TO SCAN OR NOT TO SCAN?

I'm sure every breeder has asked this question every time they look at their dogs, we certainly do and we still haven't come up with a conclusive answer. To date we have not scanned. We have been accused of "ignoring the science" and "damning the breed". If my accusers presented the "science" and convinced me that scanning was the positive way forward, I would gladly scan. I want to and always have done the best for my dogs.

I work as an electrician, in the course of my work, I have to correct faults. There is a logical sequence to fault finding:

Identify what the fault is

Find the cause of the fault

Repair the fault

I see my fault finding sequence as a very simplistic way of looking at SM, we have identified SM, that is without doubt. We have seen dogs with varying degrees of the problem, I haven't spoken to anyone yet who is in denial of SM.

The second part of my sequence is where grey areas begin to appear. What is the cause of SM? Since SM was identified, we have been given differing information. Head shape was the original theory, some years later a study confirmed head shapes played no part in the cause of SM. I know of people who brought breeding lines to an end on the strength of the head shape theory. Who is to say current theories won't be proved wrong?

Repairing the fault in cavaliers is going to be the biggest problem, especially as Dr's Rusbridge and Skerritt do not agree on the way forward, how are we breeders (electricians, groomers, printers, drivers, nurses etc) supposed to know the way forward. We all have our differing ideas. Clear scanned dogs have produced affected offspring, dogs scanned clear have shown symptoms, SM scanned dogs have lived asymptomatic lives pain free, all very confusing and contradictory. I feel genetics markers are the ONLY way forward.

Without going into too much detail about my thoughts, the above are some of the reasons we have not scanned to date.

Things could be about to change, recent moves involving the Animal Health Trust, Cavalier Clubs and the Kennel Club are working towards scientific/genetic evaluation of information to produce Estimated Breeding Value's. EBV's have already proved successful in livestock, this is showing me "the science" I will begin to scan and forward my dogs information, inclusive of heart and eye certificates, to Sarah Blott as I see this as a step forward, although I'm still not convinced that scanning is by any means the sole answer to SM but merely a starting point.