Caveat: None of the following applies to puppy mills or pet stores. The people who produce and sell those puppies are not breeders -- they are businessmen -- and are interested in the bottom line, not in the dogs.
They are fodder for a different rant.
Call me Pollyanna, but I really don't know a breeder who wakes up in the morning, puts on a black hat and thinks, “What horrible thing can I do to inflict evil on the dog world today?” Every breeder I know puts an astounding amount of effort into evaluating their own dogs, and potential stud dogs, in order to make good puppies. And what makes good puppies? Why, the parents, of course! Or not...
Hip clearances, elbow clearances, heart clearances and eye clearances are standard fare, and many breeders test for thyroid, Von Willebrand's and/or allergy issues as well. Sometimes a dog won't get a clearance, yet the breeder decides to take a chance on breeding the dog anyway, believing that the problem was either caused by an injury or is so minimal compared to the strengths the dog has to offer that the risk is worth it.
Every breeder has their own comfort level in making these decisions, and I am a firm believer that each breeder has a right to make these decisions. Now before someone goes off half-cocked and decides that I have just endorsed breeding without clearances, let me emphatically state that I believe that clearances do in fact help create healthier dogs and that I have my dogs tested for all of the basics and then some. Nevertheless, I also believe strongly that we do not breed pieces of paper. We breed dogs. And although those pieces of paper (aka health clearances) provide very important information to the breeder, they do not tell you everything you need to know. Until there is a genetic test which can tell you whether or not your dog will actually pass down a bad gene, it is all a matter of guesswork.
I have been extremely fortunate in terms of the puppies I've produced with health issues, but there have been a few. Each one of these instances was incredibly sad to me, because my fulfillment in breeding dogs comes from producing healthy, sound, long-lived companions. Breeding a dog that has a health issue is as far from my goal as it can possibly be. I feel guilt and sorrow when something like that happens, and I never quite shake it.
In each one of these cases, the parents of the puppy that developed the problem had been thoroughly tested and had the appropriate clearance. Also, none of the puppies were really closely related (i.e., the two dogs with elbow dysplasia were from different litters, and each had 7 or 8 siblings that never developed a problem).
Clearly, health clearances of the parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents do not guarantee that the puppies will not develop problems. I do think that is much less likely to see problems sprout up, but it is not a guarantee. If it was, we would have eradicated these health issues a long long long time ago. I could attempt to go into a discussion of why you really cannot predict all the genetic ramifications of breeding two dogs, but there are others much more qualified to attempt that.* Suffice it to say that just as you can have two healthy human parents produce an infant with childhood leukemia, so two healthy canine parents can produce puppies that have issues.
Sometimes bad things happen to good breeders in spite of the painstaking steps we take to produce great puppies. It's just a fact of life. What you need is a breeder who, when bad things happen, does something that indicates she cares and wants to do what's best for the dog. In my case, I have offered to replace puppies (and by replace, I mean "give a second puppy" not "give me your dog back and I'll give you a replacement) and/or help with medical expenses. It's the best I can do, even though it doesn't feel adequate.
By the way, this same thing holds true for mutts as well as for purebreds, so don't think you can escape problems by avoiding a well-bred, beautiful dog in favor of a dog with dubious origins. Genetics is genetics. Just because you don't know anything about the parents doesn't mean they didn't have the bad genes.
It's also important to note that genetics do not always dictate whether or not a puppy will develop a health issue. A baby that is fed too much and becomes obese, or jumps off decks, or is jogged on concrete, or plays flyball can develop injury-related joint issues even if he was not genetically wired for it. Don't ever assume that health clearances mean you don't have to take proper care of your puppy. Environment is every bit as important to the soundness of the dog, in my opinion.
My puppy contract "guarantees" against certain issues developing in a puppy...but that wording is really not correct. I cannot guarantee anything...I can't even guarantee that I'll wake up tomorrow morning! I can stand behind my puppies; I can be as honest as possible in describing any issues that might exist in a breeding; I can do my due diligence in investigating the parents, their siblings, their grandparents and beyond. I can wish and hope and pray (which I do) that my puppies will be healthy and perfect and live forever. Cross my heart and cross my eyes.
Truth is, though, I can't guarantee anything. Boy, I wish I could. The saying goes, "If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster." That sentiment really does sum it up.
Deborah Blair-Muzzin
ABELARD
* If you are interested in reading up on canine genetics, I highly recommend a book by Dr. George A. Padgett, DVM, entitled Control of Canine Genetic Diseases. For more books cruise around on the www.workingdogs.com web site.