[Woogie Man]

The Scottish Terrier Club of America in 2001 reported a carrier frequency rate for liver shunt at 4.7% based on its own health survey and termed the condition rare. A study on Irish Wolfhounds in the Netherlands identified several important carrier lines and was able to substantially reduce the incidence of liver shunt. Much of the other data I've read points to prolific studs and bitches that are carriers being major contributors to the rise in cases. My opinion at this point is that the problem lies mostly in show dog lines and is a lesser problem in the breed at large. These lines must be identified in the Yorkshire Terrier in order to get a handle on the problem. To place the blame on casual breeders is really 'passing the buck' as they are unlikely to have dogs from show lines though surely there are carriers among some of the dogs they breed, but these dogs would not be so prolific as their more esteemed counterparts. In the meantime, testing all breeding dogs and dogs showing clinical signs seems to be the reasonable way to proceed.