I'm responding here to Sharon's post in Berner-L 4113. Sharon,
I hope I have not advocated the theory that orthopedic clearances should be eliminated if nutrition is correct. Certainly, that is not my view. I feel orthopedic clearances are a very important, very useful tool in breeding decisions and should be pursued in responsible breeding programs. Of course, I'm in learning mode about breeding decisions - as I hope we all are. By your using the term 'overfed', its apparent I need to clarify that malnutrition, by definition, is not limited to under or over feeding an animal on a gross volume level. Very often, malnutrition is the result of improper balancing of dietary components. If you've never seen the effects of improper balance in a growing dog's diet, then you're in for a shocker. They can look like genetic freaks. I've yet to meet a berner breeder (or any other breeder) who makes breeding decisions based solely on nutrition with total disregard to OFA or other factors. But I'm a fairly new breeder, and haven't met everyone yet. At this point, I admit this type of breeder seems irresponsible to me. Kind Regards, Esther Wilson http://www.wilpowerkennels.com __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2
