Hi, Laura,
Yes, this was exactly what I got from the symposium as well. The initial
difficulty being that for some there wouldn't be the opportunity to wait
until parents were heart clear at five as back then the protocol was new.
Best,
Suze
Laura Trunk wrote:
>>I have not seen any statistics that indicate breeding at 2.5 as opposed to
>>
> a younger age, say 1.5, 0r 2 has any increase in risk.
>
> I'm certain those statistics are out there, but they don't have to be. All
> species--including humans--have an optimum age at which to breed for the
> first time. The second you go beyond that optimum time there are increased
> risks. The longer you go past that optimum time the larger the risks are.
>
> However, even stating that, dogs are different from other domestic species
> of animals. They ovulate
> with a rise in progesterone--not estrogen. The progesterone level remains
> high for about
> 60 days after being in season whether or not they have been bred. It is
> well documented that progesterone damages the
> uterine lining. So the risks increase more rapidly with the dog than with
> other domestic species! With every season the bitch goes through, there is
> more damage done and less chance of a successful pregnancy.
>
> The protocol doesn't just say 2.5 years of age. They say MVD clear PAST 2.5
> years of age and then okay to breed. However, I have never been able to
> convince my bitches to come in season right after they turn 2.5 years old.
> So we wait until 2.5 years of age, rush them to a cardiologist (at
> considerable expense since rarely is a clinic available right at that time),
> clear them, and then wait for them to come in season--which may well not be
> for another 6 or more months. Then we breed them for the first time and
> they are already over 3 years of age--not 2.5 years of age. By this time,
> with most bitches they are likely to have already gone through 4 or 5 heat
> cycles and be bred on their 5th or 6th. The damage is being done for each
> successive heat cycle and could well be considerable by the 5th or 6th one.
>
>>From what I am hearing they may ask that only dogs 2.5 years of age and MVD
> clear should be bred and I don't hear any mention of their PARENTS! I find
> this totally ridiculous and against good common sense! I would MUCH rather
> breed a 1.5 or 2.0 year old dog or bitch whose parents were both MVD clear
> past 5 years of age than a 2.5 year old dog or bitch whose parents are
> either not 5 years of age or were not both clear at 5 years of age. It is
> history that counts more--the age of the dog at time of breeding comes
> second to history. At the heart symposium they stated CLEARLY that they
> wanted to focus on *CLEAR AT FIVE*. That is what the heart protocol is
> based
> on entirely. But since it would be dangerous to wait until dogs were 5 to
> breed for the first time, they decided by the results of the study that if
> both parents of a
> particular dog were clear at age 5 there was a very similar result in the
> offspring for age of onset of MVD. The last thing they chose was the age of
> 2.5 ONLY because it was half of 5 and a convenient length of generation--to
> their mind. NOT because it had any meaning whatsoever so far as impact on
> future heart health. If we pick clear at 2.5 years of age only, there
> won't be any improvement whatsoever. We will be risking the reproductive
> health of our bitches for nothing.
>
> I'm focusing on clear past 5 in my breeding program and aiming toward that
> goal. I have high hopes that I will achieve that goal by January--that
> every dog in my house will have two parents who were MVD clear past 5 years
> of age and/or were clear past 5 years of age themselves. I feel that is
> MUCH more meaningful genetically than *clear at 2.5* and will produce better
> results in the next generation.
>
> Laura Lang
>
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--
Suze at Llawen Cavaliers
"...I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man
to depend simply upon himself." -Isna Ia-wica
"Thought comes before speech" Luther Standing Bear
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