# Possible new puppy and Degenerative Myelopathy carrier question



## -Cerberus- (Sep 22, 2016)

Hello everyone! My gsd is 4 years old..so we decided it is now time to get him a friend! My husband found a litter online that he is interested in getting a puppy from, however, when I decided to start looking up the parents online I found something that has caused me to be concerned. According to the OFA's website, one of the grandparents is a carrier for Degenerative myelopathy. The rest of the family on both sides have not been tested. So, I am wondering..just how important is this as far as genetics go? would the puppy likely be at high risk because of this? or am I being paranoid?


Any advice or opinions would be appreciated!!


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## SuperG (May 11, 2013)

FWIW.......as a person who had a GSD with DM.......I would do my level best to ensure that your new pup has the absolute best genetics to avoid the possibility of DM........end of story.




SuperG


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

I'd pass and have. If there's a carrier the rest should be tested and clear.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

the pups can be tested before you make a commitment if you are that serious...if there are no tests done you have no way of knowing the status of any. However, please be aware that it is only recent that results are posted on OFA's site....many people used a lab direct and those tests don't go through OFA. I posted the results of mine on their pedigree pages on working dog . eu when I did them.

Lee


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I would pass too. We just lost a dog to DM in June and it was horrible. She started showing signs less than 3 months past her 8th birthday and was gone at around 9-1/2, going from an athlete (she was my flyball racing dog) to an invalid. 

Carrier to clear _should_ be safe, producing 50% carriers and 50% clear. So if the other grandparent is clear, having one grandparent as a carrier isn't necessarily a concern. But you don't know if it is or isn't. If they are both carriers, your odds are worse - 25% clear, 50% carriers, and 25% affected. And if the other grandparent is affected, they will produce 50% carriers and 50% affected. 

So one of the parents of this litter could be clear, or it could be a carrier, or it could be at risk of developing DM. Same with the other parent. Without testing you just don't know. Have you asked the breeder if they've tested the parents? As Lee mentioned, it's possible that they have.

https://www.vetgen.com/canine-strategies.html


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

The parents of the litter are not tested?


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## -Cerberus- (Sep 22, 2016)

Thanks for all the replies! And no, neither of the parents have been tested. This is the breeder's first litter..which I don't want to hold against them as my current pup was from a first time breeder, and he is absolutely perfect. I've learned more about the breed since having him and so I decided to try and look into this new pup's family history as the breeder did provide us with the akc pedigree with multiple generations.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

If you are worried about DM, with the parents not tested I would walk away. 



You did ask the breeder about DM testing? Maybe they would be willing to test the whole litter.


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## -Cerberus- (Sep 22, 2016)

My husband just got a response from the breeder. In light of my discovery, they are planning to contact the sire to see if he might have had testing for DM. They didn't think he had any testing, but will double check. They are also bringing the puppies to the vet tomorrow for the next round of shots and plan to ask the vet for their opinion and about the possibility of testing. Hoping for the best, but we shall see!


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## Max Rockatansky (Dec 16, 2018)

-Cerberus- said:


> My husband just got a response from the breeder. In light of my discovery, they are planning to contact the sire to see if he might have had testing for DM. They didn't think he had any testing, but will double check. They are also bringing the puppies to the vet tomorrow for the next round of shots and plan to ask the vet for their opinion and about the possibility of testing. Hoping for the best, but we shall see!


Was the carrier grandparent on the mothers side, or the fathers? If they are using the mother for breeding, they should get her tested. If she's clear, wouldn't that mean that the pups are carriers at worst?


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## -Cerberus- (Sep 22, 2016)

Max Rockatansky said:


> Was the carrier grandparent on the mothers side, or the fathers? If they are using the mother for breeding, they should get her tested. If she's clear, wouldn't that mean that the pups are carriers at worst?



The carrier was on the fathers side. They should get her tested, and may very well do so later on. The breeder said that the sire's owners were told that the sire's parents both tested clear of DM..even though the OFA's site stated otherwise..and they did not have paperwork to show us otherwise. So, we passed on the pup.

Thank you all for your helpful replies. I do have another little update to this. We just found another pup with a MUCH better bloodline. We will be going to see the new one tomorrow!


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## [email protected] (Jan 16, 2018)

My $0.02 is that a breeder committed to the good health of the breed would spend what is really a small sum (all things considered) to test both parents BEFORE breeding and make sure both were clear of DM. The Embark test is $200 and checks for DM status among a host of other things. There's no good excuse not to do it.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

-Cerberus- said:


> The carrier was on the fathers side. They should get her tested, and may very well do so later on. The breeder said that the sire's owners were told that the sire's parents both tested clear of DM..even though the OFA's site stated otherwise..and they did not have paperwork to show us otherwise. So, we passed on the pup.
> 
> Thank you all for your helpful replies. I do have another little update to this. We just found another pup with a MUCH better bloodline. We will be going to see the new one tomorrow!


Glad you are looking for a better bred pup. They are out there, there is just no reason to take a risk you don't have to take. 

It's a huge life commitment, don't be in a rush. Find a truly good breeder, they aren't that hard to find!!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Halo's sire was a carrier but I'm sure that he was tested later. She was born in November 2009, and the test was still very new at the time. I don't know how many people knew about it back then, and if they did, would have known if it was accurate and worth doing. Even now there's speculation that it's not 100%, 10 years later. I don't know if her dam was ever tested but I'm guessing she must have been a carrier too, for Halo to have inherited two copies of the abnormal gene. 

Cava is from two DM clear parents. I would probably have taken a pup from a carrier/clear litter if it was everything else I was looking for but I was happy to be able to check off all the boxes on my wish list from a clear/clear litter. I just got her Embark DNA test results today, and in addition to being DM clear, (which I expected, being "clear by parentage", but it's still nice to have confirmation) she is clear and not a carrier of any of the 170+ genetic diseases they test for.


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