# Do breeders keep track of vertical and horizontal pedigree?



## medusafelix (Nov 18, 2014)

I'm a newbie, so I apologize if this seems like an odd question: I want to know if reputable breeders keep track of family history like diabetes, cancer, etc.

Obviously, I'm not expecting anyone to guarantee that a dog won't get cancer and such (regarding the complexities of environment, genetics, and so on), but I would like to know how far top-tier breeders go to keep track of health records. Reason being that our Maltese recently passed away due to lymphoma, and I don't think my mom could handle a second baby dying of cancer. If I could somehow minimize the possibility in any way, that would be great.


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## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

Yes, an ethical breeder does keep track of family history both with the dogs in the ancestry of the dogs they choose to breed and with the siblings and descendants of the dogs they breed. 

The reality though is that breeding choices are not as simple as removing every dog that may or may not have a relative with a health issue. If we remove every dog who is related to another that has a significant health issue we could reduce the gene pool even farther and that has consequences of its own. 

How old was your mom's dog? 

Cancer in a juvenile would be considered a much greater cause for concern frankly than one who had made it to the senior years before such an issue developed. 

My own first Maltese had diabetes. His mom and siblings also ended up with diabetes. The thing is though that he was not diagnosed until 12 years of age. He lived to a normal life expectancy for Maltese at 15.5. Following this type of information could not have prevented his breeder from breeding that dam since she was well beyond the years when she would have been retired from breeding when such discoveries were made.


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## medusafelix (Nov 18, 2014)

She was diagnosed right before her 9th birthday, and died a bit before her 10th birthday. Not a juvenile, but...


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## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

Yes, she was clearly younger than the average lifespan. It is important to understand though that following her siblings would not have given a breeder much information so your question about horizontal pedigrees would not really fit this situation. You would only see something like this by going back to ancestors. Her own siblings would be well beyond their breeding years before a breeder might know of a diagnosis like this. They might be able to look at ancestors and see that they did not have the full lifespan that we would ideally hope to achieve, but it would be unlikely that descendants would automatically be removed from breeding programs for such a case. More likely, they would look at a cause of mortality like that and avoid doubling up on it (not breed two that were closely related to an ancestor with a shorter than normal lifespan or not breed two that had ancestors that died from the same type of causes). 

I do think it is important to remember that dogs are living things. Genetics are hugely complex and every animal will die from one cause or another. Conscientious breeders will try to take every care to be sure they are producing healthy pets with longevity, but they can not engineer immortality. 

One of my rescue girls died at that same relatively young age. It was a shock, but when I analyze what I have experienced I realize that 9/10 is actually not so early for an issue to first develop. Most of my dogs that I had before I started showing or breeding were around 10-12 years of age when they began to have age related health issues. A couple died quickly after the issues began, others battled well into their teens, but it seems to be common that the senior years are fraught with diverse health concerns. 

As to the question of your mom getting another pet, I do not know of a breeder who would make a guarantee for you that they would live beyond the age of 9 or 10. Of course, we all hope they would live longer, but a typical health guarantee would not extend beyond the juvenile mortality. An Ethical breeder perhaps could tell you the ages of the grandparents and great-grand-parents and if and when they passed and perhaps even what they passed from. Lymphoma is not one of the more common ailments to our breed, so it would be possible to perhaps look for other more common causes, but frankly every illness is difficult when we have to watch our beloved animals suffer. Cancer, Congestive Heart Failure, Renal Failure, Diabetes or any other takes a toll on the animal and the human caregiver. One of the difficulties of owning and loving dogs is that we often have the heart-break of parting with them. 

I am sorry for your family's loss. It is a difficult decision to risk our hearts again at a time like that, but I have found that the love we get from welcoming another addition to the family often comes with a powerful dose of healing.


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