Hello everyone just wanted some thoughts. I have a 15 month old bitch and 2 of her brothers had SRMA  When they were 7 to 9 months old They are both now doing absolutely fine and my girl is completely healthy,  we've done all of my dog's health tests The are required for her breed but seeing as the SRMA  Is an auto immune disease we cannot test for this . Anybstud dog would also need to have all the  Relevant health test to even be considered being put with my dog

  Would it be considered irresponsible for me to breed from her?

Thanks

Personally I wouldn't breed from her, or want to buy one of her pups. As SRMA is suspected to have a genetic element I would think it was best to not breed on from any individuals in a litter where it has shown up.

Thank you for your comment :-) that's interesting I hadn't heard that it is suspected to have a genetic element . even after speaking to lots of other breeders within the breed . was lead to believe it was more environmental/medicine related .

100% food for thought

SRMA isn't something in my breed as a problem, but if it is a known issue with a breed, and particularly as you have two litter siblings with a problem, that would be raising alarm bells with me.  The problem with this sort of condition where you can't test for something, is that the condition could be there in the population as a whole, and the only time it is 'visible' is when dogs become affected by it.  So the safest thing to do to avoid other dogs being affected, is avoid breeding on from lines where the condition has appeared and been diagnosed. 

Prior to health testing breeders would have avoided dogs that were lame, or gone blind early, etc.  And obviously as health testing has developed the results are there to show breeders where to make informed choices about whether to breed on or not. In some instances they ignore the results anyway, I've seen instances of breeding on from hips into the 40s and 2 elbow grades in my breed, and loads of instances of a dog with good results being used with a bitch where previous litters with similar lines have produced a problem.  So it's not black and white, but if you know there is a health issue lurking, I'd avoid the possibility of carrying this on, and potentially producing more pups/dogs that are affected by this problem. 

It's incredibly disappointing, I had it with my first girl where she came back with a 2/1 elbow grade, and the KC advice at that time was only to breed on from a 0 or 1, and she was obviously over.  Added to that, the vet taking the plates mucked the first set up so badly the BVA rejected them, so there was always that niggling doubt that the plates they took may have affected the grade.  At the time I had a few people telling me to carry on and breed from her, just not to show the elbow grades on adverts etc, which is just plain daft as they are there for the world to see on the KC website. Although bitterly disappointed I went with my gut instinct and stuck with the results, Indie was the most fabulous companion and definitely a one off. 

It's not easy, if you can't test for a condition, but know it's 'there' in the mixture of genetics and there's evidence of it within close relatives it would make me think twice, but it's only a decision you can make personally I think, after researching what you can about the condition.  The fact that it's a pretty debilitating condition as well would make me very apprehensive about breeding on I'm afraid.

As I wasn't too sure about this condition I searched and found this (there are other websites) https://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/neurology/steroid-responsive-meningitis-arteritis-srma/

If there is any hereditary involvement I'd not breed from her.   Even if she's carrier, if it's around in the breed (and can't be tested for) I'd not want to risk the stud dog you use also being carrier = 25% would be clear, 50% carrier and 25% affected (Mendels)

Too bad eh.

As I wasn't too sure about this condition I searched and found this (there are other websites) https://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/neurology/steroid-responsive-meningitis-arteritis-srma/

If there is any hereditary involvement I don't think I'd breed her.   Even if she's carrier, if it's around in the breed (and can't be tested for) I'd not want to risk the stud dog you use also being carrier = 25% would be clear, 50% carrier and 25% affected (Mendels)

Too bad e

If this is a known problem in your breed, and it does sound as if there is, I would suggest that you speak to your Breed Health Co-ordinator before deciding whether to breed from her. Personally, I wouldn't take the risk.

Something uncommon that's happened in two litter siblings would be enough for me to say absolutely not.  It is not worth the risk.