Breeder Opinions

[Dizzy Z]

Okay, I believe I have found the perfect breeder if we go the breeder route. I do have a few questions to make sure. I already called him, and spoke to him. The first words out of his mouth were: what are you looking for in a dog? After talking to him for over an hour (a typical southern gent, he loved stories and giving info!) I learned that he is the president of our local boxer club, and has been showing for 17 years, and his wife has owned them for over 50. He accepts all dogs back, and does not ship them for any reason. He has a very small kennel, and the majority of his dogs have obtained their championship in shows, one at just 10 months old. He also has a Bronze champion and a Dam of Merit but I do not know what that means. He does on occasion breed his male and female, as his most recent litter (all are spoken for) but his past litters have been from outside studs, and other show kennels around here have used his boys. I would have to be put on a waiting list, and he is not sure when his next litter will be as he has not found a suitable stud dog for her. He has invited me over whenever Id like to see his house/dogs/etc. He was explaining his health guarantee as well as the testing he does on all his dogs and will show me the written contract if I come over. The gist of it is that you have 48 hours to have the pup seen by a vet, and if there is anything barring the normal (worms, allergies etc) they will replace the puppy. It is also guaranteed for 1 year for any congenital defects. Pups are int he range of $1500. Everything to me, looks good... I will know more when i go there and take a look around. Im willing to wait for the right puppy, and since we are taking trips for these holidays, the earliest I would be looking for is Spring anyway. The way I see it, Ive waited 6 years for one... whats another couple months while finding the perfect one? My only question, is with the health testing. He does ARVC, DM, OFA, and thyroid. I made sure to write it down so i could tell you XD. He is willing to show all paperwork when i come over. I just want to know, what should I be looking for? Obviously negatives, and no carriers... but Ive seen homozygous and heterozygous online for the DM I believe. Correct me if Im wrong. What should i be seeing with that? Are there any other tests I should be looking for/asking about? What other red flags?

 

[SaharaNight]

He sounds fantastic! You're in an area whet there are a lot of good breeders around. The only thing is that I would want a 2 year congenital disease contract versus 1 year as most problems crop up around 2 years. I don't see any red flags though.

DM is carrier, normal, and at risk. Carrier carries one bad copy and an at risk carries two bad copies. Normal is clear. ARVC is heterozygous or homozygous. The only thing I'd ask is if he does holter and Echo as they are for SAS and Cardiomyopathy, not strictly ARVC.

Congrats on finding a good breeder!

 

[johann]

It sounds like you found a great breeder. I'd make sure the pups are raised in the home, not a kennel/outside situation...but otherwise he sounds like someone who breeds to create better/healthier boxers and not for money.

 

[Dizzy Z]

Thank you!

And a big thank you for the advice! I am planning on getting over there sometime this week so i can meet with him, he can meet we and we can just talk Boxer! Im looking forward to seeing his dogs, and seeing how his puppies are raised. I couldnt go sooner, as the litter he has now was too young, and only turned 4 weeks this past Sunday, and nobody can see them until after that, which I liked.

I'll be sure to write down the testing info, so that I can compare it and discuss with him. To be honest, with the 1 year guarantee, thats actually the most Ive seen, and Ive looked at a lot of breeders. Ive scoured the internet for ones relatively close (within a 4 hour driving range) and found everything from BYB to ones like him. Ive never seen 2 years or higher, but perhaps I can also talk that over when i get there. Theres no harm in asking!

My last question: what do the hetero and homo mean for the ARVC?

 

[SaharaNight]

Heterozygous for ARVC means they have one mutated gene for it. Homo means they have two mutated genes for it. Some breeders don't est for it because there's still more research that needs to be done on it and some will breed homo gened dogs. Its a one side vs. other side debate kind of like thing.

 

[darwinsmom]

Putting on my scientist hat: Chromosomes carry two copies of each gene (one from mom and one from dad), these gene variants are called alleles. If each allele (copy) is identical, then you are homozygous for that gene. If there are two different copies, heterozygous. So, when you are looking at the allele associated with ARVC, the best case is negative homozygous, that is, both alleles are normal. Positive heterozygous means one of the alleles is positive for the ARVC allele. Positive homozygous means both are. It has been observed that positive homozygous develop more severe symptoms of the disease. With 1 copy a dog may develop the disease or it may not. Sometimes the disease that develops is mild.

One thing to consider is that disease usually does not present clinically (with symptoms) until the dog is middle-aged or older. My boy didn't present until nearly 8 years of age. This is why the ARVC test is a good complement to the Holter. However, there may be more alleles associated with the disease and other environmental/genetic factors that determine whether the disease will develop.

In terms of breeding, you would prefer to have both parents completely negative. However, because so many dogs have at least one copy of the allele, it isn't necessarily realistic to exclude them all. You have to look at the entire health picture, including other diseases.

-Karlyn

 

[LILYLARUE]

Wow Karlyn, you made my head hurt! But what great information in that scientific brain of yours! Thanks for sharing it! Now I just need to know where to tuck it in my cluttered brain.......hmmm. Good info to remember.