Golden Retriever

Although they vary, the cancer rates in golden retrievers are higher than the all-breed average in all parts of the world. This leads to a supposition that there was a genetic disposition for cancer in the foundation stock for the breed. As breeders have selectively bred for particular traits, the gene pool has become smaller. If the theory is correct, the "bad genes" in the foundation stock has become more concentrated. Indirectly, dying of cancer, may become part of the standard.

Around 1990, our male golden, Friar Tuck, developed lymphoma at age 7. He had 3 experimental (at that time) chemotherapy treatments and lived to the age of 15. At thirteen and a half, he developed a hemangiosarcoma, which presented itself as spleen cancer. We had his spleen removed and he had another good year and a half.

We've been lucky with our goldens, except for Allie, who was killed in an accident at 2, they've all lived almost 15 years.

Check out the breed lines before getting a golden. Keep your goldens lean and fit. Keep herbicides and pesticides our of their environment. (Yes, our backyard doesn't have the best grass in the neighborhood, but it is safe for the dogs.)

Tom

We have a lovely 23 month old female golden....out of our previous four, three have succumbed to hemangiosarcoma (one with mast cell tumor before hemangiosarcoma) and one was born with bilateral, congenital renal (kidney) dysplasia.

our yellow lab that we adopted as a stray died secondary to highly aggressive poorly defined mesenchymal malignancy. CA is too abundant in all pure breeds but particularly in large canines.

like the saying goes, misery is optional and we repeatedly keep signing up 2-3 yrs after we've lost each one (euthanized at home, when their quality of life is poor) cause life without their presence is simply not tolerable. we have pondered an english with their lower CA incidence.... :(

I have to say the English springer spaniel breeders have done wonders to all but eliminate springer rage. After much study, it was shown that lines with epilepsy and one other issue (which escapes me at the moment) had a much higher incidence of rage and worked to breed those issues out completely.

We had a Golden, Sunshine, that we took in at age 9 many years ago when her owner died. She had never lived indoors (she had lived at her owner's lake house), and she made it very clear to us that she was NOT going to come inside our house, no matter what the weather. Our vet told us to leave her alone, since she had done fine up to that point. We figured that she was near the end of her lifespan after reading up on the breed. Well...that old girl lived to be 17! We were stunned, to say the least.

We also had a lab, Chipper, who lived to be 14 1/2. We were amazed with him, as well, since labs don't generally live that long. He finally succumbed to vestibular disease that he couldn't recover from, despite vet intervention.

I'm a boxer lover, and I know they come with a laundry list of genetic and behavioral issues (cancer and heart issues being the biggest killers). After losing a few boxers to various health issues, I decided not to own any more of them. Of course, sometimes the best laid plans... I adopted a senior boxer, Jackson, from the pound last summer because he was on the "very urgent" list... I have no idea how old Jackson really is (at least 8, according to my vet), nor his past health history. He has arthritis in his shoulders, which is currently being managed with Metacam, but he seems otherwise healthy, and has plenty of energy for us (anyone with a young boxer knows how insane they are!). We treasure each day he's with us, but we know that he could easily take a turn for the worse at any time. At least he'll enjoy his last few years in comfort!

RESPONSIBLE and EDUCATED breeders will do breed specific health testing on their breeding stock and cull out dogs that produce litters with genetic issues. However, all the back yard breeders and puppy mills out there are making it all but impossible to eradicate these killer diseases, IMO. Sad...

What you say about breeders is all well and good but a lot of us get our pets from rescue groups, myself included. For us it's luck of the draw.

xteacher wrote:
....

RESPONSIBLE and EDUCATED breeders will do breed specific health testing on their breeding stock and cull out dogs that produce litters with genetic issues.

However, all the

back yard breeders and puppy mills out there are making it all but impossible

to eradicate these killer diseases, IMO. Sad...

X10

When a breed becomes 'popular'. Backyard breeders/puppy mills run to buy a breeding pair for the sole purpose to "make money".

THIS select group of pure bred dogs sold is what skews the reports of hereditary diseases due to the complete lack of concern on the money hungry whore mongers of backyard breeding.

And actually PROLIFERATES these hereditary diseases in a specific breed when people continue to buy pure bred dogs from puppy mills hiding behind warm and fuzzy web sites and from the neighbor down the street. (so stop that,no matter how much you like your neighbor:W)

from the neighbor down the street.

Have to disagree with you. Just because someone breeds out of their house or might be your neighbor does not make them irresponsible. You should research ALL breeders AND shelters before purchasing as shelters have been know to lie just to place a dog. Even the most conscientious of breeders can err. Should any prospective breeder do their research and educate themselves accordingly? Absolutely, but just like in humans it's not a perfect process and to expect as such is unreasonable.

The person down the street 'selling' dogs is breeding for "money". I.E. backyard breeder, has no dog in the game, no pun intended, so they could care less if the dogs they are breeding 'just for money' have hereditary markers or not. First of all they would never spend the money to find out. And if they did they surely would not stop breeding them because that would mean they would have to buy 2 more to keep on making money. :(

They rarely or never belong to a breed club to even be educated about the breed or be aware of what testing is available. But then again, a breed, all breed club, and/or specialty sporting club wouldn't be rushing to put out the welcome mat for those that breed for money-backyard breeder.

The person who is going to know the most and cares the most about a specific breed and DOES test for markers, donates money for research, participates in open registry testing studies, doesn't breed just for money, etc, is the person that "seriously" emphasis on seriously shows and/or competes with their breed. That's were you will find the information to help you decide which breed you want to welcome into your family.

Not the guy down the street trying to make a couple extra bucks breeding their dogs to buy a new boat and who gives a rats butt if the puppy you pay him for dies at an early age. The property doesn't have to look like a TV ad puppymill but they are one in the same as far as output. Just saying.

I have personally known a few dog breeders that WERE involved in showing, and their local breed chapters. They were not all that ethical. They were breeding for color, size, confirmation, IOW-they wanted to win shows and promote their kennels. The welfare of the dog was not their priority. Many inferior puppies were culled or sold cheap.
On the other side of the coin, I have known people that had a good dog, their neighbor had a good dog-and they let them have a litter of puppies. This is very common in rural communities. The emphasis was to get a quality dog that people wanted. No one cared if he had one blue eye and one brown, if one ear drooped, etc. They weren't in it for the money.
This is just what I've seen. I don't agree with anyone breeding anything irresponsibly, but it's never fair to generalize.

OP here... We bought Haylie for a discount from a show breeder (my husband knew the family). Haylie was a "reject" and couldn't be shown. I don't remember the reason why. She was one of the best dogs we ever had. Agnes