LONGEVITY - Page 1

It appears to many of us that the gsd has too many GI and other problems, and a shocking proportion are dying young (under 12) -- many under 8.  To all but the most callous, this is very saddening.

Does anyone know of any breeders or vets working on improving health and longevity in specific lines?  I assume that an outcross of two long lived lines might lead to the longest living dogs.

I know my own new rule is going to be to only buy pups whose sires, grandsires, and greatgrandsires average 7 or more at breeding and whose dams and granddams average 4 or more at breeding.  That's a simple rule that could help.

Does anyone have thinking that has advanced beyond my own?

We could begin with a discussion of lines known to be long lived.

And breeders choosing to combine such lines?

What I want to hear is that both sire and dam have iron stomachs and can happily eat just about anything healthy and never have gastro problems. 

I'd be interested to know if the problems are more in one type of bloodline (show vs working) than the other.

I have both but breed more working than show lines but have combined the two.  My dogs in general
seem to be able to eat anything but I do feed mostly raw.  Not sure if that makes any difference.

Bucko,

I don't know about the sire and dam but my 7month old is a goat!  It all comes out the other end.   Thank God!
Fingers crossed I have no problems with him!

OK- I'll start.

Your dog, MVF, is linebred 3,3 on Alfred kuhlen Norden. Alfred sired a litter of 12 healthy pups at age 12.5. Don't aske me why they aren't listed on this dB. They were whelped in Hawaii.

BTW- Alfred was a very impressive male in person, even well into his golden years. His photos don't do him justice at all! Not famous, not a BSP winner, he had as close to perfect temperament as any dog I have ever known. His name figures in the pedigrees of some of my dogs, and a lot of dogs I WISH were mine.
www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/18130.html

SS

Yes Shelly he was a beauty;  unfortunately those great, great dogs are gone, hopefully not forgotten.  I feel we have screwed up our dogs so bad that I don't think we will see our dogs reproducing at that age for a long, long time unless we clean up our acts and start paying attention to what we are pumping into our dogs every day, every litter, every dog.

I am talking about, vaccines, worming med's, crappy food stuff, topical flea/tick stuff, and as you all know the list goes on and on.  There just has to be another way. 

My 7 year old german bred gsd is in good health, his sire lived to almost 15, quit producing at 10 though, was collected and frozen is now available.  BUT,  my boys health as I said is good however, he will be plagued with problems as he ages I know for a fact.  He has pannus which is an eye condition which stems from auto immune, supposedly.  OF COURSE, no studies have proven this but they seem to know that it is auto immune related. 

So that pretty much tells the story for his aging process.  He's OK for now, his sight is now deteriorating, however,. I will lead the way for him as he has for me in the past. 

But my point is this;  we have to get these dogs on better feeding, vaccine, more natural living;  and steady daily organic living and exercise that will benefit them for years to come.  That is a tuff protocal.  Most of us cannot do it for ourselves, let alone our dogs. 

Shelley

I am trying to avoid my DDR Von Hena C tragedy.  As you recall, she died this winter (when I was struggling with my own cancer most) when she was not yet 6.  I keep hearing horror stories of dogs like my girl who can't eat, can't hold weight, and die very young.

My Frauengarten (Arolser Holz) male from you is healthy and happy!  And while my German is not great, I did read a comment in German on the web (I think before I decided on your breeding) about Alfred siring in his old age.  That's a huge plus for me!  I was also comforted that T x Gabi was a 3-peat with older parents.  As you know, I do a LOT of research before I decide, but you and your dogs are off the charts. If everyone was as good as you, Shelley, the breed would be healthier and better in so many ways.  I hope your life is finding new meaning in your new circumstances.

Michael

PS I get my first post-surgery metastatic check soon.  Wish me luck.  

 

Nans makes a good point that longevity is not just about breeding, but about LIVING.  We all need to learn what will help our dogs live longer, healthier lives.

Would that it were as simple as just choosing pups from parents which seem to be long-lived and healthy, though.  My first GSD was from American lines, and I lost her to hemangiosarcoma exactly one week after her 14th birthday.  She could eat anything and was basically healthy (had a slight flea allergy if the fleas weren't controlled) until 13.5 years. That's when she started showing signs of degenerative myelopathy (she's in the video Dr. Clemmens made showing the progression of the disease; she's the dog in the "Mild" section that's being moved on a sandy trail in the woods).  Her pedigree was heavy with Lance of Fran-Jo (she was sired by Anton's Lukenbach, out of Wynthea's Sky Lark).

My two current GSDs both hit the 14 year old mark this fall; one I've had since she was 9 weeks old:
http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/619035.html

Suess, my other girl, is a rescue I took in as a foster when she was about a year old. Nothing is known about her as far as bloodlines go; looking at her, she's pretty much typical back-yard bred American GSD type, yellowish tan with the stereotypical saddle and mask:
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff34/hexebh/Dogs/?action=view&current=94b1.jpg

Both can eat just about anything; both have been basically healthy so far. Hexe wasn't spayed until she was 8 years old, so she developed a mammary tumor in early 2008--not uncommon for intact females; she also experienced a spinal infarct in March of this year, so she's lost some steadiness in her rear and needs a boost to get on the bed now, but she still runs when she's outside, still goes up and down flights of stairs, still chases her ball, still jumps for her toys (even though I'd rather she didn't), and will still hit the sleeve full-mouth despite several molars having been removed because of abscessed slab fractures.  Suess's teeth are virtually non-existant, from 13+ years of carrying around large (5#) rocks for her amusement, and she's had a benign tumor alongside her anus for the past three or four years, but beyond that she's also still active, still plays rock-hockey with her rocks, chases the chickens whenever she gets the chance, and can still jump up on the bed on her own.

There's virtually no common bloodlines between these three dogs until you get way, way back to when the breed hadn't yet left Germany, most likely; yet all three hit the 14 mark with relatively little health issues in their lives.  All have been fed commercial dry food for as long as they were with me; all three were/are vaccinated annually for distemper, etc., and every 3 years for rabies.   All three were/are on heartworm preventative year 'round.

Sometimes, I think it just comes down to luck of the draw in the end.