breeders - Page 6

I read the article and not a lot of it is based in fact. Maybe nut was not the proper adjective.

Bloat could be linked to any number of things or to a combination; food could be one of them. I'm am skeptical of any company that wants to cure my ills. They don't want to do it out of the goodness of their heart.

I guess for me what makes sense about the possibilty of grain based food anyway is... the dogs digestive track is short. It is designed to hold food a long time in the stomach acids then a shorter time in a short intestine for getting rid of it. Grain ferments and yeasts also feed more on grains. Fermentation = gas.

I do know what you mean about companies trying to sell their product....

When you are trying to sell to the public you can say anything you want until you're caught. Many companies make unsubstantiated claims just to sell their product.

Yes I do know... I have been trying tons of products, touting to help arthritis, for my girls bad elbow. So far nothing is working like I would like to see or claims made. I guess some things might just not work the same for all dogs too, the sites had alot of testimonials...

Okay, I have a question about the megasophegus (sp???) thing and dogs.  NOT TAKING ANY POSITION ABOUT ANY OF THE THREAD=just want to put that out there. :)

Many years ago I had a three yr old horse who kept getting "chokes". It's where the food has a sort of slow building blockage in the trachea until it is basically diverting food/water into the lungs. This isn't terribly uncommon in much older horses but not usually seen in young ones. Long story short it kept happening more and more frequently and my vet ended up conferring with Tufts University Equine Research and it turned out to be megasophegus. It is almost unheard of in horses. She did have a physical fault that obviously had grown more pronounced as she matured. It was a sack like area in her trachea that hay and grass kind of rolled up in and made a bigger and bigger ball. Tufts said it was probably a deal where it kept stretching that "bag" every time it turned into a serious choke.  But, her stud was in the local area and was fairly well used because of his lines.  I know of three other of his offspring that had the same symptoms but the diagnosis wasn't made at the time.  Of course, I didn't find this out until I had to put my girl down and info started to drift back about others. And I have only suspicion it may be the same as my mare.

So, my question is this: Could there be a physical flaw in the digestive track that may cause bloat? I'm just wondering. I haven't had time to read the links provided so if this is redundant to that information, I apologize.

Dawg

Trailrider-have you ever tried Arnica for the elbow? There is a cream and also a tablet. I've seen horses have some relief with it at times. I can give you a link if you're interested.

IMO yes, torsion could be the result of a physical flaw in the digestive system.  The jury is still out on all of this and researchers are looking at this possibility alone/in addition to/in combination with food, exercise. body shape, temperament, environment, genetic predisposition and a ton of other factors. So far the only thing that seems certain is that the older the dog, the higher risk for torsion. I think the best scenario would be that they did isolate a gene or a combination of genes that would prove to be responsible for this condition.

blitzen,  i was just talking to daphne and we were trying to figure out who you were.....

Tell her I am Paige's friend with Malamutes and a GSD.

ok.....thx

Wow,  It took a while to read all of this  :-)

Ok,  I'll start with Spook,  No I did not say eliminating bloat,  that would be you who added that.  Yes I do beleive there is an inherant risk of bloat passed through genetics.  It's my beleif,  I'm allowed.  and if I choose to err on the side of caution I will do so to your liking or not.  Same as breeding only Good or Excellent Hips,  I won't breed a Fair or lower,  though some do and with excellent results I've seen it,  You have seen it,  Does not mean that I have to do it again to err on the side of caution is hardly something to smack me for.

As far as our dogs Titled and Certified,  ummmm  Did you notice they're ages ???  None of them are yet old enough,  That is all coming up in the next few months,  I do beleive if you had read the entire body of my comment you  would have caught that.  :-)

Perfect...  Hardly and I certainly wish,  But don't think that will ever happen not in any breeding program,  There is always room for impovement, even if it's just with guarantees, or breeder support.... when there is not (in someones mind) that's when we are all in trouble.   As I said in my earlier post as well,  We are awaiting results and will adjust our program accordingly if the need arises,  "But so far so good."  That's all I said.  sorry if my post was abraisive to you,  It was not intended as such.

To anyone else here who found what I had posted inappropriate or Misleading,  That was not the intent,  The intent was just to say what our ideas are and what we were doing with those ideas...  Just to share in regard to the question that was presented...   :-)

As I said before,  for a single breeder to lay claim to the "impovement of the breed"  is a pretty tall order,  I think collectively we all make our own little contributions,  and I certainly don't count out Breed Ambasordorship,  from the dogs or the breeders...  and both could use some work,  especially the later,  I get several calls about dogs per week,  and the most common comment I receive is in regard to the German Shepherd Breeder community being a bit...hasty, short, quick tempered, guarded, and even reclusive,  Those are just some of the words that have been used to describe as a whole "the German Shepherd Breeders" that these people has spoken with or emailed with.  I find that terribly concerning quite frankly,  I think as breeders we need to take the time needed by these individuals to complete they're research.  At least give them the information they need to make an educated decision,  Some of them may decide a GSD is too time consuming for them, while others might figure that they're hunch was correct and a GSD is the "perfect" match for they're lifestyle.  But without giving them the information how are they to know ?    It's hard as a breeder to know what exactly is right and what exactly is wrong,  But certainly I think most would agree that when it comes to researching potential purchasers it is our responsibility to be as honest with them as we can be so that they do not get that "bad taste in they're mouth" regarding this magnificent breed of dog.   We don't need to become the "pit bull" of breeders so to speak.   Anyway again this is no way directed at any individual or collection of peoples on this board,   and is only a collection of my thoughts shared with the rest of you.  If some good comes of it well then great,  If not then I appologize ahead of time to anyone who would take offense.