[jitami]

Originally Posted by jeanette

hyperthyroidism? thats not too bad an issue, its not usually passed down to the young though. oops i meant hypothryroidism, shes larger than she should be right? well its usually not a congenital defect

Awwwww beautiful berner babies Shanley!!! Sooo snuggle-able!!!

Actually, thyroid disease in dogs is hereditary. They can test adults and young adults to see if they will develop thyroid disease later in life. They usually do this right around 2 years old, the same time they check for hip/elbow dysplasia, heart problems, eye problems, etc. My male Great Dane is TgAA positive. TgAA is an antibody that shows the dog's system isn't processing thyroid hormones correctly. That said, he's now 8, and has tested low-normal, but hasn't needed medications and shows no symptoms of thyroid disease. All of his other health tests were excellent, so we did breed him to a female that was TgAA negative and clear of thyroid disease 4 years ago. He's a champion show dog and his breeder and I thought long and hard about whether to breed him at all. He's gorgeous, but new information is suggesting that thyroid disease is linked to other auto-immune issues, which are on the rise in dogs. I think we made an ok decision, and wouldn't criticize anyone either way, but it's easy to see why someone would chose to not use dogs with any sort of health issues when there are healthy specimens available.

Hope no one minds the doggie ramblings! As opposed to garters it's something I actually know a little something about