Glenn, I'm sorry; I wasn't very clear with what I meant by setting the bar at three. I meant for the onset of murmurs, not pregnancy.
For maximum fertility, bitches should really have most of their breedings prior to the age of four or five. That's why the symposium cardiologists suggest that we use the parents of the bitch to be bred as our barometer, instead of the bitch herself. If her parents were heart clear at the age of 5, then she is more likely to be heart clear at 5. I would have no problem breeding a 2-year-old heart-clear cavalier bitch with parents who were heart clear at 5. If the bitch developed a mitral valve murmur at 3 and 1/2, I would be extremely unlikely to breed her, because of the extra hardship pregnancy places on the heart, and because she probably doesn't have much in the way of healthy genes to offer her offspring. I would see no reason to use a stud dog that developed a murmur at 3 and 1/2, either...there should be plenty of stock out there that remain clear longer than that. Leanne ----- Original Message ----- > > Well, the age of 3 is a pretty low bar to set. We won't make much progress > > that way. > > Leanne > > > > Leanne, > At what age would you suggest a bitch first be bred? ========================================================= "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 2002 by its original author.
