs if there was a problem. I mean, If you knew Gero(for instance) had bad elbows. Why waste your time. Find another dog and train him. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Annie
I know he is in Slovakia, but Jiri titled and had him. If anyone would know it would be him.
Rumors like that can do damage. My friend has worked Gero as well as breed to him. No elbow problems and in fact no hip problems.
Theres too many rumours about Czech dogs that are untrue. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />