Breeding a Mega Esophagus Carrier - Page 2

That wasn't the conclusion I got at all, there are so many breeders these days, there are healthy options but the "typical" sales, those need some scrutiny, yes indeed.

I'm sure Lani's dog's breeder took care of her! I would hope a reputable breeder wouldn't sell a dog who was throwing mega-e left and right and not make it right. I think calling the owners was a very noble thing to do on Lani's part. Nothing like covering up serious problems with the parents of a litter. 

Nan, is it really that hard to find healthy dogs? I don't want to jinx myself (knocking on wood right now), but I have been quite fortunate and haven't had any of this stuff, though I don't have that many dogs. I have a sampling of dogs from several lines. Statistically, the more you have the higher your chances of problems. I don't see it as problems being so widespread, but more like morons in denial and just not caring. I have gotten many calls for puppies from people with dogs with health problems from the same few breeders, over and over. I've bred no more litters than I can count on one hand...so what are the odds that all their buyers are calling me? They're not, of course...those breeders are just screwing so many people that I'm hearing about several of them! There's a clear pattern- I see breeders marketing to pet owners getting away with it a lot more. They play the numbers game and figure most of their buyers won't make a big issue and will buy this crap that GSDs are plagued with health issues and that's just the way it is. 

See, I keep getting told that just because a pup has the genetic form of mega e you shouldn't automatically not breed the parents or siblings. That I just cannot comprehend. What happens when the carrier keeps passing the genes? Just because you don't produce one within the same generation does not mean that it will not be produced 1, 2, or 7 generations later. How many times are these genes going to be passed on and keep infecting the lines before people finally say that's enough?

jag, the bottom line on breeding is that each person decides what is acceptable, outside of mandatory requirements such as imposed by SV.

for me it was not acceptable to breed a known producer of mega-e. this decision involved more than damage to the blood line and carried over into heartache as well as time and financial loss. I have known others who did not blink an eye at breeding dogs with serious health issues and simply sorted through the offspring for the good ones.

goal oriented breeding will always involve compromise, at least that's the way I see it. There are no perfect dogs and I can't think of one breeding I did that I was not thinking what I may be giving up here to get something there. each breeder will decide what they will compromise on.

jmo,

Rik

I would not breed a dog that is a known mega-E affected/carrier.  That is such a devastating disease, although I've never personally dealt with it I have a friend who had to put down a young  adult GSD because of it. 

I understand that there is not a definite conclusion in the heredity of mega-E, but from what I've read I think that it is likely an incomplete autosomal dominant gene.  Any kind of genetic disease that inherits in this way should never be knowingly bred. 

So, in my book, that is two very strong reasons why mega-E should never be bred

Both my half-sister and I (same father) have a genetic disease that is an incomplete autosomal dominant.  We have both made the decision to never have biological children because the chances of our would-be children or grandchildren suffering are too great. 

The GSD gene pool is much too large to worry about culling dogs with this disease. 

If it is an incomplete autosomal dominant.... do you take sire and dam of an affected puppy out of the gene pool?

If (and big IF as nothing is proven that I know of) it is dominant with incomplete penetrance.... then only one of the parents is responsible.

----Mary

According to this, published in 2009, it is believed to be an "autosomal recessive". Didn't have time to surf through what showed up, maybe this is obsolete.

http://www.akcchf.org/news-events/library/articles/germanshepherdupdate0909.pdf

From the info I have received so far, it is recessive taking both parents. The gene is dominant if one parent actively has it. A dog can have it but you may never know because it could be such a mild case with little to no symptoms.
Rik, thank you for yet another reply. :) I understand there are goods and bads in each line. That is why selective breeding is so important.

For those that won't breed, is that the case with just one dog?  My adult dog has a littermate with mega-E and as far as I know their dam was bred several more times.  I don't know of any other dogs before or since that had mega-E.  Not condemning or condoning, just curious.  Is once enough?

VKGSD,
I personally feel that once is enough. You take the one pup that had an actual active case of mega e. How many in the litter are carriers and continue to pass this gene on?



Now, this is a what would you do type of question....


You know a sire that has produced at least 1 mega e pup. He has only sired 2 litters. The owner is continuing to breed this sire without disclosing the mega e to the owners of the bitches. What would you do?