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Originally Posted by MyFairLacy  this thread really scares me and honestly frustrates me beyond belief. How can someone be educated to the fact that yorkies are 36 times more likely to have a liver shunt than all other breeds combined and that a BAT will alert to a possible shunt and then NOT TEST THEIR DOGS? I just do NOT understand why a breeder would choose NOT to test their dogs...the only reasons I can see are being uneducated about it, laziness, unwillingness to spend time or money, or just doesn't care what they produce. There is absolutely NO reason to not BAT every Yorkie before it is bred. No wonder liver shunt is so prevelent...you have uneducated or uncaring puppymills and BYBs that just crank puppies out without a though...AND you have educated "hobby" breeders that still refuse to test their dogs! Come on people....LS has GOT to be stopped...TEST YOUR DOGS! A dog that physically meets the standard and looks great does NOT automatically mean it is healthy. I don't care if the dog has 10 generations of champions in its pedigree...it still needs to be tested. I will not and hope others will stop buying from breeders that do not health screen their dogs...reputable breeders health screen for everything they can. They do their very best to make sure they don't produce any offspring with genetic defects. They know their lines, they know the dogs in the pedigrees, they know the health of the dogs in the pedigrees, AND they health screen their dogs. |
Ok! I am a breeder/exhibitor and I haven't done BAT's on my dogs because they were done before I brought them into my home and because of their age, if they had a single shunt it should have shown itself by now, MVD is different than a shunt. I know my dogs pedigrees and know that shunts are not prevalient in the lines I have. However, for my peace of mind I will be testing Radar and Cammie within the next few weeks. I will also be OFA'ing them this summer. I will also be testing puppies before leaving my home and spaying and neutering! I breed for the betterment of the breed and I breed actually for myself and not the buying public per se...if I have a pet quality puppy then I place them but I strive for show dogs for myself not pets.
I hope this helps the OP.
Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers