Breeders Screening Parents

[Mil]

Hi sorry I have another "buying a puppy question."

Nearly all of the information that I've read says that you should only buy a puppy from a breeder that has had the parents screened for inherited diseases. But I keep talking to respected and registered breeders who sound a little surprised when I ask and don't screen their dogs. Mostly because either: a) "Its not really a problem in smaller dogs" (I'm looking for a bichon) or "I've bred generations of these dogs and none of them have had any problems."

Are these valid responses? Do I need to worry about genetic screening? Gee this is all so confusing.

Thank you very much all choosing a breeder advice gratefully received.

[Aziah]

Yes you need to worry - hopefully someone familiar with the breed will come on here and help...

You need to find out which specific tests should be done on the breeding pair and then make sure you view the results (clear) before purchasing a puppy.

[sas]

I'm buying a puppy from a very good breeder who doesn't do all the testing.....for my breed of choice approx 95% don't do the testing because they won't risk the dog going under general.

You really only want to see tests that are relevant to that breed, ring lot's of breeders and see what response you get and speak with your vet as well.

[Nekhbet]

do some work on the net. Read around because breed clubs will be able to give you info on what people should be testing for. To not test because you dont see it is irresponsible IMO because of course recessive conditions may not pop up until its too late.

http://www.akc.org/breeds/bichon_frise/index.cfm

http://www.bichonfrise.com.au/

http://www.bichon.org/

http://www.bichonfrise.org/clubs.html

I cant vouch for the websites but if they are registered with their national canine council it should be a good start.

[cowanbree]

I would most certainly worry about genetic testing but it can be confusing. For example my breed (shelties) has never tested for HD until the last 4-5 years. More and more breeders are recognising that it is becoming more of an issue and have started resting but a good proportion (80%)still don't. This doesn't make them bad breeders just perhaps not well informed. Given a choice I would definitely buy from a breeder who does do as much health testing as possible

[t-time]

Personally, my breed is not tested in this country as it has only been here 6 years and the original import dogs were tested before they came to Oz. No doubt testing will be introduced at a later stage but at the moment, I have full confidence in the fact that the progeny of those sires have minimal problems as far as the breed goes.

I would explore the tests that need to be done for Bichons - having not looked at the links provided, I would imagine the most important tests would be for PRA and/or juvenile cataracts. Plus the patellas should be checked by a vet for tuture reference for breeder if not yourself.

Are you looking for a pet or potential breeding dog?

I think if you ask why there have been no health tests for a specific problem, the breeders will be upfront. Obviously, you have already had one response of "It's not in the lines I use". Often, this is certainly the case and there would not be health tests conducted unless something untowards shows up in the dogs in front of the breeder. It is really up to you to decide whether that's a good enough response for you and whether the breeder will write something of a health guarantee about this into the puppy buyer contract

If there is a problem that is particularly relevent to the breed, it is my suggestion that you contact the Bichon Club in your state and see if it is required for the breeders to do testing for these problems. Then follow up by inquiring as to which breeders do test their dogs.

Otherwise, you might find that the breeders you have spoken to are being completely honest in their answers to you. Often a lot of the info available is American and they test for absolutely everything which may or may not be relevent to the breed. Once again, your choice of a pet versus a dog for a breeding program would affect this consideration.

Best of luck in finding a Bichon