ATTENTION German Shepherd lovers - Page 2

First of all, I am very sorry that you now have two pups with health issues. It must be terribly distressing and my heart goes out to you. The GSD has a long list of potential diseases and many here can understand what you are going through. I sure can.

I'm not defending Patchwork, but as far as DJD, I think you'd have to look long and hard to find lines that are completely free of DJD. Parents that are DJD free can produce pups that have DJD. Anyone who has had hip or elbow x-rays done on their dog anxiously waits in anticipation for the results, because even with the best of breedings, which are carefully thought out, hip or elbow dyplasia can show up in a pup. To breed parents with DJD is inexcusable, but breeding a dog that has a sibling with DJD happens all the time, either knowingly or unknowingly. The pedigree of a dog only gives one a piece of the puzzle regarding hip/elbow scores and doesn't show the siblings, aunts, uncles, etc. and what their scores are. Plus, not all dogs are screened and many times the ones that are screened and don't pass are never recorded. So, in many cases the ability to really know what is in the lines is sketchy at best.   

As far as the heart issue goes, I am not real familiar with the condition, but I have read about it. Apparently the genetic component of it is quite complex and at this time (again, this is based only on what I read) there is some controversy as to whether the parents of an animal with SAS should be bred again, but dogs that actually have this condition should definitely not be bred.

It is not unusual to do two breedings back to back as long as the bitch is in good condition and is rested on the following cycle.  

Again, I am very sorry for what you are going through. I wish for you the very best with your pups and I appreciate the information you have provided.
 

I was thinking the breeder's name sounded familiar and then I remembered when Keith posted the link.  It should not surprise anyone that there are health issues popping up from this breeder, look at their website.  Health problems can pop up in ANY lines, even the best bred lines, but when you deal with a BYB your chances of health issues do greatly increase.  These are people who are breeding FOR huge long coated "perfect pets".  In other words, for the wrong reasons and with the wrong goals in mind.  I feel really bad for the original poster as I am sure they are heartbroken and loved the puppies in question.  Horrible situation for them and the pups involved :(  

But that is why people should educate themselves and purchase from good breeders!  

FWIW I do not agree that if a dog produces a puppy with HD/ED it should never be bred again.  However, the situation needs to be looked at for each situation.  If a dog produces one puppy with HD out of several litters... that is one thing... if it produces a very high percentage of HD in every litter... that is something else.  EVERY dog will produce SOME sort of health issue if he/she is bred enough.  And every dog has SOME sort of relative with a health problem, cannot throw them all out of the gene pool.  But again, going with a good breeder sure does stack the odds in your favor.  

Again I am sorry to the Original Poster who is dealing with these issues with their pups :(  

I went to this breeder's website and found that she has a written response to the above accusations. She claims she has retired the sire of your pup with HD because he produced HD with three different dams. She is not repeating the breeding of the pair that produced your pup with ED and SAS. She also claims to have offered you a third pup, but I can certainly understand why you wouldn't want to take it. 

It seems this breeder  screens all of her breeding dogs for HD and ED which I verified on the OFA website. It is true that some of her dogs are oversized and most of her dogs have no titles, but the problems with your pups could've just as easily shown up in pups of titled, average sized parents. As much as I feel awful about what you are going through I don't see where this breeder did anything terribly wrong. To expect a breeder to help you with medical costs is unrealistic. It is so rare that a breeder will do that.   

I really do sympathize with your situation. I have had my share of disappointments with my GSDs and when one of my GSD pups was diagnosed with severe HD and ED at 4 months (I bought him at 3 month of age) I was stunned and heartbroken. We went ahead and did all the surgeries and although he moved rather oddly, he lived a good life.  The dog after that one came to me with Lyme disease and that affected his health for the rest of his life. My present dog was diagnosed with DM at 5 years of age. She is a rescue. I sort of feel like a was handed a lousy deck with my dogs, but I have still enjoyed them immensely in site if the health issues and challenges. 

I wish you the very best with your pups and again, I am sorry you are going through this heartbreaking ordeal. Please keep us posted. 

thank you everyone for your input regarding my situation.  I had my puppy checked with another ECG last week and his arrhythmias are getting worse. He is on Sotalol currently twice a day and now they want me to add in Mexitil 3 times a day. I am worried about giving him all these meds and was wondering if anyone has had to give this same cocktail and what the results were. I want to save my puppies life but I don't want to cause other damage in the process. Plus this is all really expensive medications.
As you can imagine I am so distraught with this whole situation as I am always hopeful when we go for check ups only to be given bad news every time....

Hi Svisint....very sorry to hear of the health problems you are having with your puppies. There is a lady on the rottweiler.net forum, her name there is Frontierrots, if you were to go to that forum and ask about the SAS and the meds you are giving I'm sure she could give you some very valuable information as she is very knowledgable on the subject. I know she has also been involved with research that is being conducted on SAS, hope that helps.

Thank you BahCan...Have a wonderful Holiday season.