Health questions of Pedigree - Page 1

I am trying to find out about the health history of the dogs in my puppy's pedigree. I have sent out a few emails. Two of his grandfathers are healthy and 10 years old. Not bad 1 grandmother passed away at 8 from cancer of the pancreas. Scary. Is there any kind of database that has the health information ie how long did they live and what did they die of if no longer living. If you have the information then you know what to look for. I am not trying to get specific information on my puppy's pedigree right now just wanted to know how to go about it other than finding each dog then researching the Kennel then try to contact ex owners. Any easy way out on this one?

The only way I can think you can access such information would be if the owners of your puppy's ancestors had their dogs specifically tested for thing(s) and then sent the results to a special database for official documentation. We have the OFA website (www.offa.org) which CAN actually keep track of things like certified eyes, congential heart, congential deafness, and alot of other things-it's all on their website. If this was not done by the owners of your puppy's ancestors, then you basically have to talk with people who own your puppy's parents and hope that they cared enough to ask and have such information handy. And, you hope that the information being handed down is remembered precise and has been told honestly. Human error can play a part in things, too. I personally don't know of any other way to access information, unless you had the info for the ancestors' vets, but then you get into doctor-patient confidentiality and they probably wouldn't tell you much. Best way to find out info if the ancestors weren't tested and sent to an official database is, ask your breeder.

I do not know how you would get the information other than paying close attention to the death and cause of same of dogs with similar bllod lines. If you join several GSD lists you can pick up a lot of information. Some years ago I purchased an American show line dog on the advice of my handler. I knew that the particular blood lines were known for "early death". The dog lived to be 13 1/2. So I guess there is always that exception to the rule. Another time I purchased a 6 month old Am show line male and decided to do all those blood tests, etc. that some so-called experts say should be done. My regular vet was on vacation and the substitute vet informed me that my puppy would be dead in a week!!! (no kidding - her words). I immediately called my handler and the breeder - got everyone very upset. Turned out the dog had been on medication that affected some of the tests, and the vet should have done a further test that would have shown that. So now I just use my own judgement and skip the tests and gossip. Judy .

I believe Marjorie the owner of Jack Flash who has worked so hard on finding a cure for DM (the Flash test is named after him I believe)has started a database where people can enter info on their dogs, their health issues, how long they lived or how old they are currently and their pedigree. I'll try to find the link but I know she posts regualrly to another German Shepherd board so maybe someonelse can head you in this direction. Davis at one time had an open database for such info but I believe that was bought out and/or merged into OFA somehow and now functions in a different way.

Not enough breeders want to talk about problems in their dogs/lines. I tried researching health issues and quickly ran into a dead end. It would be nice to have a web site were you could list known problems. But then again it would have to depend on people being honest, and not just out to trash a breeder.

This is one area where the dog fancy could REALLY gain some credibility, if they would set up databases for tracking health problems and longevity. But noooo, the ol' ego gets in the way, and no one wants to 'fess up! Bad genes in MY lines??? HEAVEN FORBID! (Heh, might hurt my pocketbook if people knew!) A few individual breeders have made efforts with this, compiling generations of statistics for their dogs and their litters. Unfortunatly, once the pup is out of your hands, it becomes difficult to keep track of it, unless the new owner wants to co-operate. A few kennels I know that have kept this sort of data are Hoofprint Kennels, (white GSD's) the Rin Tin Tin kennel and New Zion Kennel (originally GSD's, now Shiloh Shepherds.) I'm sure there are others I'm not aware of, most likely in Germany, as the Germans are well-known for their attention to detail.