Working line German shepherds Working Dogs

And yet your breeder knows and ignores.

I think the point is fairly obvious , if you health test a dog for genetic ailments , and depending on the results, it will / should influence whether said dog is used in a breeding programme.

If one tests for a,b,c and said dogs are free from a,b,c then I think you can safely say you are breeding health into your dogs.


I think that's why we have such tests available , so we can try to eradicate genetic problems from our dogs.

I think breeding healthy dogs is and should be at the forefront of anyone who breeds, and with all that is available today to aid one in doing so , there is no excuse not to do so.

Your constantly singing the praise of your breeder, on how good and experienced they are, yet with your help on providing their website, it shows their lack of regard for any health testing.

The old excuse is used once again".........we don't need to do any testing, because we know we are ok

Removing health test results for a moment, if the male in question was white, liver or blue, would he still be bred from?
Would people be defending them here if they did?

Interesting point - special drive replaced by special colour?

Special can mean many different things to many different people!

That wasn't quite what I meant.

If the argument is one of preserving diversity, then surely breeding with non deliterious colours, even if not standard would be supported? After all, that's wasting genetic material to exclude them.

Ah I see!

What I don't get is the argument that breeding from an unqualified working dog with a poor hip score is ok as it helps the gene pool! Since when were GSDs so numerically small that breeding from such a dog was warranted?

Had the dog passed all the other relevant tests for the breed and had a working qualification then I would agree it would be foolish to "throw the baby out with the bath water", but breeding a dog with a poor hip score just because it is believed to be special simply isn't enough, truly good breeders would only ever settle for proven excellence in these circumstances imo.

Whilst it is important to note, breed popularity and a healthy level off diversity don't necessarily go hand in hand, I do take your point. I don't think it would be impossible to find a gsd with a sound temperament, the desired level of drive, tested to prove it and with acceptable health test results.

Exactly!

........

There are plenty about!

In fact I own one!

Is your dog at stud?

He is only available to suitable bitches who have not only had the relevant health tests but who achieve a the required score ie 0 elbows, hip score in single figures, clear eye test.

They must also be of the correct temperament and meet the breed standard.

So far I have only been asked 4 times and I have refused each request for various reasons.

As the Nyrvana breeder is not a member of Dogsey and is therefore not able to answer your queries for herself, I won't be responding to any more queries about that particular dog or mating.

Thats fine, I can alter the question.

So, if people support breeding with dogs with above average hip scores as an example, in order to preserve diversity, would those same people support the use of non standard, non deliterious coloured dogs for the same reason?

Yes of course
I also always ask why if the colours are naturally occuring in the breed then why are they not included in the standard - if there is no health issues with the colour then I see nothing wrong with it in any way

2kg!!!! Wow! That's lot of grub

My 45kilo male eats 1/2 a kilo of meat a day

I know, he only does 5 miles to the gallon, fortunately my other dog is what we used to call in the horse world a "good doer".

wow
My 10Kg dogs eat around 1/4 Kg meat a day each

Heck - any more and my lad becomes a fat lump

Yeah they all really seem to take different amounts - and nothing to do with energy either cos Mia is far more active than Ben but more likely to put on weight

I guess its just a girl thing

We're in agreement there.

I would agree with this.