
Originally Posted by
Kate H
I wonder whether the use of these tests will go up or down? Or am I just very cynical?! Still, a good step in the right direction.
Kate, Oliver and Aled
I think we all have good reason to be cynical about breeders commitment to testing, there are those that do not test whatever the health check is for.
If test results are not published it allows breeders to pretend they are checking health issues. This is a cheap, once in a lifetime test. We will eventually see if the declared enthusiasm for this DNA test translates into real results on the KC website.
Cavalier club breeders get very angry when I say some of them are no better than puppy farmers in the way they ignore health issues, but consider this:
The official eye testing schemes have been in place for many years, but very many of the top breeders do not eye test their cavaliers, especially not their breeding bitches.
Someone I know admired an 8 month old puppy in a vet's waiting room last week. She was told that the little dog had puppy cataract. He would need an operation in one eye and the other eye would probably need operating on later. She was told who had bred 'Captain' and how the breeders were "gutted"
This litter is registered in the Breed Record Supplement. The two parents have no eye tests shown on the Kennel Club website. None of the bitches in the parent's health pedigrees had eye results recorded. This was the Dam's third litter and she is owned by a regional club chairman.
We thought we had eradicated hereditary cataract decades ago, but it is showing up again in top lines.
Buyers need to beware.
Margaret C
Cavaliers......Faith, The Ginger Tank and Woody.
Japanese Chins.... Dandy, Benny, Bridgette and Hana.
Remembered with love......... Tommy Tuppence and Fonzi
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