Thread: Very interesting food for thought.

Originally Posted by kawhia

on the hill proves one side, any breeder aims for that first and foremost.
on the breeding side for some breeds the X ray is a huge part of the process.
we can hip score and at least see the science side, the huntaway example does show despite what the x rays show the dogs are still doing the job.

the working cocker has been going through a long period of revival in the uk, sadly inbreeding and pet breeding has seen the need to genetic test now.

the breed clubs feeding into the NZKC will advise on there HD status, the only measure we are looking for is the breed average, is it going up or down ?
the numbers actually being scanned did not appear to be increasing for most breeds compared to numbers whelped reagrdless.
compare that to a regulated breeding programme like the german breeds where everything gets scanned and the system works well.

Yes, many breeders use x-rays even though the reality and science shows it is very inexact and making no difference to anything. Your last sentence is an indicator, to me at least, why you are hanging on so hard to this... my suspicion is, as indicated above, it's as much about marketing as it is genuine orthopedic issues.

The cockers "revival"? The cocker has been popular throughout in the UK and has always been a part of the shooting fabric and as significant as the springer. It is here in NZ that the upsurge in popularity, primarily among triallists, has occurred and the numbers here still do not require testing as your own website attests. Let's not use smoke and mirrors to cloud this significant issue. I do understand it is in your interest to endorse the testing as you've been an advocate of it for so long, but if faced with the facts you have the opportunity to be a leader in the breeding field of putting more importance on what is real than simply being one of the followers. The popularity of the springer and cocker has remained pretty constant since the inception and both have always been exceedingly common in the shooting fields of the UK. The physical soundness of the breeds is determined in the field and that continues. You imply change where there has been none. Yes since Bob Whitehead brought in the working cockers there has more interest in them but there numbers here remain extremely small, definitely not the case in the UK.