I read the following posting on an Aussie breed ring circle, and have the permission of the poster to post it here. It emphasises the importance of doing all the hip and eye testing, and researching the pedigrees of both bitch and stud before considering puppies. It's long, but I think valid.

Quote:
Today Sassy is 11 and I remember that darling little red merle puppy
we picked up and brought back to our home. She was to be our first
show dog, but then things don't always happy the way you want.

I am surprised that she even made it to 11, each day is a gift and
each night I wonder if the next morning will be that day that I will
have to say "Goodbye".

Sassy was diagnosed with HD when she was 9 months old. We had her
spayed and cried a little about our loss of being able to show. We
wanted that so bad, but first and foremost we wanted Sassy to just be
healthy, and HD did not look well for a healthy lifetime. When Sassy
was 4 her coat started looking dull, it was hard to keep the weight
off of her. We went to the vet and tested for thyroid, yes that too
is now part of Sassy. A pill in the morning and a pill at night,
never missing. The coat is still dull, I keep it shorter and try to
keep it combed, it tangles so easily. Then when Sassy was around 6
years of age, the pigment on her nose started to disappear. She could
no longer be in the sun without sunscreen and that was not an issue
for us, she was a special lady and we would do anything for her. The
light sensitivity didn't end there, soon the color on the nose was
gone, replaced by scabs and scales, we then started applying meds to
her nose. Some to clear up the sores, and some to moisturize the
dryness. Sassy learned to come whenever we got the "tube" out of the
drawer, she would stand for the application and give a little head
shake and a sneeze. She didn't like it any more than we, but she knew
it had to be done.

As the years passed all things have gone from bad to worse. The HD is
very hard on her, we now have a heated bed in the bedroom and soft
beds in front of the wood stove, she has difficulty getting up, and
both her back legs work as one instead of two. Lately she has had a
problem making it out the doggie door every night. I steam clean a
lot more. We now have to contain her to a specific area as the daily
cleaning is too much.

The biggest issue we have now, and I believe the one that will take
her from us, is the Lupus on her nose. The nose has been
deteriorating due to the disease, and it has now traveled into the
nasal passages. There is an excess of fluid as it invades the nose,
she sneezes and you can hear her breathe harder at night. I lay in
bed and listen to the breaths wondering which will be the one that
pushes me to say goodbye.

So far she is not suffering any more than I, but I do re-evaluate her
every day. I hold her close, she lays her head in my lap and softly
talks to me, we have been through such good times and the bad times.
I will remember these all. I also think of her breeder often now and
wonder how a breeder can keep breeding these issues over and over. Is
it the breeder that holds her close. Is it the breeder that will hold
her when she crosses. Is it the breeder that will miss her every day
she is no longer here.

Please all you breeders, no matter how big or how small you are. Try
to be honest with your breeding, know the pain you sell and the dreams
you dash when you breed for money only. Sassy's breeder is still
breeding these lines, and I have a nephew of Sassy that was sent as a
replacement, and he too has autoimmune problems. I also bred him once
(I kick myself daily for that), and the offspring we kept has the
worse hips I have ever seen, but no autoimmune yet, although I expect
that to come too. I know that these dogs should have lived to be 13
or maybe even 15, but now at 11 I know Sassy will not see her 12th
birthday and I want her breeder to know that I cry inside and it
breaks my heart to know that it could have been prevented.

I will go hug Sassy now and give her a Valentine's Day present, but
then she just likes to snuggle best, and I will do that too and
treasure the day that she is still with us and hope for one more, than
one more until that last one.

Sherry Clark
unquote

Regards Margot

Oh help, that made me cry, it says it all really
Anne

Poor sole.I cried too.I hope all those people who are on here that are breeding their bitch/using their dog at stud without health tests being done cry too because this is the kind of pain to both animal and owner that they are DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for.
Regards Nikki.

Hi Margot,
I too read this on the same site as you, it is heartbreaking..... This poor bitch has put up with so much in her life and it is usually the owner that is left heartbroken and picking up the pieces....
In our breed of aussies, hip scoring and eye testing especially are so important and I am so glad that my breeder stressed it to me, to have done when the girls were old enough. Thankfully, I have no problems, but I feel sorry for the people out there that have........
Gabrielle x

I dont know what to say .
how very sad
Mari

I too agree with the testing of the parents. After two very bad personal experiences I test for more then most breeders in my breed. I purchased a male puppy from very strong working lines with no tests and we had to have him put down at 5 months old for CHD so severe he was lame by that age. My daughter was only 5 at the time and it broke her heart watching her puppy suffer. Also I have another male I bought that did have parents screened for CHD but not for thyroid and now I have a very miserable dog with Autoimmune Thyroiditis. I have neutered the thyroid dog since and he has good days and bad days. He is only 4 years old and acts like a senior dog, very stiff and sore, which is a shame because he loves to hunt in the field trials, but he can't move well afterwards so he is not able to do so anymore.