Do NOT buy a puppy unless you see the OFA results for DM testing for that pup- either the parents should be tested resulting in it being impossible for the puppy to be at risk for DM, or the puppy should be tested.
Safe breedings are: At Risk, Carrier, or clear in one parent to clear in the other
No other breedings are guaranteed to have puppies that will not get DM, so don't believe the breeder who claims she has never had DM in her lines. If you cannot go to the OFA website and see for yourself her test results, do NOT buy a puppy from her. You are better off with a backyard bred pup as DM is much more prevalent in show lines.
There are some responsible and caring Pembroke Welsh corgi breeders, and I can help you to find one. These breeders are testing their breeding stock for DM and attempting to lower its incidence. The majority are NOT TESTING. To quote one breeder, "There are enough pets out there." (As in, it doesn't matter of a few get DM.) To quote another, "DM is a disease of geriatric dogs." (Geriatric at 8 years old?) These are direct quotes from corgi breeders, who will try to tell you they are doing health testing. My friends, since July 2008, health testing in dogs includes testing for DM, and if they aren't doing it, you could end up with a dog that slowly and irreversibly goes down, becomes paralyzed, and dies of this disease.
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10 comments:
It's pretty amazing that people actually think like that. i was shocked to read those quotes aswell...
This is an amazing post indeed. I was thinking to buy a puppy but never thought about anything like DM test or related to it. Can you give some more information on DM?? Because I don't have any idea of it..
A good place to look for information on DM as well as to find out what the test is and what its results mean is
http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/basicDM.htm.
You can also ask to see the actual documents that show if a dog has been tested or not. There are breeders who have chosen to keep the results off of the OFA site, although they are pretty rare, I do know of one person who has a clear dog who "doesn't want to be bothered" by people inquiring about using him for stud. It's so very sad....
Merlin's Mom, good work! I'm adding you to my blogs followed!
I am impressed, thank's a lot to share this information.I'll remember
all things, which is very helpful to take care of my cute puppy.
I just lost my 11 year old corgi to DM. I miss her terribly. I think about getting another corgi, but would only use a breeder who tested for DM. Do you have a list of such breeders? I'm from MA. but would consider breeders out of state as well
Unfortunately I don't have a list. What I recommend is a little complicated, but go to the OFA site and search on Pembroke and DM testing, then see what kennel names match up to breeders in your area (from a breed club list.). Start with those breeders as if they are testing they may know which other breeders are testing, as well. And remember while your search may be difficult, every time you turn down a puppy because it isn't carrier or clear you are encouraging that breeder to stop producing puppies that can get DM.
You may also want to join the Corgis on Wheels group as sometimes DM-free litter announcements are made on our list. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/wheelcorgis/
Louise, I did hear of a six month old female but she is a few thousand miles from you, if you are interested email me your contact info at carts@corgiaid.org
Thank you for posting about this. It might have been 2008 when you brought this up but even now there aren't many breeders testing for this disease. It's awful that breeders think that after nearly a decade of bonding with an animal, it would be okay for you to let them be paralyzed by this horrible disease. Corgis can live to 15 years old, so that's 6 years of life confined to a wheelchair! I also have heard that breeders don't think their lines have this disease because DM isn't confirmed unless an autopsy is done, so the symptoms are often passed off as injuries. It's such a shame that there are dog owners out there who might think that it's somehow their fault that their dog is paralyzed when the blame really lies with the breeder. It's unethical and dogs and their owners pay the price.
Unfortunately with DM they don't use a wheelchair for six years. They die in four year at the longest, more often two to three, and for the last year, if they live long enough, they don't use a wheelchair as they have no more use of their front legs, either. It is a terrible disease and it appalls me when breeders take it lightly. More and more are testing, but nowhere near enough.
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