QuestionDave,
I have a puppy that has a very slight heart murmur. The vet says that he'll most likely out grow it in the next few weeks. Will it be ok to use him to sire any litters of puppies? Thanks
AnswerHi Tracy,
Like I explain in my intro I try to focus on behavior. I will however answer to your question but I can answer it a different way:
A responsible breeder breeds for strength and avoids any abnormalities.
I am not aware of a large number of Shelties having this condition, but it is found in other breeds. In a great deal of the cases it will likely cause no problems long term. However, a small percentage (1-5%) of offspring die suddenly or have ongoing problems.
This is brutal and blunt: Do you really want to risk some child having their Sheltie die suddenly playing ball later down the gentic line? Of course not! However this is statistically what could happen 2-3 generations from now if you choose to breed this pup.
One of my soapboxes is irresponsible breeding, this usually goes hand in hand with puppy mills and thus one of the reasons why they have a bad name. I have to deal with the pain of my first being poorly bred and having hip displaysia. That breeder didn't think to check for it before breeding. Now my 8 year old Sheltie cannot run and play without daily medications. That's why I harp on poor breeding: I experience the pain personally.
Sorry if I'm too rough on that subject. I'm sure you wouldn't wish ill on anyone else's pup. I just hope you understand now where that frustration and pain comes from.
With that said, the positive is you have caught it and know what the right thing to do is. I would also recomend you contact the breeder and let them know of this problem, they need to stop that line and inform the pup buyers (something I strongly wish the AKC would do a genetic abnormality warning based on family tree but all they want to do is take your money and give you a blue card...again with my soapbox) I look forward to hearing from you again!
'sneezes
Dave
