Yippee! Health testing

I've got a longer blog post coming up, but had to post a quick happy post

In the last two months, I've received two DM clear results

FC Silkenswift Rider of the Storm SC, FCh, ORC, GRC "Grins"
Mielikki-Mandolin's WikiWiki Makani "Kani"

With Grins results, that means the NCIS litter is all clear of DM by parentage(Since mama Dei is the same!)

Kani I was worried about, as her two brothers are carriers, but now I know at the worst her pups are carriers.

Kani also is thyroid normal, got that paperwork yesterday! Need to get her OFA Heart paperwork in, and look for cerf clinics, her new mama is willing to take her to one for me! (I didn't turn in her paperwork last time!)

Feel like I need to go buy a lottery ticket since my luck seems to be on the good side right now LOL

the golden years . . .

For all that they do for us, there's only one way dogs really fail us.

They don't live anywhere near long enough

No,I haven't lost anyone lately. .. but my little girl Dei is starting to show she's no longer a spry young dog, but a 10+ yr old veteran.

She's been having off and on neck problems and when it didn't go away with house rest and some anti inflammatories, I took her in a few Fridays back. . the good news is her heart and lungs sound good, she's in great shape(we'll know more about her kidneys and liver tomorrow when she goes in for a dental and spay), but my sweet silly girl has developed arthritis and will probably have to be on some sort of medicine for the rest of her life to be able to live a normal life, may that be a few more years.

Unfortunately it's bad enough she can no longer go on our long walks, as I found out that even 2 miles is too much and she comes up lame :( hard to leave her sweet face behind. Maybe after a few more weeks of rest and previcox she can start working up to it, but i'm not holding my breath. . will just have to make sure she goes on trips to pet stores or something.

It's amazing how much of a difference that one little pill makes for her. The vet put her on it for a week to see if that's all she needed, we ran out on Saturday, and she was in so much pain Sunday, but within an hour of getting the new RX and giving her her dosage, she was feeling better, and today back to normal. . Now it's a matter of keeping her from doing stupid things like running with the younger dogs and jumping off and on dog houses. She's very very happy as being a house dog. Bonnie's enjoying her: she reminds her a lot of daddy Blaze, even down to the clueless look she sometimes gives you when she decides she doesn't understand what you want. She will miss being able to agility things, that's her joy, leaping on, off, and over things, but want her with me for a few more years at least.

OTOH, she's much more spry and able bodied than her mother was at this age, so let's look at the bright side, shall we? As she looks right now, she should be with me a few years more.

Just sad to realise out of my 4 dogs over the age of 2, three are veterans, (8.5, 10+, 12+) with the fourth going to join the rank of 'veterans' this fall. . .why is that sad? I guess I shouldn't find it sad, when I've had people tell me their borzoi rarely live to see the age of 8, but it means that there are that fewer years left to enjoy them.

Goods news is, Dei's DM test came back and she's clear!! YIPPEE!! Means her pups at the most will be carriers, waiting for Grins' test, should have the results in this week, Kani's was sent to her new mom for her to be done, so last to be done is Sage, hopefully!!

Thanks to everyone who joined in via email or facebook about my last post. . I am going to redo my screening process to ask if prospective puppy buyers have talked with any breeders recently or if they are on any waiting lsits. People can still lie, but maybe misunderstandings with other breeders can be avoided.

Happy Holidays

Well, I got a semi decent xmas: Didn't get what i want, but you can't get them back once they're gone. . .but it was semi decent

Secret's DM:
1st. The Wait is OVER!!!

I hate waiting

I am not the most patient being

So, when I sent in Secret's OFA DM test 12/3, the next three weeks were hell on my nerves

Why?

Because the results of this test could so affect the choice of stud dog, my first choice may or may not be a carrier since his grandfather sired a number of carriers, so it was really important to me to get these results.

She's not due in til March/April, but I wanted to do the test ASAP. .not sure when the stud dog owner'll do him. . but now I know it doesn't matter for breeding purposes who I will breed her to. . as she's clear :) So as I said in my previous post, even if he's a carrier or hell, an affected, I will use him.

Now to work on the older dogs. Not that I'm going to breed any of them except maybe Grins again, but the more dogs we have tested, the better idea we have of the gene pool. . and well, Grins' mirror cousin is an "at risk", so a bit worried there and Dei's half sister was a carrier, soo it is important. . .Also helps clear litters(The holiday & NCIS litter)

A load of my mind, just in time for xmas.. .not that I didn't have other loads to occupy my mind:

2nd
Poor Dei had a strange wart pop up. I thought it was a tick, yeah, I know, WTH was I thinking, a tick in December? But that's what it looked like. . so THursday Bonnie took her to the vet's(I couldn't get off work the day before a holiday), and I waited on pins and needles. She's 10, so anything odd comes up I will be a worry wart(Excuse the pun LOL). Thankfully Dr Knickman says it's just a skin tag, but we're having it removed when she goes in for a dental next month. He said she looks really good for a 10 yr old. I have to say, she looks way better than her mom did at this age. Lost Kyra at 10 yrs, 3 months, the way Dei looks, she is going to live beyond that, barring anything going wrong, you can never tell. She's currently enjoying life as a house dog. Too many old dogs in the dog kitchen, and she's too naked to be a yard dog, so she's been guarding my desk at night, and she's holding the floor down quite well!!

3rd:
Two Fridays ago, I noticed the heat sensor on the car was fluctuating. . and not just slightly, it would raise up to half way, drop down, raise up, drop, all while just driving in town, wasn't doing anything extreme with it. Came straight home, took it to the Car Vet the following Monday, and got the bad news: Head Gasket. . .the early Neons were known for bad head gaskets, damn Dodge never did a recall on it, even tho it is a widely known problem. Thankfully, the Car isn't going to cost me anywhere near as much as I'd worried, even with a new timing belt, water pump and the headgasket. .and hopefully I will get it back Monday and it'll last me another 50K. . .not that it didn't ruin Xmas, but oh well. It's my 13 yr old car and only has 76k on it, can't complain too bad.

And the last tidbit that wasn't a worry, but made xmas a decent one. . I now have 4 opens to run. . we held a practice yesterday, and Ms Nacht & Bratty Bella got their ASFA Certs. Bella looked really great, running like a little blond adult. Bonnie looked at me after Bella came off the field, totally ignoring her yardmate who was a little brat and tried to play with her and asked "You're keeping that one, right?" Oh yeah. . .most definitely, keen as Grandpa Brooks and great uncle Grins. . .it'll give me something to do with that one until she matures, she's currently very very coltish, vs Nacht who is looking much more mature.

Depending on weather, will go get their QC's next weekend, but that gives me Ziva, Jenny and the two girls(And Reba when she's not in season) to run. After not having an open dog to run since Grins back in 2004, it's soo nice to have a few . LOL Secret had a nice practice too, shocked BOnnie with the speed on the straight(did an almost 200 yds straight then turns), look forward to getting her out some more before she comes into season. We'll try Aurora next time(My knee said no more in the cold wind) and maybe Gibbs now that he's had time to mentally mature. It was a lot of fun running the lure again, ran it for a Shihtzu, a Samoyed puppy as well as a crapload of Afghans and our BOrzoi.

4th:
I think I have a new OB dog. .Jenny. . this bitch has learned to open the dutch door. .. so, next month, we will start Rally and agility training as my knee allows LOL. . .she's unfortunately a house dog at night due to her neck injury(Think she got T-boned by her idiot brother), she doesn't have the undercoat the others have and with subfreezing weather, she'd be a Jennycicle. . .this morning, she let ALL the old dogs into the house. .too smart for her own good. Maybe we'll start doing some training tomorrow LOL

Had a quite day at home, usually go for a walk on xmas, but no car meant we took a nap and just relaxed. . .tomorrow we might get hit with snow, oh joy, I was so hoping none this year LOl

Hope everyone had a safe happy holiday

The sky is falling the sky is falling!

I'm proud to be a friend of a certain lady in Borzoi. The first, and
only person, brave enough to post the results of her dog if it got the
"At Risk" result for the DM Gene. Luthian is her beloved, spayed,
girl, but she did what was right and posted the full results

Too bad others in this breed are too damn chicken to post even carrier status.

Bah

Yep, the paranoia has hit the people all ready, afraid of having
fingers pointed because GASP the results didn't come back as perfect.

Someone I know got the result of carrier on one of their dogs. . she's
out of a dog this breeder bred who's now dead, and they are now
wanting the other parent tested because "I want to know where it came
from".

COME ON people, it DOESN'T matter in the scheme of things. Pointing
fingers is NOT going to help the cause. In this case, neither parent
is being bred from again(the one is a retired altered pet, the other
as I said is gone). So why get upset about it? Because people are
taking it as an affront to their lines. . .MY dog couldn't've produced
this. . . Even tho we inherited this problem which had NO test until
recently. There are people who unknowingly bred two carriers together!
IT's not their fault, they had no clue. . .because nobody KNEW

Yes, there are people who will cut their nose off to spite their face,
and only breed to clears. . .not sure why, as as of right now, we
still have to test every other generation due to possible mutations. .

This is a TOOL, it will allow us to make better decisions. . we truly don't
understand the affect of DM on our breed. . Heck, having two doses of
the gene doesn't even mean the dog WILL suffer from DM, just that they
are at higher risk to come down with DM. . now, if outside influences
have to come into affect for that to happen, nobody knows. .but some
people are blowing it so damn out of proportion with so little knowledge it's frustrating


I am currently preparing Secret to be bred to a dog who may be a carrier. His grandfather is believed to've been an affected, as a number of his get are carriers, a large number. . if Secret is clear(Her DM went out two Fridays ago) I will continue on with that plan even if he is a carrier, if she's a carrier, we'll wait to find his status out.. if he's a carrier, than I'll have to change my mind, and thus why I'm looking at other dogs. Heck, if she's clear, I'd breed to him even if he were at risk, as he's too damn nice and the worse that'll happen is all the resulting pups would be carriers. . .This test allows us to make these decisions!

Our gene pool is too small to eliminate even the at risk right now. . .but breeding properly, we can never produce another at risk dog again! Within a generation of two of that at risk dog, you can have clears again, that is the joy of a DNA test!

Am I worried? Yep, who wouldn't be at this point in time, we don't know how affected our gene pool truly is, many of the dogs are clusters of certain bloodlines due to carriers popping up. . .but unlike bloat or cancer where it's a wait and see, we have something at our hands that will help us potentially eliminate this from our gene pool, WITHOUT destroying our gene pool. It allows us to smartly use every dog tested, and select away from the one gene we don't want!

Yes, if she's a carrier or even an at risk, there will be stud dog owners that won't allow their dogs to be used on her(or any other dog of the same status), but so be it. . .again, cutting their nose off to spite their face. I'll just go on to my next choice, but whatever her status is, like my friend's dog, it will be up there for all to see. I didn't create the problem, I'm just trying to work away from said problem.

Truly truly hope the breeder gene pool one day becomes more educated in these things. . just goes to show again that there should be some sort of miniature genetic course given to anyone before they decided to put two dgos together.

So KUDOS!! To Kathy to being brave enough to put it out there for all to see. And shame on those who continue to hide it.

On a side note: Dei, TOuchet & Secret all have their CERF #s!! :)

degenerative myelopathy

Not that it really matters anymore, but my darling Gossip was DM Clear. . now here's hoping her sister is too. . damn I miss that dog

Degenerative Myleopathy in Borzoi(A beginner's course)

Note: Blogger doesn't like my tables, sorry about the formatting!

If you're looking for a new puppy, you may've seen terms you're not sure of "DM clear", "DM Carrier".DM is Degenerative Myelopathy (http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/basicDM.htm) a newly diagnosed problem in Borzoi. This is a disease of the spine, a neurological disease, kind of like Lou Gehrig's Disease. The age of onset is 5-14 yrs, with most dogs I've heard who might've been affected by this disease, being 'veteran's(over 7). I say might've, because we now thankfully have a gene test that will tell us who is Clear of this gene, who is a carrier, and who is 'at risk', but up until recently, we had just a vet's 'educated guess'

Before you panic, there is no reason not to purchase a dog who has one parent who is a 'carrier', if the other parent is a clear. Your dog/puppy will be a carrier, which means they will not be affected by the disease at all, they just carry the gene. Each dog passes on just one of the genes

According to this website http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/testDM.htm the genes are A(affected)/G, but I'm trying to simplify it completely, trying to mystify a bit, genetics for people.

To simplify it:
N=Copy of the Normal gene, n=copy of the unnormal/at risk gene

Normal, does not carry the gene, will not be affected by this disease : N/N (two normal genes)

Carrier, carries one copy of this gene, will not be affected by this disease: N/n (one normal (N), one non normal gene(n)

At Risk, carries two copies of this gene, MAY be affected by this disease: n/n (two non normal genes)

Sire: N/N Dam N/N

	Sire
Dam		N	N
	N	NN	NN
	N	NN	NN

Puppies will all be normal (NN)

One parent a carrier, one normal:

Sire : N/n Dam N/N

or

Dam N/n Sire N/N

	SireDam
Dam/ Sire		N	n
	N	NN	Nn
	N	NN	Nn

Statistically, half the puppies should be normal, half
carriers, basically, each pup has a 50% chance of being a carrier.

One parent "at risk" one parent Normal.
Sire : n/n Dam N/N
or
Dam n/n Sire N/N

	Sire/Dam
Dam/ Sire		n	n
	N	Nn	Nn
	N	Nn	Nn

All puppies would be carriers

The below two are breedings that in a perfect world, NOBODY would do.

Both parents at risk:
Sire: n/n Dam n/n

	Sire
Dam		n	n
	n	nn	nn
	n	nn	nn

All the puppies will be 'at risk'

Both Parents carriers

	Sire
Dam		N	n
	N	NN	Nn
	n	Nn	nn

Each pup will have a 25% of being normal, 25% of being 'at risk' and 50% being a
carrier

Hopefully, nobody will purposefully do the last two breedings, but if they do, hopefully they will be honest about it.

IMPORTANT: At risk does NOT MEAN they will come down with the disease (http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/ancmntDM.htm). It means they are at higher risk of developing it, but it is not a definitive test!

"Cleared by parentage"

What this means is both parents were tested clear of the disease. Unfortunately, with mutations, further generations may become affected, but that first generation is clear.

How do you check the status of a dog? Unfortunately, not everyone is using the OFA database for various (IMHO) silly reasons, but it is a good place to start (http://www.offa.org/). Others have been using the University of Missouri, but regardless, they should be able to provide you a copy of the tests done on their dog(s). If they refuse to do so, run the opposite direction.

http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/testDM.htm

Now, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with using a carrier or affected, as long as they are bred to a clear. Our gene pool is too small in Borzoi to cull these out at this point in time, but with careful breeding, they can benefit the gene pool.

For example, I have a bitch that I'm waiting for the DM test on. I don't expect her to have a problem, her mother is still bopping around with puppies and she's almost 12, both of her parents lived to be 12.5. . .her father I lost young to dog flu, but both of his parents lived to be 10.5+ with teens in their pedigree to. . .

BUT, if she came back a carrier or an affected, I would NOT throw her out with the bathwater, I would just make sure that whomever she is bred to has been tested and is clear. . .with this test, there's absolutely no
reason to throw away carriers or affected. Unfortunately, there are people who don't understand the
simplicity of this. . and a carrier has them screaming the sky is falling. . .::SIGH:: a little biology would go a long way in the dog world.

What does this mean to you as a pet buyer?

If the breeder tests, it means they care enough about the breed to test.. if they publish their results no matter what, it means they really are. This is someone you should feel good about getting a puppy from.

If one of the parents are a carrier? If you want to breed said puppy, just means you need to make sure its intended has been also tested and is clear. Doesn't really mean anything to you as a pet buyer. . if one parent is a carrier, the worse that happens is your puppy is a carrier, it carries this gene, but it is 'masked' by the good gene and will never develop the issue.

The DNA test is a tool, that's all. . and hopefully people's hysteria will soon settle down and they will realize it's a tool that allows you to continue with your lines without dumping them to the wayside like it used to be if you found out you carried a problem. Now you have a way of telling who has the gene, and ultimately, can remove that gene by spay & neutering carriers in the future, but for right now, let's do it the right way, and use the carriers/at risk smartly!