Dear fellow Boston Terrier Breeders I wanted to share excerpts from an article I recently read in Dog News with those of you who do not get this publication. I also want you to all be aware that there are tools in place to help us plan the future of our precious Boston Terrier.
In October of 1995 the Parent Club Genetics Conference was hosted by the AKC. All of the 140 Parent Clubs were represented. I guess that must mean someone from the Boston Terrier Club of America was there as well. The gist of the conference dealt with what the Parent Clubs can do to encourage their members to breed better dogs. Good animal husbandry was the common sense advise given by Dr. Malcolm Willis, a British veterinarian.. Some of the points that he made would be a great asset to a breeder’s code of ethics. They are:
He also shared his recipe for eliminating recessive defects:
Also, discussed at the conference was the peer pressure in Sweden to breed healthy animals. In Sweden, where the population of dogs is small and controlled there are no pet shops and no strays. If a disease is identified as genetic, the Parent Club can request the Swedish Kennel Club to restrict breeding registrations for those dogs which are affected or have produced affected animals. i
There is an open registry for Genetic Disease Control based at University of California at Davis called the Genetic Disease Control Institute. I want to stress that this is an open registry, unlike the (OFA) Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and the (CERF) Canine Eye Registry Foundation. Public information about dogs listed with the OFA and CERF registries is only available on dogs who’s test results are normal. These types of closed registries seem to be counter productive in that they do not look at the whole animal or its lineage. An example, would be a dog whose eyes received a clear CERF but had a hemivertabrae disorder. The GDC, on the other hand, upon written request for genetic health information about a specific dog, also provides information about the dog’s sire and dam, their siblings, the dog’s siblings, and any offspring of the dog. Information provided from the GDC’s data base gives the breeder a complete picture of the genetic history of the dog allowing the breeder to make an intelligent breeding decision.
Our precious American breed, the Boston Terrier, has many genetic problems. We must not feel like we are exposing the family’s skeletons. There is not a responsible breeder among us who intentionally breeds an unhealthy dog. Yes, it is difficult to admit that we have bred a Boston with a genetic disorder. Next thing you know, some seemingly well meaning but poorly informed soul will be spreading gossip about you through out Bostondom. We must get beyond this stigma of rumors and naysaying. Rumor and inuendo do not promote openness. The fear that we all have as breeders is that one of these rumor mongers will try to personally destroy us with less than accurate knowledge. We can put an end to this type of tongue wagging by being open and listing the good and the not so good with the GDC. Then those who thrive on inuendos and the like would have no more fuel for their pyres. The future health of our breed is at stake. In years past, we did not have wide spread knowledge of genetics nor about tests to detect genetic disorders. We certainly did not have an open registry for Genetic Disease Control. Let us, as responsible breeders, come together in open honest dialog and adopt the use of the GDC, not only on an individual basis but, for our parent club as well. With knowledge, we can develop breeding programs insuring the future health of our Boston Terriers.
By Jeannette Cheeks Some excerpts taken from ‘Report on Parent Clubs Genetics Conference’ by Connie Vanacore in the November 24, 1995 issue of DogNews.
GDC, P.O. Box 222, Davis, CA. 95617,FAX or call 916.756.6773 for more information.