I was trying to be optimistic. :D
I’m sure many of these biggies in the game couldn’t care less about their dogs having the disease. They won’t tell anyone, either.
Sometimes I do think, in the German Shepherd Club, there are a few people who are trying to make a difference, publicly. But I think they are few and are overwhelmed by the majority status quo. Here’s an example.
The “GS Review” is often mostly just a gigantic set of advertizements for everything, including grandiose memorial ads for not-famous dogs. Not too long ago, someone on the staff - maybe the editor, maybe someone else - made the public suggestion, in writing, that maybe some of these memorials could include the cause of death. It may even have been stated that only those stating such would be printed, I don’t recall exactly.
In any case, here we are maybe 5 years later, and still I hardly ever see a reason for death. Lots of these dogs are awfully young (I mean 5 or so), which really makes you wonder what the heck went wrong.
The Review more boldly prints oddball non-AKC taboo subjects now (degenerative myelopathy, Schutzhund work, herding info), but I really don’t see serious action.
I suspect it’s again because the majority are not interested, only in using their studs regardless how sick they are.
You should look at a copy of The Doberman Digest.
There’s maybe 2-5 useful articles and 200 huge glossy pages of folks pimping their dogs.
I used to read it for the information.
Now it’s only good for artistic reference material.
I’ve bought old copies off of eBay.
Imagine my horror when the winter edition of 2000 was almost completely devoted to the bloodlines with the “killer genes”.
I just wanted to cry.
I dearly hope the minority somehow fix the GSD issues.
The breed is just too nice to continue on its present course.
On http://dobequest.org *some* people list their dog’s cause of death but not nearly enough.