The hard decision to make is when you have a litter of 3 . 2 colored ( 1 fawn & 1 brindle ) and 1 white .
All are tested for DM . Only the white is clear ( negative ) the two colored are at risk ( affected -and will pass along the genes for DM)
The white is BAER tested and is hearing in both ears .
Then you have an ascultation the white and fawn have no murmur but the brindle had a significant murmur (3 or above ) and is considered suspect for SAS/AS . Which definately eliminates him from breeding .
You run the arvc test and the white comes back negative both colored come back as +homo (affected) and will pass the gene along .
Do you throw out the white just because of his coat color even though his health testing is great ?
We are in such a hard place right now with all the testing we should be doing to produce healthy boxers ( of any color ). We have to choose whether we breed a dog who is DM positive , arvc + hetero and hope for the best as there are no guarantees ow the genes will be distributed .
I feel it is a shame to not be able to use a health cleared white sparingly to help eliminate the other deadly diseases the breed faces .
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Missi
Bruins Boxers
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