Our Westie needs surgery
We have two dogs: a Jack Russell (we think) named Jack, whom we got from a pound; and a West Highland White Terrier named Hero. Hero was our first; we knew we needed a non-shedder, and we bought him from a breeder for $500.
Now he needs surgery at about 6 years of age. He's never been all that energetic--usually something or somebody has to get him going before he'll run at the park. A couple of weekends ago I took both dogs to the park. I ran with them, Hero got going fast, yelped, and started limping.
It turns out he tore the ligaments in his knee. This is fairly common in bigger dogs, that run a lot; being overweight might contribute (Hero is slightly overweight). It's unusual in small dogs. Maybe we contributed by not exercising him enough.
With or without the surgery, it is now certain he will get arthritis in that knee. The vet recommended a hip x-ray before surgery; if the hips are really bad, there is not much point in working on the knee. The hip is already showing some arthritis, and may be delicate somehow, but surgery is recommended nonetheless.
I feel a bit guilty, but mainly heartbroken for the dog. He's had a happy life, always showing a lot of spunk, and making us laugh. Now there's a shadow over him. Supposedly he will re-gain 100% of the use of the knee, at least for a while, but we now know his old age is going to be painful and difficult, and it is likely to come sooner than we expected.
We used to think of Hero as a very robust dog.
So a blog-type question: has dog breeding gone too far, yet again? Westies are supposedly free, as purebreds go, from congenital medical problems. The vet says she has heard from a much older vet, who has done surgeries for years, that the cruciate ligaments in pure bred dogs (same ligament that baseball players get replaced in their elbows?) is generally more delicate now than it used to be.
From my reading, I gather the "creation" of the breeds we see today, along with Kennel Clubs and dog shows, was a deliberate attempt to preserve some diversity of breeds with the knowledge that the population was becoming urban, and many skills of working breeds would not be needed. A kind of semblance of working qualities is kept up in shows--a personality, acting like a hunting dog or terrier--but true show dogs never work in the field at all.
Breeders and shows, at least the "conformation" trials, emphasize a "phenotype," not a "genotype"--literally a certain look of dog. Sometimes it is a movie that reminds people exactly what a Dalmation looks like. But if breeders produce identical puppies, they are not maintaining enough genetic diversity; they are inbreeding too much, and reinforcing problems.
Maybe I'm just gloomy, but I think the best idea is to pick a puppy that is half and half, from purebred parents of two different breeds. Meet the parents, and make sure they have no significant health problems.
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