Quote:
Originally Posted by Ladyhawk  It's not about size, it's about looking at one trait when breeding and not considering why that trait is there. When you hold back all the tiny males to breed because you want smaller pups you have to investigate why the dog is so small. One of the first indications of liver shunt is growth problems. A friend of mine who is a microbiologist is working with Dr. Center on LS and you'd be surprised what they are finding when they look at lines where people have been linebreeding with decreasing size in mind. |
My point is that liver shunts can occur in yorkies of
any size, and also in other breeds. My vet attended a conference on liver shunts. Yorkies are 1200 times more likely to be born with liver shunts. It is much more the case of the breed rather than the decreased size of the pups due to linebreeding. Of course, you point is well taken that linebreeding may increase the odds of liver shunts and in that case, breeding of that line should be discontinued.