Breeder who MRIs in N.Ireland/Ireland?

[nicola]

Hi all. I have a friend who is currently looking into getting a cav pup. I have advised her re SM and MVD testing and she has been reading up extensively on these health issues. Can anyone advise through PM of any breeders in N.Ireland or Ireland that MRI for SM? My friend has spoken to a few breeders who do all the other tests ie.cardiologist tested for MVD and who show their dogs (one breeder who is very well known and who even judges internationally) but they apparently do not MRI for SM at this point. Can anyone even tell me if there are any breeders in Ireland who MRI for SM or should my friend start thinking about going across the water to England to find a breeder who screens via MRI for SM?

[Soushiruiuma]

I'm in the US, but one place to start would be http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/start.html

If you look under the MRI list it gives the dog name, owner, affix, etc. So you can find breeders that way. Just FYI, this tells you that the dog was scanned, it doesn't say what the results were, your friend will still need to ask the breeder for those.

[nicola]

Thankyou for your help. I have already looked at that link and there don't appear to be any on the list that are from N.Ireland or Ireland. Surely there must be at least ONE breeder over here who scans for SM!!

[Nicki]

Yes there is, there is one breeder who has MRI'd ALL her breeding dogs, the only one in Ireland I believe so far...will PM you.

[theresa d]

I also mailed u lastnight,but mustn't have went through?? did you get sorted? must be same breeder that i had in mind.

[nicola]

Thankyou both!! I will pass this on to my friend. At least there's one in Ireland that scans but imagine how many possibly SM affected pups the rest of Ireland/N.Ireland's breeders are producing!! Very scary!!

[Karlin]

Yes, as Nicki noted there is one breeder, and she follows the recommended breeding guidelines as well. And she has a large number of A-scanned dogs she is working with. All cardiologist checked as well.

[nicola]

Thanks Karlin. Really great to know she has a large number of A graded dogs!! I wonder what her waiting list is like? Will pass on all info, thanking you all!

[Karlin]

Not sure. She no longer shows, she is focused on health focused breeding for the breed's sake and to produce the healthiest puppies she can for puppy buyers. She does work with several show breeders.

Given the number of good scans she has had makes me wonder if the time has not come to be looking at good-scanning dogs beyond the show scene to bring in fresh blood and good scans to the cavalier genepool. as many owned by breeders producing for the pet market or very small scale showing often have far more diverse pedigrees -- as I see all the time from IKC registered dogs I get in rescue. You are not seeing lots of line breeding nor have many of these dogs been bred to the popular sires in the UK. Of course this doesn't automatically translate to a positive health wise -- you need to be testing and know whether these lines are producing problem dogs. However, this breeder has more A scans than anyone else I have heard of which makes me think there's a lot of very genetically valuable dogs out there outside the main show breeder scene, if more could be scanned and located (important for research too and the EBVs). At the same time it is critical to note that almost all breeders focused only on a pet market do little to no health testing at all and what they do is often meaningless -- they rely on people's trusting nature to not understand this. I would no longer say to ONLY go to show breeders now, but I would say to ONLY use breeders MRIing and cardiologist testing and make sure you understand what these tests are looking for, what results mean etc. I only know this woman and have heard of oneor two other non-show breeders doing any MRIing so it isn't common; 99% of people worldwide will want to be looking for show breeders who also test and breed for health.

I have been impressed by this breeder who has travelled at considerable personal expense several times now to get scans, from a neurologist in the grading scheme. There are some good people out there both in and outside the show scene.

[nicola]

Well being the only breeder in Ireland who MRIs I would expect that as word continues to spread about SM, her puppies should become more in demand! Her prices are really really competetive too considering all her costs for scanning etc!! I know where I'll be going when it comes time to add another cav to our family. Hope my friend ends up with one from her, I will keep you all informed.