What is considered reasonable - Page 3

I realize this question is off topic, but what exactly is the percentage of DM in the gsd breed overall? OFA has the percentage for HD, so what is it for DM. I have seen GSDs for at least fifty years, have never seen one with diagnosed DM. I have , on the other hand, seen several with hd.

Joanro, I think the test for it isn't even ten years old, so the numbers just aren't there. Unfortunately, I did not have to be around 50 years with GSD's to see this disease, and to know I would gladly pay for the test, just to avoid it again.

"Well Jen take it however you want;  it is not for me, it is for the breed.  DM is everywhere, not just the US.  And I hope breeders understand that it is now very reasonable and reliable and is just a cheek swab or I believe can be a blood draw for some tests."

But Jenn is right; the current test for DM looks for a mutation in the SOD1 gene which is apparently not the gene most often responsible for the condition in GSD's.  German Shepherd Dog Myelopathy (GSDM) is considered unique to the breed so a clear test from the OFFA doesn't mean that your dog doesn't have it or isn't a carrier.

Not sure if you are saying that accurately, yourself Keith. Yes, there is plenty of wiggle room to convince oneself not to test. It is just that any one who has had a dog with DM will still want to test with what is available, because the disease is just that bad.

If I were the buyer, I'd expect to fairly lay down $2500 to $3500, pending certain details.  Likely no more, or no less.

Negative for mad cow disease?  I'd make sure.

If people feel more comfortable with testing for DM, let them test! If a DM test is a deal breaker for a good home, I will let the interested party test the dog. I have done that and I am not opposed to that at all.

I just fear that many good dogs will be eliminated from the pool because they are at risk. Just because a dog is at risk, does not mean the dog will have DM. That is my fear. We don't know how it really works in regards the possibility to really develop a DM in a dog. I however know that it is possible as my friend had a dog with it in Czech and it was not a pretty sight.
Test for it if you want; I would like to have more research done before I eliminate a dog from breeding. Maybe that is why I spend hours in the genetics field, more I read and study, less I know.... it is a tool, use it but don't be blinded by it.

"Not sure if you are saying that accurately, yourself Keith. Yes, there is plenty of wiggle room to convince oneself not to test. It is just that any one who has had a dog with DM will still want to test with what is available, because the disease is just that bad."

What I am saying is that there is documented evidence of at least one GSD who tested clear (homozygous for the normal form of the SOD1 gene) who was found to have DM upon necropsy.  Just out of curiousity, why is this test, which doesn't prove the absence of DM in the GSD, more important than, say, the test for von Willebrand Disease or ANA, for example, which are definitive for those conditions?

I'm not against testing, not if there's a CHANCE of the test being accurate.  But if the test doesn't even test the markers found in the GSD breed for positive DM identification, then what's the point?!  You would have just as good a chance (or better) testing for Lou Gherrig's disease as designed for humans.

And I am definitely NOT FOR making people feel comfortable by perpetuating a myth.