I have just re-read this string. I think everyone (including myself) was originally trying to give you hope about your dysplatic dog, but I don't think anyone really explained that this can be one of the most painful, heartbreaking diseases. I know that as happy as I was that my dog managed this disease, I would have given ANYTHING for him to be HD free. This is why you NEVER EVER breed a dog with HD.

Ken,

The reason you have given for breeding this dog is not a good one. It would be extremely irresponsible of you to breed him. HD can be a very painful and debilitating disease. Please have him neutered.

Debbie

 Quote:

Please allow me to explain myself. I did not in no way mean breeding for a profit or to carry on his lineage. I see how I made it seem like that. What I mean was having a litter before I got him neutered so I can have a pup and give the rest to my family who want a pup as well. I guess it is the same thing but I am not wanting to consistently do it nor do it for a profit...

But how can you tell if a dog is from a good lineage and not just being sold for the going price?

why would you want to condemn yourself, your friends, and your relatives, not to mention the puppies you produce, to crippled lives, high vet bills, and heartbreak?

your dog has HD. even worse, you don't know his lineage. there is no way this dog should ever be bred. get him neutered at once! that is what any responsible breeder would do the minute they found out a dog has HD.

when dogs are bred, a good breeder selects on the very best, health tested dogs that have a known lineage. with HD, often the history of the aunts and uncles and great aunts and uncles is even more predictive of HD than the test results of the parents.

so, a good breeder knows the test results not just of the sire and dam, but also of the brothers and sisters of the sire and dam, of the grandparents, and of the brothers and sisters of the grandparents. only then can they calculate the odds in any meaningful way.

the reason so much care is taken is they don't want to bring puppies into the world who will bring heartbreak to their owners and pain and suffering to the puppies themselves. they seek to better the breed, and producing and propogating poor genetic history is not the way to go about doing that!

it takes years of experience and guidance from knowledgeable people to become a responsible breeder. please do not perpetuate the ignorance of the person who bred your dog!

Ken, I have a friend who had a really nice lab bitch he used for hunting. He & his pals thought they wanted more like her, so they had another friend who also had a real nice hunting male lab. They had 8 puppies. 2 were born with severe cleft palates, 4 dropped dead before the age of 3 due to congenital heart problems, 1 had epilepsy. So out of 8 puppies 2 had to be destroyed at birth,5 ended up breaking the hearts of his friends & family members (all who wanted puppies just like his dog), & I have no clue what happended to the 8th dog. This is a true story. This is what happens when people breed because they "just want one litter". I figure I've said all I can say on this. Please don't breed that dog.

Yes, please don't breed your dog and please neuter him...

Even when everything IS done to prevent hip dysplasia by people knowledgeable in genetics, it CAN pop up and is heartbreaking for everyone.

Your dog has a shot at a good life if cared for properly -- of course I am starting now to bank the $3500 for the possible hip replacement in 3-5 years and hoping we can avoid it all together by doing all the right things.

But I did all *the right things*, including getting a puppy from parents with good predicitive hip scores (from Europe) and both with a-normal hips, raising the puppy on a proper diet, not pounding the dickens out of her joints or doing jumping until the growth plates closed, etc. and still wound up with the disorder.

There are other heartbreaking genetic disesases in the breed as well. back problems that probably eclipse hip dysplasia in terms of pain and suffering, digestive problems, problems with other joints, pancreatic problems, a dog form of hemophilia, etc. etc. etc.

If you don't believe it - go look at the pounds and rescues -- where many fearful, crippled, bag of bone german shepherds spend their final days.

The popularity of the GSD has driven it into the ground in part due to everyone and their brother breeding them without knowing how to select breeding stock, and in part due to the "dog show" factor - and only those who strive to bring it back to the noble, healthy, and versatile working dog it once was should be breeding them. (JMO)