This really tops it all for the ridiculous stuff that appears on the DogWorld website sometimes.
Craigowl breeder Norma Inglis in the UK, who one would have hoped would be setting an example for other breeders as breed notes writer and a longtime cavalier breeder, has cheerfully announced that she refuses to MRI scan her dogs! As if this is a credit to... well, you fill in the blank.
This despite the fact that she has publicly made a big deal of "supporting" researcher Sarah Blott -- who SPECIFICALLY has requested that breeders MRI scan and pass the results along to her as this is ESSENTIAL for accurate Estimated Breeding Values to be produced for the use of the breeders!
You would think a breeder -- especially a longtime breeder whose lines have merged with many others and form the basis for others -- would at least consider MRI scanning some dogs an important step towards greater knowledge about one's own influential lines, given that so many responsible breeders will have at least some concern as to how prevalent the disease might be in one's lines.
But in the bigger picture -- eg the future survival and health of the breed overall -- it is just so sad -- no, sorry, pathetic -- that breeders of high profile will not lead by example rather than writing silly pieces like this and only offering limp lip service to what researchers like Sarah are doing. How many breeders -- who in the UK can avail of club-supported, extremely low cost £100 scans?! -- will not bother to do their own while demanding access to EBVs based entirely on scans done by other breeders and pet owners?
It is worth pointing out that a whopping 80% of the DNA and MRI information being used in the CKCS genome scan project in Montreal, which will become the basis of Sarah Blott's gEBVs that will benefit cavalier breeders internationally -- came from (and was entirely paid out of their own pocket) DUTCH CKCS BREEDERS and international BRUSSELS GRIFFON BREEDERS.
Norma Inglis's column:
http://www.dogworld.co.uk/Breeds/BreedNotes/1-CAV-(1).aspx
Margaret Carter has made this excellent reply:
Craigowl breeder Norma Inglis in the UK, who one would have hoped would be setting an example for other breeders as breed notes writer and a longtime cavalier breeder, has cheerfully announced that she refuses to MRI scan her dogs! As if this is a credit to... well, you fill in the blank.
This despite the fact that she has publicly made a big deal of "supporting" researcher Sarah Blott -- who SPECIFICALLY has requested that breeders MRI scan and pass the results along to her as this is ESSENTIAL for accurate Estimated Breeding Values to be produced for the use of the breeders!
You would think a breeder -- especially a longtime breeder whose lines have merged with many others and form the basis for others -- would at least consider MRI scanning some dogs an important step towards greater knowledge about one's own influential lines, given that so many responsible breeders will have at least some concern as to how prevalent the disease might be in one's lines.
But in the bigger picture -- eg the future survival and health of the breed overall -- it is just so sad -- no, sorry, pathetic -- that breeders of high profile will not lead by example rather than writing silly pieces like this and only offering limp lip service to what researchers like Sarah are doing. How many breeders -- who in the UK can avail of club-supported, extremely low cost £100 scans?! -- will not bother to do their own while demanding access to EBVs based entirely on scans done by other breeders and pet owners?
It is worth pointing out that a whopping 80% of the DNA and MRI information being used in the CKCS genome scan project in Montreal, which will become the basis of Sarah Blott's gEBVs that will benefit cavalier breeders internationally -- came from (and was entirely paid out of their own pocket) DUTCH CKCS BREEDERS and international BRUSSELS GRIFFON BREEDERS.
Norma Inglis's column:
http://www.dogworld.co.uk/Breeds/BreedNotes/1-CAV-(1).aspx
Margaret Carter has made this excellent reply:
Norma, Thank you again for keeping the SM debate going. Do you not feel that leading breeders should support Sarah Blott's research, as requested by all the UK Cavalier Clubs?. She specifically asks for scan information. Even if you really believe that MRI tests are less conclusive than heart tests, then surely £100 per dog is not a lot to help with such much needed research, and it would also enable you to identify any early onset SM dogs in your kennel. You and I both know what it is to breed & sell a cavalier that develops SM to a pet owner that will, and often does, pay a small fortune to buy pain killing drugs for their beloved pet. Surely we must all want to bring an end to this heartbreak?