A significant reason for the sad and unfortunate issues with longevity in Berners is a disease called Histiocytic Sarcoma. The only breeders who have not produced this disease are either new or dishonest; it is pervasive in the breed.
One way we try to minimize risk is through pedigree research. This requires that information about cause of death in relatives is both available and accurate; that is, unfortunately, not always the case. It is not easy to face up to hard truths, and so some simply don’t.
Ignorance may be bliss but it is also a killer, which doesn’t actually contribute to bliss in the long run.
As I think about those words, I realize that while I am talking about Histiocytic Sarcoma in Berners, it also applies to Covid. Please be smart and safe.
Back to Histiocytic Sarcoma — there is a newer tool that some of us are using to try and mitigate risk. A blood test can tell if a dog is an A, B, or C in terms of risk.
A = Four times less likely to get Histiocytic Sarcoma
B = Neutral; not more or less likely to get Histiocytic Sarcoma
C = Four times more likely to get Histiocytic Sarcoma
An individual dog rating is not a diagnosis — it is information about relative risk, and the test is pretty new so nobody should be stressing out over their dog’s letter at this point.
The value of the test is for breeders because there is a tool called Histiocytic Sarcoma Index Mate Selection that allows us to create combinations to see what the A/B/C values should be in a litter.
Only people whose dogs are entered in the database can use this tool, and only with our own dogs matched with dogs of the opposite sex owned by others who have given consent to enter their dogs into the database. Further, we have to agree not to use results to advertise or promote a litter/dog.
This is a tool for breeders designed to — hopefully — give us the chance to lower the risk/rate of Histiocytic Sarcoma in our breed.
The Mate Selector tool is so valuable but it is not as straightforward as one might think. These are the results from two dogs who are both A — it tells us what to expect from their potential litter:
Those are really good results — a litter with 30% or less of C is likely better than average.
But consider this combination — same A male but different female, and she is B:
No C’s!!!!
Same A male with a different female, and one who is also a B:
The combination of two A dogs doesn’t always offer the lowest risk. In the case examples above, the best combination is A + B, but the results are specific to that particular B dog. In other words, it is less about the letters and more about the combination of the two dogs.
Most US dogs are not in the database — 145 American males, many not available as stud dogs, are in the database. There are 215 American females in the database. These small numbers make it hard to consistently use a tested dog — there are just so many variables that go into selecting a breeding pair, and eliminating an otherwise solid choice because he or she isn’t tested may not be a good plan at this point. It’s complicated for sure.
Yes, all of my girls are tested and yes, this is a tool I utilize in my breeding program. Hopefully, more and more breeders will get on board so that we can — together — start making a dent in the incidence of Histiocytic Sarcoma in Bernese Mountains Dogs.
Have a blissful — and informed — day.