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Dog bred to several females died at 4yrs of age :(

4K views 10 replies 10 participants last post by  falnfenix 
#1 ·
I am a huge doberman fan and own three myself. However, I felt compelled to share this to DT since we are all lovers of the breed. I tend to have HIGH expectations when a breeder/trainer sells dogs at 3k. Only becuase when they demand that much, they must give me some since of health guarantee. I came across this guy who claims to have the best working dogs, so I referred him to a friend who ultimately bought a puppy last year from him.

Well needless to say that same breeder's dog who was the father of my friend's dog, " Ares-General James Mattis" owned by Daryl 'Dogman' Young died at the age of 4yrs old from alleged DCM. The owner/breeder, Daryl Young stated on his facebook page announcing his dog's death and what he thought it might of been from since the "litter mate of his dog died a week prior whole giving birth". Please if a breeder says that his dogs are "medically tested", ask for the results..

Pass this along and hopefully the hundreds of pups this dog produced will not die from number one killer, DCM. Please share your thoughts and once again, I am not here to speak on any breeders behalf, but only share what the owner/breeder stated.
 
#2 ·
The biggest and most rage inducing thing, (and this I've heard from a General puppy owner) he is refusing a necropsy to truly confirm what he died of. He's just assuming and giving no one who has this dogs offspring or siblings any credible health info.

But yes, things like this are why it's always a must to see physical proof of health testing (which echo's/holters/dna testing are only a window not a guarantee but still....)
 
#4 · (Edited)
What a shame, the dog was very talented, a shame to lose him so young.
If it was from DCM, an even bigger shame to lose him to a disease that can strike unexpectedly, and can strike any dog at any time really. It really would have been nice to get an accurate COD though, it may have been due to something else entirely, but we'll never know what goes through people's minds when things like this happen.
He may have had Holter results on the dog, unfortunately those results don't give us any guarantee that 3 months later our dog might not drop from a fatal arryhtmia. I've heard of a number of dogs who were Holter'd clear, and six months later were dead from DCM, verified by necropsy. I guess the bottom line is, we don't know enough, the disease is a nasty creepy stalker of a disease, and it can strike any dog at any point in life, no matter how diligently the owner tests. I can't speak to this owner or this dog, but sadly the fact is he may have been all up to date, and still been lost way too young. I am so sorry for all the puppy owners, their stress has just begun in earnest at this point. The ghost of DCM will haunt them every day of their dogs lives, even more so than it haunts the rest of us
 
#6 ·
But we place too much weight on the testing of individual dogs - we have to look at all members of litters the parents and grandparents come from. Great breeders know all the members of the families of all the pedigree - I am pushed to know my own dog's family.

My girl's Dad died suddenly in the agility ring following several years of 6 monthly DCM free holter/echo prevention testing. I took great solace in those results - I shouldn't have. The dam's littermates all died within a few months of each other around the 9-10 mark, some from fatal arrhythmias, another from liver (way over-vaccinated), another from obstruction and another from suspected poisoning but most likely was heart. See, that tells me lots more than testing ever could. Unfortunately it usually comes too late.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Heart healthy supplements like fish oil/ omegas are certainly a good idea but have not been proven to prevent the onset or progression of DCM. Many canine cardiologists recommend these regardless as they are proven to help in other areas of your dog's health.

Clinical trials for new drugs and therapies are great but definitely not something to experiment with on your own or with your pets :2surprise:
 
#9 ·
Clinical trials for new drugs and therapies are great but definitely not something to experiment with on your own or with your pets :2surprise:
Agreed! Plus, nattokinase is basically a clot-buster. As long as you keep your dog on a healthy diet and plenty of exercise, you're already doing plenty to reduce the risk of clot-related cardiovascular disease. So this would definitely be taking an unnecessary risk.
 
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