I'm not sure about other breeds but in Danes some vets will put down the deaf puppies. :cry: With more responsible breeding and getting rid of the BYB we can get some of these genetic defaults out of the dane. There are now several rescues throughout the United States devoted entirely to deaf and or, blind danes. They teach the dogs sign language and advanced obedience then place them in homes and check on them every 3-6 months. The adoptee cannot sell or give away the dog they must be returned to the rescue (NO-KILL).
It is wonderful that so many people are banding together to try and prevent a future degenerative default in the Danes. :D
On a sad note, lately the rumors have been flying that all Merles are of poor health and will die early deaths :roll: . LOL. Yes there is genetics to consider but come on its a color, a merle is a harlequin with a gray base instead of white. I could go on this subject forever, our dane forum has been discussing it for quite some time. :lol:
P.S. To answer your question earlier BK:
Sorry, I forgot to ask: deafness can be produced even with responsible breeding, can't it?
-If we can get responsible breeders to research their color patterns and the pedigree we can eliminate alot of the white puppies. They say you need to trace both parents heritages back 5 generations in order to avoid the deaf gene (also blue eye gene). These poor puppies could have had a chance if breeders had done their research and wouldn't just shove two dogs together.