I know many hate to spend the $15 to post reports on OFA. Remember, you can put all your results in Labradata for free
"1. a dog/bitch with a clear echo/doppler can produce a TVD affected dog - so it can come throught the sire or dam even if both are cleared by echo/doppler."
So why exactly are we testing? Where I live Echos are hard if not near impossible to come by. Usually means a day off work to travel to a teaching hospital & 3 times the price of a clinic.
Hard to convince people to do a heart clearance when we have no way of fixing the problem by doing it. What is it we plan to gain here?
Take that first sentence and substitute hip dysplasia for TVD. Does that give you a better idea of why all breeding stock should be evaluated? We may not "fix" the problem, but we hope to improve the odds and diminish the severity of TVD - just like we have through breeding dogs with clear hips.
Fifty years ago, breeders used Vet schools and expensive specialty practices to get good x-rays for hip evaluation - some still do. Today we use Vet schools and expensive specialty practices to get heart echos. In time, more cardiologists will make the services available and more group clinics will help lower the cost. We are riding the crest of a technology wave, but it is going to get easier as time goes by.
Not doing anything is the worst possible plan - it is just giving up before the battle for healthy hearts even begins.
You may not use Labradata, your friends may not use it. But some of us do. It is not that hard. Anyone would be glad to guide you through it. I am not much at all with computers but figure it out quickly. It is just one thing we use. I find the OFA site shows more who passed everything. The who fail or who is a carrier are harder to find. So you use your tools and I'll use mine, but you don't have to put anyone down.
Thank you. I too wish people REALLY cared about the breed and just didn't give lip service. We, current breeders, are the lifeline of our breed.
It is heart wrenching to have a lovely animal that you have your breeding program counting on to be TVD affected, or fail their OFA's, but it happens. We were in the same situation with CHD years ago and we have come a long way. Now it is just heart breaking when they fail their OFS's. We don't throw out the sire, dam or siblings from our breeding program. We are not scared of a failed hip as we are now educated. This is the same situation we now find ourselves in regarding TVD.
What did breeders do in the beginning with hip & elbows that failed? They (we) started and continue to, x-ray and evaluate the sire, dam, grandparents, siblings etc. We need to do the same with TVD...NOW.
So, learn the truth about TVD and stop spreading rumors and false information. If you don't have a thorough understanding of the problem the EDUCATE yourself. START being proactive and, as you can afford to, echo/doppler your breeding stock. And PLEASE submit your information. This helps us ALL.
As was mentioned, Labradata is a free and the only completely open database available. It is not based on hearsay or rumor. The evaluation report is available for viewing. We MUST start somewhere and we MUST start now.
Ok....I have said enough, but I think the breeders that really care about the breed will get on board - for the good of the Labrador breed.
"last time I tried to say it was difficult and not user friendly and would have been happy to have made suggestions, the "administrators" jumped all over me. It is NOT easy to use or user friendly and I am computer literate"
Your Response:"Just because the administrative staff did not agree with your suggestions does not mean they didn't appreciate the feedback"
This is exactly why there are so many problems on this forum. READ what I said.................. I WOULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY to have made suggestions. I DID NOT. I was not given the opportunity at all, I was jumped on instead and in fact it was on this forum last year!!
If you didn't make suggestions for improvement, then we can't address the problem. General complaining about the system (not user friendly, don't like it, etc.) are not constructive and the board can not use this for planning.
I hope you don't consider this also being jumped on... there is no malice intended. We just can't make improvements based on generic or hostile complaints. The LabraData board is here to serve you, so please participate - and not just on a discussion forum. The board address is the best place to send your comments or complaints. If you would genuinely like to make suggestions, please do so at the board email address. We all have an opportunity to review it that way.
board@labradata.org