I urge you to vote YES for LUA!

Urate stones is an issue in Dalmatians whether you want to believe it or not. Of the 4 dalmatians I have owned prior to learning about the Backcross Project, two formed stones and had urethrostomies performed. One of these dogs was ultrasounded at DCA after his urethrostomy and was found to have sludge and was already being treated for a stone when ultrasounded the next year, a month later he had bladder surgery. This dog's sire and one littermate have been put to sleep for stones and another littermate blocked as well requiring bladder surgery. Another dog I had at DCA ultrasounded clear both years.

Chemistry tells us that lowering the uric acid levels will help to prevent the forming of urate stones. Veterinary medicine tells us urate stone formation is extremely rare in dogs with normal levels of uric acid which the LUA dogs have.

A DVM who is also a PhD tells us she has found the gene for LUA and can test for it.  Genetics tells us that a gene will not suddenly change, so why would it be believed these dogs will later have higher levels of Uric Acid when they mature?

The LUA boy in my house does have smaller spots then my other boys including my AKC champion. His spots are within the breed standard while some of my champion's spots are oversize and bleed together. When non-dal people see him out many prefer his spotting to the other boys because his don't bleed together.

Amy Marrich