DM Testresults

Rona · 28-12-2010, 14:56

I've been thinking about the DM tests and Dwarf tests, etc. and have some reflections. Mainly some of our "moralists" question the ethical condition of breeders who have yet not tested their dogs.... They are right: responsible breeders and rep owners should test their dogs against all possible diseases and health hazards. But there is one catch - money!
Each of these tests isn't extremely expensive (maybe excpet Dwarf), but adding up costs of several tests and multiplying it by the number of owned dogs makes quite a lump sum.

Paradoxically, the so-called "ethical breeders", who invest in good dog food, suitable conditions, medical care, dog shows, training, socialising etc. of their dogs are in a worse position, because making all the tests would mean less means for other 'dog expenses', not to mention family needs, kids education, holidays etc. It's obvious that hardly anyone has unlimited financial resources...
One of the solution could be to include the test costs in puppy prices. However, in the light of many litters available and the fact that good breeders do not sell CSV to anybody but try to select suitable homes (not necessarily the richest ones - see the discussion about puppy prices!), makes this solution not very practical.

So we have on the one hand puppy mills where the owners could probably afford doing the tests, but don't care very much about their dogs/pups health, and on the other - devoted breeders who sometimes would want to test their dogs, but jus can't afford and plan to do the tests gradually...

One may say: if somebody does not have money for testing his/her dogs he shouldn't breed at all. True. But if people stop breeding, many of them would have even less means for testing the dogs. It looks like a vicious circle. The tests have been available for very short time; as Mijke wrote in another thread - any change needs time, education, discussion of side effects, etc.

So maybe instead of blaming people for not testing their dogs, spreading rumours about the results, publishing results of other people's dogs, asking questions: "have you tested your dogs yet?", making owners/breeders feel guilty, etc. etc. we could just assume common goodwill. Lets take that caring, ethical breeders have tested their dogs, intend to test their dogs and will test their dogs at the earliest time feasible for them. I'm sure people will not object to publishing the test results if nobody will use them against them, their animals and their kennels.

By attacking others (even indirectly and with best intentions) nothing is achieved! People will only close themselves and hide the results, which is just the opposite from what is best for the breed.

And one more argument - there is a proverb "who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones". CSV teach humility and while looking at our dwarf free, DM clean, HD A and ED 0 dog we should remember we still don't know what else he might carry inside him

28-12-2010, 14:56	#11
Rona Distinguished Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Kraków Posts: 3,509	I've been thinking about the DM tests and Dwarf tests, etc. and have some reflections. Mainly some of our "moralists" question the ethical condition of breeders who have yet not tested their dogs.... They are right: responsible breeders and rep owners should test their dogs against all possible diseases and health hazards. But there is one catch - money! Each of these tests isn't extremely expensive (maybe excpet Dwarf), but adding up costs of several tests and multiplying it by the number of owned dogs makes quite a lump sum. Paradoxically, the so-called "ethical breeders", who invest in good dog food, suitable conditions, medical care, dog shows, training, socialising etc. of their dogs are in a worse position, because making all the tests would mean less means for other 'dog expenses', not to mention family needs, kids education, holidays etc. It's obvious that hardly anyone has unlimited financial resources... One of the solution could be to include the test costs in puppy prices. However, in the light of many litters available and the fact that good breeders do not sell CSV to anybody but try to select suitable homes (not necessarily the richest ones - see the discussion about puppy prices!), makes this solution not very practical. So we have on the one hand puppy mills where the owners could probably afford doing the tests, but don't care very much about their dogs/pups health, and on the other - devoted breeders who sometimes would want to test their dogs, but jus can't afford and plan to do the tests gradually... One may say: if somebody does not have money for testing his/her dogs he shouldn't breed at all. True. But if people stop breeding, many of them would have even less means for testing the dogs. It looks like a vicious circle. The tests have been available for very short time; as Mijke wrote in another thread - any change needs time, education, discussion of side effects, etc. So maybe instead of blaming people for not testing their dogs, spreading rumours about the results, publishing results of other people's dogs, asking questions: "have you tested your dogs yet?", making owners/breeders feel guilty, etc. etc. we could just assume common goodwill. Lets take that caring, ethical breeders have tested their dogs, intend to test their dogs and will test their dogs at the earliest time feasible for them. I'm sure people will not object to publishing the test results if nobody will use them against them, their animals and their kennels. By attacking others (even indirectly and with best intentions) nothing is achieved! People will only close themselves and hide the results, which is just the opposite from what is best for the breed. And one more argument - there is a proverb "who lives in a glass house shouldn't throw stones". CSV teach humility and while looking at our dwarf free, DM clean, HD A and ED 0 dog we should remember we still don't know what else he might carry inside him __________________ Last edited by Rona; 28-12-2010 at 15:01.