Lisa, with regards to the NCL, is ok for a breeder to breed a carrier or should they really have not done that?
At the time there was no DNA test available to test for the NCL gene. Mikie is now deceased but through record keeping people were able to determine that Mikie and Moleque were both carriers. Back then NCL was being mis diagnosed by vets because no one knew about it. A dog got crippled and often times it was chalked up as just being bad hips. A few others thought something was up and they began pushing for answers. In late 2004 scientists discovered how to test for the gene. As far as breeding carriers goes, it can be done but one must be VERY careful. If a dog is a carrier you must breed to a dog that is clear of the gene. Then the resulting pups will still each have a 50% chance of being a carrier so the whole litter would have to be tested before they went to their homes. Carriers do not come down with the disease but they can produce it when bred to other carriers. Liz Hansen, the spokeswoman from the U of Missouri where they do the testing says it is importnat to keep carriers in the gene pool if
they are superior in all other areas. There are alot of good dogs, past and present who are NCL carriers. It's important that if you breed a carrier to a clear that you do it correctly and responsibly and that means testing the whole litter and either spaying/neutering or culling all carriers. Most people aren't repsonsible enough to take all these precautions but those who are can get what they want out of such a breeding (select the best pup(s) that tested clear of the gene) and then hopefully that carrier will never have to be bred again. It's complicated enough breeding bull breeds since good homes are few and far between. Throw something like this into the mix and it makes breeding them even more complicated. One reason why I get on the cases of so many people who want to breed AB's and know nothing about the disease. Alot of dogs out there are carriers and their owners don't even know it!
Here is something Liz Hansen wrote to another bulldog person. It was posted on the TG board. Good read.
http://www.true-grit.us/cgi-bin/YaBB2/YaBB.pl?num=1138027284/30
