2018 May June

will also be better able to determine which
bitches have potential for a good match and
which to pass on. That way you can reduce
the risk that your boy may have hundreds
of pups on the ground before you’ve got a
hot mess on your hands.
If you want to read more about the
risks inherent in popular sires see: http://
www.ashgi.org/home-page/genetics-info/
breeding/breeding-genetic-diversity/theprice-of-popularity.
I have a pup diagnosed with very minor
PHPV/PTVL in one eye. Her vison isn’t
affected. The specialist said she’ll be OK
to breed but to line-breed to determine if
she’ll produce affected pups. He also said
to have her retested by another specialist.
I am currently breeding her to her
half-brother and will test all the pups at
6-8 weeks. I am looking for some more
knowledge/experience with PHPV/PTVL
in Aussies. I am hopeful as it isn’t thought
to be hereditary.
I would definitely suggest that you
get that second opinion. If the second vet
clears her I wouldn’t worry about it unless
she produces it herself.
PHPV/PTVL is inherited. Whether
you will or won’t get it in the litter with
the half-brother is hard to say because we
don’t know exactly how it is inherited. If
the half-brother does not happen to have
inherited any genes for it, you won’t get
it even if she does have the genes. If the
inheritance is complex (multiple genes
and possibly gene-regulating DNA) you
might not have the right mix between the
two for any pups to be affected.
If you do get one or more pups with
PHPV/PTVL in the litter your girl should
not be bred again nor should the affected
puppies. If the puppies are OK, they should
not be bred to mates with a family history of
this condition For a little more info about
PHPV/PTVL see: http://www.ashgi.org/
home-page/genetics-info/eyes/phpvptvl.
I’ve heard it said that you blame epilepsy
all on [famous kennel] and you are trying
to ruin it. How could you say such a thing!
Because I didn’t. I have never blamed
any single line or dog for the presence of
epilepsy in this breed.
From the time that people first started
to discuss epilepsy as a serious breed health
issue back in the 1990s they tried to point
at particular dogs as The Source. There
was a well-known dog from the kennel
you named that did produce a few epileptic
Q&A
pups out of many, many offspring. The stud
owner didn’t deny it, which is more that I
can say for some people both then and now.
At this point that dog is so far back in the
pedigrees his individual contribution to any
present cases of epilepsy is only one piece
of a big puzzle. The dams of those epileptic
pups also brought something to the table or
it wouldn’t have happened, nor were these
the only cases of the disease back then.
There are also plenty of epileptic dogs that
do not have that dog or his near kin in their
pedigrees at all.
The two cases that jump-started the
public discussion of epilepsy in this breed
were only distantly related to the line you
mention. A memorial ad appeared in the
1994 Sept/Oct issue of the Aussie Times
for a bitch named Blackshire’s Cheyenne
Maiden stating she died of epilepsy and
offering a brief pedigree. At about the same
time, Ann DeChant came forward publicly
about an epilepsy disaster litter she had.
These two events are what started the stillcontentious
conversation about epilepsy in
this breed.
People naturally want to know why
something goes terribly wrong and some
seek a scapegoat. Early on some insisted
it was all from another kennel that was
prominent in the 1980s. Or they blamed
Flintridge (and try to avoid that in your
pedigrees!). When I heard stockdog people
arguing it was a show dog thing I rather
enjoyed pointing out that there are dogs
behind Flintridge that are also behind a
number of the working lines. Some tried
to blame Sisler’s John, presumably because
nobody knows what his background was.
(There was a simultaneous rumor floating
about John that he was a Rough Collie. Not
hardly. Take a look at a picture of him.)
The fact is that once people – some at
least – stopped denying and started sharing
information it was obvious that epilepsy
had been occurring for a long time and was
not impacting only a single line of dogs.
Not a great deal has changed over the
years. Some people are firmly locked in
denial and simply do not wish to listen.
Some take up epilepsy denial as a cause.
There isn’t much to do with that but let
them rant and keep patiently explaining
things to those who will hear.
If you’d like to read more about
the early days of epilepsy awareness
in the breed see: http://www.ashgi.org/
home-page/genetics-info/epilepsy-otherneurological-issues/epilepsy/the-road-tohell.
ASCA
Election Calendar
First business day in February
Last day for prospective candidates to
request candidate material from the
Business Office. Candidate material
includes Declaration of Candidacy
document (includes signature stating
prospective candidate agrees to submit
answers to Candidate Inquiry for
publication to the membership) and
Candidate Inquiry.
Second Friday in February
Postmark deadline to file Declaration of
Candidacy document.
March 1
Deadline to electronically submit Candidate’s
completed Candidate Inquiry to
the Business Office for publication in
the May/June Aussie Times. Failure to
submit completed Inquiry will result in
prospective candidate’s disqualification
for that election year.
First business day in May
Foreign ballots will be mailed. For
purposes of determining voting eligibility,
the membership books will close two (2)
weeks prior to the foreign ballot mailing
date.
May 15 or
First business day thereafter
U.S. member ballots will be mailed.
Members not receiving ballots by June
1st should contact the ASCA Business
Office.
July 15
All completed ballots are due in the
hands of the receiver (not postmarked)
on or before July 15.
July 20
On or before this date, all director
Candidates to be notified of election
results. Official notice of voting results will
be announced at the General Membership
Meeting at the ASCA National Specialty.
Rev. 07/11
76 AUSSIE TIMES May-June 2018