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| NOVICES INTERVIEWING BREEDERS BY JILL SWEDLOW FIRST PUBLISED BY THE GREAT DANE REPORTER PRINTED HERE WITH PERMISSION FROM JILL SWEDLOW |
| MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BREEDERS AND THOSE WHO PURCHASE THEIR PUPPIES. HOWEVER, PRECIOUS LITTLE HAS APPEARED THAT ASSISTS THE PUPPY BUYER IN KNOWING WHEN HE'S FOUND THE RIGHT BREEDER. I'D HATE TO TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I'VE BEEN APPROACHED BY NEWCOMERS TO THE BREED WHO HAVE SAD STORIES TO TELL. PEOPLE WHO HAVE PURCHASED A PUPPY FROM BREEDERS WHOM THEY THOUGHT COULD BE TRUSTED AND ENDED UP WITH A PUPPY WITH SERIOUS HEALTH OR TEMPERAMENT PROBLEMS. NOW THESE THINGS CAN AND DO OCCURE IN THE BEST OF BREEDINGS. BUT THE MAIN COMPLAINT IS THE BREEDER WHO WAS SO HELPFUL BEFORE THEY PURCHASED THE PUPPY, HAS EITHER BECOME UNAVAILABLE OR IS BLAMING THE OWNER FOR THE PROBLEM NOW THAT THE CHECK HAS CLEARED! SO, FOR ALL OF THE NOVICE PEOPLE, HOPING TO BUY A HEALTHY PUPPY WITH A GREAT TEMPERAMENT FROM A BREEDER WHO WILL GUARANTEE THEIR PUPPY AND BE THERE AS A MENTOR, HERE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU MUST KNOW AND QUESTIONS YOU MUST ASK. FIRST OF ALL, JUST BECAUSE A BREEDER OWNS, BREEDS AND HEAVILY ADVERTISES WINNING DOGS, DON'T ASSUME THAT THESE ARE NECESSARILY GOOD DOGS. DON'T ASSUME THAT THESE PEOPLES DOGS MUST HAVE THE BEST QUALITY, HEALTH AND TEMPERAMENT. ON THE OTHER HAND, DON'T ASSUME THAT THEY DON'T EITHER. THE KEY WILL BE IN THE QUESTIONS YOU ASK AND THE OBSERVATIONS YOU MAKE. WHEN YOU FIRST MEET A BREEDER AS A PROSPECTIVE PUPPY BUYER, YOU SHOULD EXPECT THE BREEDER TO QUESTION YOU HEAVILY ABOUT SUCH MATTERS AS HOW YOU PLAN TO HOUSE THE PUPPY, IF YOU HAVE A FENCED YEARD, IF YOU CAN AFFORD BLOAT SURGERY ETCETERAS. IF HE DOESN'T, LOOK ELSEWHERE. BUT IN TURN, YOU ARE NOT OUT OF LINE TO QUESTION THE BREEDER. 1. THE FIRST THING I'D WANT TO KNOWABOUT IS WHAT, IF ANY, HEALTH SCREENING TESTS HAVE BEEN PERFORMED ON THE PARENTS OF THE LITTER. IF YOU ARE TOLD "OH, I DON'T NEED TO HEALTH CHECK, MY DOGS MY DOGS DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS", RUN, DON'T WALK TO THE NEAREST EXIT. I KNOW THIS SOUNDS LUDICROUS BUT TRUST ME WHEN I TELL YOU THAT THERE ARE STILL A LOT OF VERY WELL KNOWN BREEDERS OUT THERE WHO DON'T EVEN BOTHER TO DO A HIP X- RAY ON THEIR BREEDING STOCK BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEMS! THEY USE ALL KINDS OF EXCUSES SUCH AS "I'D KNOW BY THE MOVEMENT IF MY DOG HAD HIP DYSPLASIA". THIS IS SIMPLY NOT SO! I'VE KNOWN 3 DOGS PERSONALLY WHO ALL WERE WELL KNOWN FOR THEIR SUPERIOR MOVEMENT BUT COULD NOT PASS THEIR OFA EVALUATION. IF YOU DON'T X-RAY YOU DON'T KNOW, PERIOD! AND WHAT ABOUT THE FILMS THAT GET SENT TO OFA AND COME BACK DYSPLASTIC THE FIRST TIME AND NORMAL THE SECOND? WHAT ABOUT IT? IT HAPPENS. MISTAKES CAN BE MADE IN ALL PHASES OF ENDEAVOR. BUT HIP X-RAY IS STILL THE BEST DEFENSE WE HAVE AND WETHER OR NOT THE FILMS ARE ACTUALLY SENT TO OFA, THERE SHOULD AT LEAST BE A NOTE VERIFYING THE EVALUATION BY A BOARD CERTIFIED RADIOLOGIST. BY NOW YOU'VE PROBABLY FIGURED OUT THAT I CONSIDER HIP EVALUATION A MANDATORY TEST TO BE DONE PRIOR TO BREEDING. IF A BREEDER DOESN'T DO THIS GO FAR AWAY. THE OTHER TEST I FEEL IS MANDATORY IS THYROID TESTING. BESIDES CERTIFYING HIPS, OFA NOW CERTIFIES THYROID AND HAS PROTOCOL IN PLACE FOR DOING THIS PROCEDURE. AT THE VERY LEAST A SCREENING THYROID SHOULD BE DONE. THYROID IS A DIFFICULT FUNCTION TO TEST FOR AND RESULTS SHOULD BE SENT TO THE LABS THAT ARE PROPERLY SET UP FOR THIS. I BELIEVE THAT OFA HAS ONLY A COUPLE OF LABS FROM WHICH THEY WILL ACCEPT RESULTS. IT IS IMPORTANT TO TEST FOR THYROID FUNCTION BECAUSE NOT ONLY IS IT TOO OFTEN FOUND ABNORMAL IN GREAT DANES, THE HORMONES FROM THIS ORGAN CONTROL ALL OF THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM, THUS AFFECTING EVERYTHING FROM CONDITION TO REPRODUCTION TO AUTOIMMUNE PROBLEMS. AT A MINIMUM A BREEDER SHOULD TEST FOR NORMAL HIPS AND THYROID. BUT THERE ARE OTHER PROBLEMS THAT ARE BEGINNING TO AFFECT OUR BREED TOO. VON WILLIBRANDS DISEASE (vWD) IS A BLOOD DISORDER THAT GREATLY INCRESASES CLOTTING TIME. DOBERMAN PINCHERS HAVE A LOT OF IT. IT HAS ALSO BEEN DIAGNOSED IN GREAT DANES. IT'S A SIMPLE BLOOD TEST AND EASY TO SCREEN. MANY BREEDERS ARE ALSO TESTING FOR ELBOW DYSPLASIA, CARDIAC SOUNDNESS, AND JUVENILE CATARACTS. I PERSONALLY TEST FOR ALL EXCEPT FOR ELBOW DYSPLASIA (GUESS I NEED TO FIND OUT IF YOU CAN "SEE" IT IF THEY HAVE IT, HUH?) OCCASIONALLY A DANE WILL BE DIAGNOSED WITH JUVENILE CATRACTS. ALTHOUGH IN MANY BREEDS THIS IS A SEROIUSE HEALTH PROBLEM, OFTEN CAUSING BLINDNESS, THE QUESTION IN DANES REMAINS, "DO THEY LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO EVER BE BOTHERED BY IT EVEN IF THEY HAVE CATRACTS?" IN ANY CASE, BECAUSE IT DOES OCCURE IN DANES, THE ONLY WAY WE'LL CONTROL IT IS TO SCREEN FOR IT. FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED (TO BE TRITE). |
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