my friend is looking for a nice gron for obedience.
is there a problem with addisons within the breed?

please feel free to pm me if theres anything you dont think you should say on the board.

Personally I've not heard of Addisons but then I've no experience of the hairy ones :) -Teri, Lindsay, Yvonne etc may know better. But here's a link to the breed club's page on their website about health issues:

http://www.bsdaofgb.co.uk/health.htm

Hi Michelled,

I've certainly never known of any BSDs with this affliction - which is not to say that there have never been any but it is not a "problem within the breed" as far as I'm aware :)   Ours is a relatively healthy breed (all 4 varieties) although, as with any other breed or variety within it, some lines more so than others.

regards, Teri   

There was a Groen some years back who had Addison's but that is the only case that I know of. Epilepsy can be a bigger concern and you need to be aware of which lines potentially carry this.

Yvonne

If it is the one I am thinking of it was something like 15 years ago, so wuldn't say it is a breed thing rather the odd case as in general canine population, thankfully rare.

My bitch came from a litter that had an epileptic, as no-one knew until after the litter was born that the Dams brother was an epileptic.

ok,thats brilliant. :)
it was just that my friend was told that certain line carried it.

that would have been the line i would have haD,maybe it was just sour grapes/stirring:rolleyes:

[link]http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~concord/daelois.htm[/link]

Have you thought of Tom Davis and his Groans with the Daelois affix?

His dogs regularly compete on the Continent and although he does not do much in the way of WT nowadays (apart from run criminal) his lines may be worth a look.  Tom is a very nice man and so the dogs of his I have met.

thanks for that link tohme

Tom & Gill aren't planning any  pups though for the near future as far as I know.

is it just cataracts that BSDs suffer from in the eye department. any other eye problems?

Just cataracts.

And they don't appear blinding.  My friend was one of the first people to eye test, as until the last few years not many people eye tested, and had two bitches fail one a Terv and one a Groen, but one had passed the year before.  I thnk they were probably about 3 before they had the fails, so certainly annual testing not just a one off would be needed.

Yep I can verify that - I have two elderly ladies here who tested positive for cataracts at around 3 years old - they are now 14 and 12 respectively and their eyesight is fine  although you can see the opaque disc from the catatracts in bright sunshine - I can honestly say that it has not affected them one jot. Eye testing is rarely done yearly - most breeders I know do this as young as they can to ensure a clear result and then NEVER test again - ( no not advocating this - just telling it how it is ;)) Epilepsy is a much bigger (hidden) problem and because many continental lines are affected - and our gene base is heavily influenced by continental dogs - this can be devastating to a breeding programme. It has happened twice to me and is the reason that I am importing a puppy from 'clear' continental lines.

By the way the kennel that was affected by Addisons ( many many years ago !) is one of the best in the country and your friend would be fortunate to have such a good quality Groenendael for her first BSD.

Yvonne

The freind whose bitches failed gets very cross when she sees eye tested clear, and they have not been done for years.

In breeds where there is variable age of onset for any eye condition a current eye test is one under 12 months old. 

Breeders in my current breed are expected to have a current certificate of under 12 months at time of mating, so in practice bitches are tested when over a year, then any time they are to have a litter, and usually at over 7 to check final status. A stud dogs get done more often to ensure they have a clear cert when they are aproached by bitch owners.

thanks,thats briiliant

Well these people are going agiainst the breed club code of ethics......... see below.

Members are recommended only to breed from dogs and bitches of sound temperament that have been BVA/KC hip scored and have a current (within 12 months) BVA/KC clear eye test certificate up to the age of 7 years.

yep :rolleyes:

Yvonne