epileptic uncle/aunt

Triin · Post by **Triin** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 6:10 am

How safe from the point of view of epilepsy, is to get a puppy in following conditions: the father of the litter, A, is from a litter where is one dog with epilepsy. This dog is on medication and has not had any seazures after starting it. Also A-s father does have two other epileptic puppies with another bitch. The breed under discussion is considered being semi rare and IÃ¯Â¿Â½ve heard an opinion that all dogs of that breed do have some epilepsy cases somewhere in their pedigree.

MK's mom · Post by **MK's mom** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:30 am

Triin,

I have an Irish Setter and there's a lot of talk right now on an IS list I'm on about epilepsy being in ALL lines.

Do you plan to breed your puppy? I hope not, and the breeder never should have bred the dogs that were so closely related to the epi dogs.

MK's mom · Post by **MK's mom** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 7:36 am

Hit submit too fast.

Dogs that have epileptic relatives of the first degree ( sister, or brother) should not breed until the littermates are at least 4 years old to determine if they will seize. Personally, I wouldn't breed any of the dogs related to an epi dog, but that's just me. Too many breeders turn a blind eye to epi pups and this is how the epilepsy continues on in lines.

it can be tough for some breeders too, because all it takes is the perfect match between a sire and dam to let the monster rear it's ugly head in a puppy and that's when the breeders haven't had epilepsy in their lines in generations! That's EXACTLY what happened in my pup's case. My breeder was devastated to think she produced a litter of epi dogs and WILL NOT breed any of the puppies. Now, if some of the other pups' owners refuse to comply with her wishes and breed those littermates, then future puppies could be afflicted with epilepsy and so it goes on and on.

Triin · Post by **Triin** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:51 am

Thank you for answering.

I don't plan to breed, but I plan to buy a puppy and the breeder warned me, so I decided to do some research. It seems, that I wont take this puppy.

MK's mom · Post by **MK's mom** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:54 am

It could be that your pup won't have the seizures, but no one can tell you if it will or not.

This is the saddest thing in the world to me, because it's the puppies that suffer along with the owners that have to deal with the emotional aspect of it and the expense. Too bad there wasn't a test to determine whether or not a puppy will be epileptic or a carrier of the epilepsy gene. Hopefully in the near future.....

MK's mom · Post by **MK's mom** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:56 am

Another thing, kudos to the breeder for being honest with you, but I still think she should stop breeding this current line and start over with dogs that have no known epilepsy in their lines.

Triin · Post by **Triin** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:03 am

Well, there's always risk to get an epileptic puppy Ã¯Â¿Â½ nobody is safe. The question is - is the risk bigger in this conditions?

I woudn't breed, if I was a breeder. Even before I asked the question. But I don't know the breeder that well, that I could tell her.

MK's mom · Post by **MK's mom** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:20 am

I think the risk IS bigger, because she's told you how close the relatives that produced epi puppies are to the puppy you're considering. Have you spoken to any other breeders that have puppies in the breed you want to buy? Maybe you could find one that doesnt' have such close relatives with epilepsy problems, but like you said, it can happen and my pup is proof that it can!

Triin · Post by **Triin** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:24 pm

Not always does the breeder know or tell, that there is a epilepsy case in dogs pedigree.

So I have kind of dilemma - to take the puppy knowing that it has epilepsy in its pedigree, or to find another litter and have a risk that the breeder doesn't know or won't tell or doesn't consider it relevant.

Actually, I'm not in a hurry about that puppy-thing. I just wanted another dog, I have one at home from the same breed

MK's mom · Post by **MK's mom** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:46 pm

Where did you get your current pup? Were you happy with that breeder? You could always ask around about different breeders and try to get a feel of who's reputable or not. But like you said and I totally agree, in the dog world people can be very tight-lipped and not want to tell on someone who is turning out dogs with problems........very sad thing indeed.

Is the breeder you're considering offering you a price cut on the puppy who might be at risk for epilepsy? I would hate to think she's asking top dollar with known problems in the line.

skrpio · Post by **skrpio** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:50 pm

You could check with the national club for that breed of dog. Many breed clubs have a person who advises when litters are due and wil put you onto a reputible breeder.

Triin · Post by **Triin** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 1:00 am

Hi again. Just wanted to say that I decided not to take a puppy from that litter and I also found out that probably there is also an epileptic case in litterÃ¯Â¿Â½s mother pedigree. I also did some more research and turns out that epilepsy isnÃ¯Â¿Â½t actually problem among the breed Ã¯Â¿Â½ it occurs, as it can occur among every breed, but very seldom. Sadly it will be a problem if people keep breeding epileptic dogs. Just canÃ¯Â¿Â½t understand why they bred those dogs Ã¯Â¿Â½ yes, they have nice appearance and maybe good working ability, but is health really so insignificant?

The litter was also on sale in the web page of a breed club but on the same time other breeders didnÃ¯Â¿Â½t seem to approve the litter Ã¯Â¿Â½ its kind of discrepant.

Finndog · Post by **Finndog** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 11:02 am

Epilepsy absolutely runs more frequently in some breeds than others. Irish Settters, boxers and some herding breeds for example

Triin · Post by **Triin** » Mon Jun 19, 2006 1:09 pm

well, the breed I was talking about, isn't non of those you mentioned

MK's mom wrote:...Is the breeder you're considering offering you a price cut on the puppy who might be at risk for epilepsy? I would hate to think she's asking top dollar with known problems in the line.

I don't know about the price, we didn't get that far, but when I found information about the litter, it was about 3 weeks old and only 2 pups of 10 were still available, despite the breeder informing potential buyers about the problem.

Finndog · Post by **Finndog** » Wed Jun 21, 2006 2:25 pm

great, then there's no worries then. What is your concern then about epilepsy in the geneology?