The red herring refers to shutting people up by distraction -- for example, saying one "side" is close-minded. It gets us away from the topic and discussing whether one is close minded or not.
Again, the reason that some of us are being so adamant about disputing that HD and ED are caused by anything other than genetics is because that line of thinking (diet caused the HD, jumping caused the ED, etc) absolutely hurts people, and it hurts the breed. I do not like to see people hurt. One person on this list wrote and told me how she was made to feel like a child abuser -- she was blamed by her breeder for causing the joint problems in her dog. Her story is not unique -- unfortunately. I am not trying to be unpleasant at all -- I just do not want any puppy owner with a dysplasic dog to believe that s/he is responsible. And I want to warn PPO's to run far away from any breeder who offers excuses for failed orthopedics or says that it has never happened in her lines. Hip and elbow dysplasia happens -- but a breeding should reflects efforts to avoid hip and elbow dysplasia, not disregard for what gets sent through the generations to some unsuspecting PPO -- who then gets blamed for feeding the wrong food! Mary-Ann Bowman Utah
