How Far Back Are Your Certs?

[TrishB]

In breeding programs:

How many generations back are your health certifications?

- Hips
- Elbows
- Eyes
- Heart

Any others?

I think people need to hear that just because your single dog passes these tests, it doesn't make them 'safe'. Dogs with passing hips may have come from long lines of failing dogs. While the dog itself passes, the genetics carry failing genes.

How many passes, how many generations back, before you'll consider them in your program? Would you take a dog that has no testing behind it, only its own certifications? Why / Why not?

Additionally, how would you rate a dog with a failure (slight) of any of the above tests, with 3 or 4 generations behind it of passes? Rate that dog against the passing dog, without any previous generations being tested at all.

[frontierrots]

my dogs have many generations of passing hips but only a couple of hearts and a few dogs with eyes and elbows simply because until quite recently almost no one did eyes, hearts or elbows

[rottcrazed]

My girl's history is the same as Diane mentioned. Jewel's breeders tested hips and eyes regularly and some of the dogs they bred to were heart cleared but full health testing is a recent development for many breeders. I will now always make it a practice myself and any dogs I breed to in the future to make sure that that particular dog is not the only one completely cleared.

Kristi

[TrishB]

That's just it - being so new (or newly enforced for many) - what is considered acceptable?

3 - 4 generations of hips?
1 - 2 generations of elbows?
1 - 2 generations of eyes?
1 - 2 generations of hearts?

And what's the impact? i.e. You have 2 generations of passing eyes and then a failure - what does that mean?

[rottcrazed]

The thing of it all is; you can have 7 generations of passing hips/eyes, whatever, and then have a failure. Do you stop breeding that particular line because of that? Sometimes you have bad combinations of lines that produce many health issues, ALL lines have something that will go wrong now and again.

I think we have to be diligent and honest. When we have an issue, STATE IS AS FACT and don't let the rumor mills turn. Post all results on OFA.

Because this is so new to many of us, if we only accept let's say 4 generations of fully health cleared dogs, that eliminates MANY MANY breeding prospects who are fully health cleared and great specimens of the breed.

All breeders need to just adopt a policy now to fully health clear their dogs and the dogs they produce that are not bred; breed to fully health cleared dogs whose siblings are also passing the testing. What more can we do?

Kristi

[TrishB]

Agreed!

Hopefully people will realise that there's more than just your dog passing, but their parents and their parents and so on. One pass does not make a guarantee. Heck 3 generations of passes don't make a guarantee (this isn't an exact science). But it does increase your chances at a healthier litter.

The best we can do is test often, test honestly and to post those results.