Gypsy Jan - 11-13-2009 at 07:58 PM
Today it was announced that Titan, a white Great Dane that lives in San Diego, will be in the 2010 edition of the Guiness Book of Records as the
official world's tallest dog.
What wasn't mentioned on the TV "news" is that Titan is blind, deaf and suffers from epilepsy.
We are graced to live with a half-blind, deaf, non-epileptic, mostly white Great Dane and I am sad that no one took any of this media time to talk
about responsible breeding.
[Edited on 11-14-2009 by Gypsy Jan]
DENNIS - 11-13-2009 at 08:02 PM
Is TITAN a result of inbreeding? How sad that would be.
The Merle Gene
Gypsy Jan - 11-13-2009 at 08:19 PM
Merle literally means gray.
I am not a dog breeder, just a dog lover, but there is a fairly inexpensive DNA testing now to identify this gene.
Our very loving and stable disabled dog came about because his breeder wanted to produce spectacular four-colored leopard spotted dogs for which
Mexicans would pay a premium.
He was going to kill the puppies he couldn't sell...
[Edited on 11-14-2009 by Gypsy Jan]
Paulina - 11-13-2009 at 11:13 PM
"He was going to kill the puppies he couldn't sell."
That should tell you something. He should NOT have been breeding them in the first place.
I call it Back yard breeding, people who will breed dogs knowing little to nothing about the pedigree, they will throw a bad litter, thinking that
maybe one or two might make it through the gene pool, and then sell the rest to unknowing people.
Honest breeders won't and don't breed dogs that aren't up to snuff. Honest breeders will cull pups that don't turn out according to the breed
standard. Honest breeders won't make available pups that aren't up to par.
If you're not into purebreds, then none of this would matter to you. I think Jan's dog was a victim of such a breeder. Thankfully Jan was there to
give this dog a family. Unfortunatly the breeder is most likely still out there producing these pups from the same gene pool just for the money.
There's always an unknowing buyer out there.
My sister was one of them. She's stuck with a blind, deaf and hard to control dane, but loves him just the same. This dog should never have been
allowed to exist.
P<*)))>{
[Edited on 14-11-2009 by Paulina]
BajaNuts - 11-13-2009 at 11:48 PM
"This dog should never have been allowed to exist."
and by that I read that~
the dogs should never have been allowed to breed, ...not that a defective puppy was born and allowed to live.
Did I get that right, Paulina? If not, please clarify.
Paulina - 11-13-2009 at 11:54 PM
The dogs should not have been bred in the first place.
BajaNuts - 11-13-2009 at 11:59 PM
thanks, Paulina, just wanted to make sure~