Health Testing

[Podengo]

I would love a database world wide for each breeds health results n pedigrees to be kept on.

Me too - I love the DPCA's one Dobequest, it's very cool to have a read through - not many dogs from this side of the world listed, but you can go back through their pedigrees and look at cause of death and health testing on their grandparents and all of the siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles... Very fascinating!

[Wazzat Xolo]

I would love a database world wide for each breeds health results n pedigrees to be kept on.

Me too - I love the DPCA's one Dobequest, it's very cool to have a read through - not many dogs from this side of the world listed, but you can go back through their pedigrees and look at cause of death and health testing on their grandparents and all of the siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles... Very fascinating!

that is great to see in some breeds, we have a very new one for Xolos, and its great to see we are at least getting started to help the breeds future.

[espinay2]

Yup am aware about the collection - still any vet can take blood or saliva and send it to a lab.

Saliva? What DNA tests are done on a dog's saliva?

Cheek swabs are a very common way of testing for a lot of things. Very easy to do and non invasive.

[ellz]

Yup am aware about the collection - still any vet can take blood or saliva and send it to a lab.

Saliva? What DNA tests are done on a dog's saliva?

Cheek swabs are a very common way of testing for a lot of things. Very easy to do and non invasive.

I have a sneaking suspicion that Sandra is absolutely well aware of this and is possibly being a tad facetious!! *insert wicked winking icon here*

[MalteseLuna]

Yup am aware about the collection - still any vet can take blood or saliva and send it to a lab.

Saliva? What DNA tests are done on a dog's saliva?

Cheek swabs are a very common way of testing for a lot of things. Very easy to do and non invasive.

I use saliva sometimes as the quality/quantity of the DNA is actually far superior to buccal swabs for research. Blood is better than either :)

Personally I hate working with buccal swabs - often collected poorly or stored improperly before arriving in lab. Then if the DNA quality/quantity is poor often requires multiple repeats etc.

Saliva would be a way better option - but the kits are much more expensive (i.e. $15 per collection kit).

But I did wrongly say saliva when I meant buccal swab

[Roseclipt]

Doppler echo is available in Sydney - at North Shore Veterinary Specialist Centre. Auscultation is also very good, but preferably by a heart specialist.

Putnam scoring for patellas can be done by an experienced Vet., and the results sent to the OFA for certification. Forms can be downloaded.

Animal Genetics in Florida have a wide range of tests - you can apply for kits by email. If Aust. certification is required, your Vet. should check chip numbers and take the swab for you. Very well priced - less than half of what you pay out here.

Cheers, Lesley.

[Salukifan]

Doppler echo is available in Sydney - at North Shore Veterinary Specialist Centre. Auscultation is also very good, but preferably by a heart specialist.

Putnam scoring for patellas can be done by an experienced Vet., and the results sent to the OFA for certification. Forms can be downloaded.

Animal Genetics in Florida have a wide range of tests - you can apply for kits by email. If Aust. certification is required, your Vet. should check chip numbers and take the swab for you. Very well priced - less than half of what you pay out here.

Cheers, Lesley.

Sweet - will save me a trip to Melbourne next time. :)

[espinay2]

Doppler echo is available in Sydney - at North Shore Veterinary Specialist Centre. Auscultation is also very good, but preferably by a heart specialist.

Putnam scoring for patellas can be done by an experienced Vet., and the results sent to the OFA for certification. Forms can be downloaded.

Animal Genetics in Florida have a wide range of tests - you can apply for kits by email. If Aust. certification is required, your Vet. should check chip numbers and take the swab for you. Very well priced - less than half of what you pay out here.

Cheers, Lesley.

Sweet - will save me a trip to Melbourne next time. :)

We now have a heart specialist in NSW at the University of Sydney. He has recently moved here from overseas. I posted about it I think in the breeders forum about a month ago as he is who did my heart certs. But let me know if you need details HW. certainly makes it easier!

Been thinking too and agree that OFA seems to be the only way to go for 'official' Patella certs at the moment. Up till now I have just been getting the vet to write out their own

certification in the absence of any Australian alternative.

Edited October 18, 2012 by espinay2

[Safffy]

So even though the ANKC states this -

"A member shall take responsible action to reduce the incidence of hereditary diseases in accordance with the ANKC Code of Practice for Hereditary Diseases."

No mandatory testing is required to breed dogs?

Edited January 13, 2014 by saithroth

[Steve]

The short answer is yes if there are known problems in the breed and testing is available then the tests should be mandatory.

But its not that simple

[ness]

I agree there should be mandatory testing required when there are known problems in the breed. I would like it taken one step further though and have provision made for any other potentially hereditary condition to be noted in some sort of "official" capacity.

Having been on the receiving end of some very unfortunate bad luck with regards to conditions which are only likely to be genetic (and have cost me significantly emotionally and financially) its not about blaming the breeder in so much as educating and keeping record if something should start to become more of a breed issue. Its interesting when you start talking to breeders once you have a dog with an emerging genetic condition for which there is no test and the will say yes I have heard of something similar that just happened to be in a pet home.

Its only because I have a dog with the condition that you find out others and do start to wonder if its a bigger breed issue and just been brushed off to one side because they have ended up in pet homes. I do love my little girl but I really wouldn't wish the heartache I have been through on anybody else especially when some of it is particularly frightening to witness.

Edited January 13, 2014 by ness

[Safffy]

The short answer is yes if there are known problems in the breed and testing is available then the tests should be mandatory.

But its not that simple

I stumbled across this interesting summary of HD,ED, link:-

http://www.germanshe...id=81&Itemid=90

I can understand why it would not be mandatory when only 20 - 40% of HD and ED is due to genetics. Rest is attributable to nutrition and exercise. Testing protocols vary depending on who is reviewing the x-rays anyway and there has been significant improvement in breeds over the last 40 years, link:-

http://www.offa.org/...hip.html?view=2

As people have said most registered breeders health test. So the system is working and doing something right. I imagine it would be a legal nightmare for the controlling bodies and the individual kennel clubs.

Other factors like phenotype utilisation techniques are far better in determining desirable breeds, link:-

http://www.offa.org/pdf/hovanart.pdf

My breed, the American Staffy has health tests showing normal with %'s as follows.

Baer Hearing 100%

Patella 99.1%

Cardiac 95.5%

Elbow 82.5%

Thyroid 80.7%

Degenerative Myelopathy 80%

Hips 72%

Not adding the excellent %'s to that either so results are slightly higher. 3 of the tests there are really not needed anyway, furthermore these stats are not even all purebred dogs, only the people that get dogs tested, meaning results could be higher or lower.

Stats for all breeds can be found at this link:-

http://www.offa.org/stats.html#breed

Edited January 14, 2014 by saithroth

[sandgrubber]

The efficacy of tests also needs to be considered. If the incidence of cataracts that can't be detected by DNA test is, say 3% in some breed, and there is no known incidence of juvenile cataracts in some breeder's lines, I would say that breeder might be justified in skipping annual opthamology screening. If you go to offa.com, you'll see that some small breeds have high radiographic incidence of HD / OCD . . . but very low clinical manifestation of hip or elbow problems. I can understand why the relevant breed clubs seldom require hip and elbow scoring.

The seriousness of the disease is also relevant. Before there was a DNA test for Exercise Induced Collapse, there were thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of Labradors who were affected, in genetic terms, but lived their entire lives without any clinical signs.

As genetic tests multiply, we need to think carefully about what we require, and need to begin putting pressure on providers to bundle tests. I would not like to end up with a situation where one had to submit 20 different DNA tests for 20 different conditions, and keep records for all of them...and explain all the results to each prospective puppy buyer.

[ness]

Having a clinically affected BC collapse dog I would definitely classify the condition as serious in its nature. An active breed who can manage barely 2-3 min of physical activity is totally soul destroying for dog and human. Just because some individuals manage to live there entire lives without any clinical signs doesn't mean the condition shouldn't still be bred out of the breed if a genetic test can allow for it to happen.

Its certainly about making information available so that prospective purchasers can make informed decisions. A dog is a significant commitment when everything is fine never mind the commitment if a problem arises and your living with it on a daily basis. Its interesting I know of a number of cases of BC collapse from speaking with people and yet if you weren't in the know you wouldn't know its a condition that exists in the breed. Its not spoken about nor is it listed as a BC condition just because for the moment they can't actually test for it.

Edited January 14, 2014 by ness