Annette Jones wrote:
> There are NO lines clear of MVD and no genetic test to enable us to screen > our stock - there fore there is no way of knowing which puppy (if any) in a > litter will develop early or late onset unfortunately and who will never > develop it but live and die of some other ailment like cancer or kidney > failure. You can health test until the cows come home and use dogs with a > good history behind them but it will not prevent somewhere along the line a > puppy in later life developing MVD. > There is certainly no way to know which puppy in a litter will develop early MVD. But there IS a way (as has been researched and documented by the cardiologists and geneticist in Sweden) of reducing the frequency of MVD in Cavaliers and increasing the odds of producing a lower percentage of dogs with MVD -- and that is by breeding to and from older dogs with cardiologist's clear heart certificates. The research shows that it is possible to also reduce the frequency of MVD by breeding to younger dogs whose parents are clear of MVD at an older age. Of course, this is not 100% foolproof but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that if you breed generations of older, heart clear dogs then you will get a higher percentage of heart clear offspring. This is surely what we all strive for. So .... whilst it is true that no amount of testing is a guarantee that your dogs will be clear of MVD, it is certainly a step towards reducing the possibility of your offspring coming up with early onset MVD. If we can reduce the gene pool so much by selecting for conformation and beauty, then surely we can reduce the gene pool for clear hearts. Anne Annette Jones wrote: > I do explain it not only to anyone buying a puppy off me but to the many > people that ring me everyday enquiring where they can get a puppy > There are NO lines clear of MVD and no genetic test to enable us to screen > our stock - there fore there is no way of knowing which puppy (if any) in a > litter will develop early or late onset unfortunately and who will never > develop it but live and die of some other ailment like cancer or kidney > failure. You can health test until the cows come home and use dogs with a > good history behind them but it will not prevent somewhere along the line a > puppy in later life developing MVD. > I am all for testing but one has to keep these things in perspective. I > think we had this discussion some weeks ago - are we going to breed only for > healthy hearts and lose all the other things which make Cavaliers the breed > they are? I know that I would prefer to have a typical Cavalier with a good > temperament that lived to be ten than an untypical generic dog with maybe a > bad temperament that lived to be fourteen. > Perhaps I have been fortunate as yet I have not had one of my dogs die of > MVD BUT I do know of dogs that I have bred who have developed it. Chance? > Good Luck? I don't know but it is interesting that those that I have seem > with MVD that I bred were "pampered pooches" overweight, lacking in > exercise - two of the things that will exacerbate the condition. > I have two oldies here with murmurs but they are asymptomatic - will a > normal life style with the younger ones but I watch their weight carefully > and do not restrict their exercise. > Just my opinion for what it is worth > > Annette Jones > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Winnie Clark" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2001 7:28 PM > Subject: [CKCS-L] Breeding for hearts > > > <<<<Hearts are only one small part of the equation when breeding - to be > > <<<<considered yes but not more so than everything else > > > > And perhaps you'd like to explain that to pet owners who watch > > their dogs *suffer* and die from early onset MVD. > > > > > > Winnie > > Columbus, NC > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Dogs are made of love and fur. > > > > ========================================================= > > "Magic Commands": > > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > > to start it up gain click here: > > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author. > > > > ========================================================= > "Magic Commands": > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > to start it up gain click here: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author. ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. 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