My collie's brother has had several fits in his life. I wanted to use my dog at stud but am a bit worried about this dog. There is nothing in the lines to suggest that any other dog related to him has fitted. When this puppy was younger the owner somehow let him get full of worms and I have also been told he suffered quite a bang on the head. Could either of these things be the reason that he now fits? Would you use his brother if he was an excellent example of the breed?
Thank you.

Hi Guest,

>Could either of these things be the reason that he now fits?

There is no accurate way of determining whether or not these are contributing factors.

>Would you use his brother if he was an excellent example of the breed?

Frankly, no.   None of the Collie breeds insofar as I'm aware have such restricted gene pools that there would be any reason for a responsible breeder to consider introducing a suspect line into their own regardless of other qualities.  In the absence to date of genetic markers for epilepsy IMO it is better to err on the side of caution and assume that this is an inherited condition which should not be permitted to further corrupt a breed.

I hope your own dog remains seizure free - you do not say how old the dogs are but symptoms of idiopathic epilepsy can occur as late as 7 years of age.  Sorry to disappoint you,  Teri