Hello,
Once again I accept everyones points of veiw. One more question. If I went along with the testing... as I do have a chance next year to go with a family friend, does it matter that she is unregistered? Is it the fect that she is unregistered why i shouldnt breed her?
Hi Kierstyn:
You have received a tremendous amount of information on why you should not breed your girl and I just wanted to clarify a few things as a Berner owner and one who works in Berner rescue, with fosters here right now.
It is not that your dog is unregistered that you should not breed her per se - but you also do not seem to understand the larger implication.
The reason for that age of two years old for testing is because the Orthopedic Foundation of America (
www.offa.org) will not "ceritify" hips, elbows, shoulders etc. before the age of two because the growth plates have not closed and the dog is still growing. Many orthopedic problems like hip and elbow dysplasia are not readily apparent before this time as a result. A good breeder would never breed a dog without orthopedic clearances and I hope that you will seek this certification through the OFA at a minimum. An even better orthopedic indicator is the PennHip which you can do earlier, but again you do not know what you have yet in a Berner under the age of 2 - she is still a baby!
How about the serious genetic incidence of malignant histiocytosis? What genetic research into your girl's pedigree (and the male you are using) have you done to try to manage this problem? I lost a Berner at 2 years and 9 months to this incidious disease and you won't be doing anything responsible if you ignore it and breed without regard.
How about Von Willebrands disease? Without testing both your girl and the male you use, you could be passing on this fatal disease that I wouldn't wish on anyone. If both dogs parents are clear, then they by definition can't carry it either, but if you don't know who the parents are or better - they came from an unethical breeder, mill or poor eastern european county, then you have to test your girl and male to know.
I could go on with the health issues in this breed including CERF clearances for the eyes (entropian, ectropian and PRA are all in the breed), heart certification and more.....
But the most important factors here are beyond these: If you have an unregistered girl from unregistered parents it clearly says where these dogs have come from and the level of education from the people behind those dogs. And the lack of proper health screening over generations is doing nothing to help this breed. The reason so many are asking you not to breed is because you may have a girl who may be a very poor candidate for breeding, and a poor representation of the breed. Just because she is a Berner, does not mean she has the proper structure, size, and health that will contribute something to this breed since you are adding to the population. Every time I have encountered someone like you who just wants to breed their Berner that they got ahold of without any testing, genetic research, and proper showing to know whether their dog should even be bred - I have then seen the Berner and they are horrible examples of the breed. Poor structure or type does matter since it affects orthopedics and the way the dogs functions/moves.
Going back quickly to the orthopedic testing - simply testing your girl and the male honestly isn't enough. Go to the OFA website I provided and look at how dysplasia is passed to offspring. Good breeders study pedigrees and seek a mate that best compliments the weaknesses in their dog - it requires that they know what those weaknesses are and find a mate that will offset those. Great breeders also know that two "clear" dogs can still produce orthopedic nightmares because one must also study the orthopedic clearances of all the siblings of your girl and the male you select...as well as the orthopedics for their parents and grandparents. If her parents and grandparents don't have orthopedic clearances, then they were bred irresponsibly and your girl should not be bred.
One last example for you: I have been working for the past two weeks with two families who each purchased a Berner from the same litter, same breeder. This breeder bred a male who was only one years old, no clearances. She doesn't know yet what she has in that male and did it anyway. This is a young male who came from a good breeder, with orthopedic clearances behind his pedigree, but he didn't have them himself. His pedigree is well known 8 generations behind him. And yet, he produced a mess - seizures, encephalitis, severe hip dysplasia, OCD in the shoulder, a broken bone in one puppy, and disformed elbows in another.
The bottom line is breeding should never be undertaken without regard for what you are producing - the soundness and genetic health of those puppies and the fact that you are responsible for them for life - if their owner cant take care of them, are you prepared to take them all back? If you bring them into the world, you are responsible for their lifetime.
Unless you aren't breeding for the betterment of the breed....
