> One would think you'd eliminated at least the major > conditions affecting the health of the breed in your own "stock" by now.
This is exactly what this thread started on. You CANNOT eliminate or reduce to a great extent polygenic faults UNLESS you have an idea of the genotype of the dog. You CANNOT have much idea of the genotype of the dog unless everyone tests and the results are easily available to breeders. Having to personally contact every single breeder to get those results, with some refusing, I do not consider *easily available*. This is WHAT we are discussing here--the REASON to test and make the results public knowledge. So how on earth could someone who has been breeding a long time ELIMINATE the major conditions affecting the health of the breed in your own stock by now? It would be impossible to do that with the present attitude. Those who are fully testing are just moving slowly along, improving little by little as that is all that is possible by breeding phenotypically. When you show and advertise you make the results publicly known--the rest of the breeders can use that information to ascertain at least some of the genotype of different dogs/lines in regards to type and this, in turn, helps other breeders breed to improve type. When you fully test and make results publicly known--the rest of the breeders can use that information to ascertain at least some of the genotype of different dogs/lines in regards to health and this, in turn, helps other breeders to improve health. If you do one and do NOT do the other, somehow--no matter what is being said to the contrary--to me it just plain feels as though more importance has been put on one over the other. I can't help it--it just does. Health should be equally as important as type--I've heard many of you say so before. As for those in Australia who are truly more than 200 miles from a cardiologist or ophthalmologist--well you will have to make do for now. But I would be pushing to make them more easily available. I would get on the phone and call each one and ask availability, price they would charge and how far they would go and set up annual clinics in certain areas of the country. Here our breed clubs do this. In Cleveland, Ohio--the Siberian Husky Club (not a large club at all!) has set up the twice a year eye clincs for years and this year added a cardiologist. Anything can be achieved if that is what you want. Laura Trunk Roycroft Cavaliers ========================================================= "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.
