Need names of breeders that do genetic testing. - Page 1

I just lost my beautiful German Shepherd girl from cancer 11 days short of her 12th birthday. In the past I've had GSDs with autoimmune eye disease and DM. As a result, when I am ready to adopt again, I will only do so from breeders who test their breeding dogs for DM, hemangiosarcoma, eye, hip and heart issues or whatever other genetic tests are available. I believe that when breeders see that more and more people ask for genetic testing of parents of pups, they will take breeding more seriously. Anyway, in searching for reputable breeders, I find only comparisons of what makes a good breeder vs. what makes a bad breeder and not specific names of breeders that carry out good practices. Also, when visiting random breeder web sites, I occasionally see a brief list of health testing done, listed almost as an afterthought. But I would like to see a detailed list and explanation of genetic testing performed. Are there any breeders out there that do these tests and can explain them to me? Or does anyone know of these kinds of breeders? I live in Ohio, but will drive anywhere if I find a reputable breeder. I believe German Shepherds are the perfect dog for me, except we need breeders that care enough to breed out these genetic diseases. Thanks for any help/advice.

I always will suggest Gildaf. They test for a number of things and have a good reputation. Very knowledgeable as well. I'm sure others will mention quite a few breeders for you.

There is no genetic test for hemangiosarcoma, nor one for any GSD eye issues. Pretty sure there's not one for any heart issues the GSD has. And nor is there a genetic/DNA test for hip problems or elbow problems.

You can ask for whether the DNA test for DM has been done--that is a valid GSD test that is available. Of course, your dog may still get DM, apparently.

Christine

I've heard of testing by breeders for eye, hip and elbow problems, but maybe they are not genetic tests? For DM, it's my understanding that if they don't have the genes, they don't have the disease. However they can be heterozygous carriers. A problem is that just because an adult dog has the genes, it doesn't necessarily mean that dog will suffer from the disease in it's lifetime , but that dog should not be used in breeding. I plan to adopt only puppies that have been tested for as many heritable diseases as possible. These diseases can be combatted with careful breeding. Thanks for your suggestions.

Went to the vom Gildaf site. Looks great. Thanks. Looks like they take testing breeding pairs to help wipe out these horrible diseases seriously!

Hip and elbow testing requires x-rays, which are submitted to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) for evaluation. There is also the Penn Hip evaluation, plus several other systems for grading hips and elbows, depending on what country you are in. Eye testing can be done by a certified veterinary, and the dog will receive the CERF eye clearance. Heart testing can be done by a cardiologist, and I believe it involves an ultrasound (echo-cardiogram.) The only eye problem I'm aware of in GSDs is pannus (chronic superficial keratitis).

The only test that involves DNA is the degenerative myelopathy test (DM). Even then, there is some controversy about how accurate the test is. From what I understand, some dogs that were supposedly free of the gene developed DM later in life.

If you are planning to breed your dog, you will also want to know if his/her ancestry is free of these problems, so you will have to ask the breeder what tests were done on the dog's mother, father, sibings and grandparents. 

Germany uses the ZW nunber to indicate what percentage of a dog's ancestors and progeny are free of hip problems. Someone who is more familiar with that system than I am can likely explain how it works.

Still there are  NO guarantees. I have a female GSD whose ancestors for 3 generations back are free of hip problems, yet she did not pass the OFA x-ray at age two. One hip is mildly dysplastic. And even some dogs that pass the OFA x-ray develop dysplasia later in life.

The x-rays are not accurate when done on very young dogs, as the bones are not yet fully formed. Most breeders will only give a refund or replacement puppy if the x-ray shows crippling dysplasia, not mild/moderate.

As for cancer, the tendency to develop certain cancers can be inherited, so ask if the breeder knows of any ancestors that developed the disease. A vet can tell you which cancers tend to be genetic, and which are totally random in where they strike.

TippyGladstone, don't let Christine's post mislead you. Christine is just saying there is no "genetic" test. With that said, of course, there are tests for the individual dogs at hand for hips, eyes, thyroid, etc etc......and if doing research you can find if the dogs in a pedigree had any testing done as well on all of those things.  I know with Gildaf's dogs they are clear of DM. I'm drawing a blank, but there is another breeder that I know of.....that tests for quite a few things. The adults were all titled too, but at the moment I'm just drawing a blank.

http://www.offa.org/

http://www.offa.org/search.html?btnSearch=Advanced+Search 


 

in UK we have a Kennel Club clearance facility for HEREDITARY CATARACT
but I don't know enough about it to tell you whether it is a genetic test or a veterinary examination.  The condition is non-congenital.

I know some breeds have genetic cataracts--I have a Jack Rusell Terrier who went blind on one eye at age 2 and in the other at age 6 because of cataracts. Both of his parents were CERF'd clear of eye problems. The GSD does not have this problem in any bloodline I've heard of--is it seeen in UK GSDs?

I am a strong propenent of using testing for breeding stock--if there's a likelihood that your dog could have or pass on a health problem. But I think that you need to be educated about the tests, what the results actually mean, and what tests are relevant. I am pretty sure I could DNA test my dogs all clear of Centronuclear Myopathy--but that's meaningless because I am breeding GSDs, not Labradors, and it'd be like proving that all my GSDs were were over 20 pounds and had wedge-shaped muzzles instead of braciocephaly. :)

Christine