Health Tests Explained

As ethical breeders, before any of our dogs begin their journey as future parents we fully health test them. DNA tests allow us to understand their genetics and if it’s likely to be AFFECTED by a specific condition or weather it may pass on a gene associated with these conditions if they are bred from.

Clear

This indicates that the gene is NOT present in a dog. Therefore, when used for breeding a clear dog will not pass on the disease gene.

Carrier

This indicates that ONE copy of the disease gene is present in your dog, but it will NOT exhibit disease symptoms. This means a carrier will not have medical problems for that condition. Dogs that have the carrier status can enjoy a full life without the fear of developing the specific disease but it will pass on the copy for that condition to 50% of its offspring.

Affected

This finding indicates that two copies of the disease gene are present. Unfortunately, the dog will be medically affected by the disease. Appropriate treatment should be pursued by your veterinarian.

In an ideal world both male and female dogs would be 100% clear, however, to maintain a large enough gene pool of good breeding stock, it is necessary for some breeders to breed ‘clear’ to ‘carriers’. To help you understand the implications of matching clear, carriers and affected dogs together please see our chart below.

Top 5 Recommended Australian Labradoodle DNA tests

PRA prcd – Progressive Retinal Atrophy, night blindness developing into total blindness.

VWD1- an inherited bleeding disorder in which a dog cannot clot blood normally

EIC – Exercise Induced Collapse is an inherited condition that affects Labrador Retriever and related breeds. Affected dogs can endure mild to moderate exercise but after 5 to 20 minutes of heavy exercise with extreme excitement, the dog shows weakness and then collapse.

DM – This disease is a result of the deterioration of structures in the spinal cord that are responsible for transmission of nerve impulses. Although the changes may be found anywhere in the spinal cord, they are most severe in the lower back.

IC -The improper coat/furnishings determines if a dog will have longer hair around the muzzle and eyebrows (facial furnishings) or a lack of furnishings (called improper coat in breeds for which facial furnishings are standard)

At Willowbrook we test our dogs for over 200 DNA diseases as well as the recommended ones as standard.

British Veterinary Association {BVA}

DNA testing covers for the eye disease PRA, however screening with the BVA is more in-depth. Taken from the bva website here are the diseases that our dogs are screened for and why it is important.

What is hereditary eye disease?

There are many types of hereditary eye disease, both congenital (conditions that exist from birth or soon after birth) and non-congenital (conditions that develop later in life), that affect dogs. Many of these conditions can have serious effects on health and welfare, causing pain, blindness, or the need for lifelong medication, and should be taken into consideration when breeding dogs.

The scheme is open to all dogs and breeds including crossbreeds and non-Kennel Club registered dogs.

Eye diseases in dogs

We currently screen for the following inherited eye diseases:

Congenital/Neonatal eye conditions (inherited conditions present at birth):

(CEA) Collie eye anomaly

(MRD) Multifocal retinal dysplasia

(TRD) Total retinal dysplasia

(CHC) Congenital hereditary cataract

(PHPV) Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous

(PLA) Pectinate ligament abnormality

Inherited conditions that develop later in life:

(HC) Hereditary cataract

(PLL) Primary lens luxation

(POAG) Primary open angle glaucoma

(PRA) Progressive retinal atrophy

(RPED) Retinal pigment epithelial dystrophy

Other eye conditions which may be identified during the examination include:

Distichiasis

Ectopic cilia

Trichiasis

Entropion

Ectropion

Combined entropion/ectropion

Corneal lipid deposition

Ocular Melanosis

Persistent pupillary membrane

Various lens conditions

Various retinal conditions

Optic nerve hypoplasia

Multi-ocular defects

BVA Hips and Elbows.

In the UK this is a test that cannot be done until the dog is 12 months of age or above. It is done by X-ray and the results are scored by faults that maybe found, so the lower the score, the better the confirmation of the hip and elbow. The best score for each hip is zero, and the worst is 53, giving a range for the total of 0 – 106. Each hip is scored separately with the BVA, so within the UK scores are usually displayed as two numbers separated by a forward slash e.g. 4/4. The BVA advice is to only breed from dogs with a hip score of below the breed average and to only breed from a dog with a zero elbow score. The Australian Labradoodle score average recommended by the BVA is at 20 or below.

Canine Hip Dysplasia Orthopedic Foundation for Animals {Ofa}

Ofa is the international version of the bva for hip and elbow scoring, it classifies hips into seven different categories:

Excellent, Good, Fair {all within normal limits},

Borderline, and then Mild, Moderate, or Severe {last 3 considered Dysplastic}, many Australian Labradoodles are tested this way if they have been imported from America and already had their scores done.

Here are the conversions from OFA to BVA for you to understand.

Having a puppy with genetically good hips and elbows is only the beginning for you as owners, you must continue to look after their little bones until maturity. By doing so this reduces the risk of dysplasia even more. Puppies should be given adequate food to promote slow, steady growth not rapid growth that can lead to bone and joint problems. Don’t allow them to get overweight. Excessive exercise and jumping that puts a strain on the joints should be avoided in very young dogs. That means no running up and down stairs, to avoid this a baby gate would be a great idea. Also no jumping up and down onto the sofa or in and out of the car. No excessive ball chasing and minimal length walking times i.e 5 minutes for every month of age eg: 4 months old only a 20 minute walk maximum. All these tips should help your puppy grow into a healthy dog and live a long painfree life.

Patella Luxation

A luxating patella, sometimes called a trick knee, is a condition in which the patella, or kneecap, dislocates or moves out of its normal location.

Patellar luxation is a common condition in dogs, particularly small and miniature breeds. The condition usually becomes evident between the ages of 4 and 6 months.

Rarely, it can be caused by some form of blunt trauma, but most frequently, it is a developmental, congenital defect. In congenital cases, it is frequently bilateral. The condition can also be inherited through genetics. This can also be caused by obesity. Diagnosis is made through palpation of the knee, to see whether it slips inside the joint more than would normally be expected. Often, a dog owner might be told that his or her pet has “loose knee”, but this is not a medical term, and it is not correct to use it interchangeably with luxating patella.

Luxating patella cannot be present without the knee being loose, but a loose knee is not necessarily slipping out of the joint. Even with luxating patella, symptoms such as intermittent limping in the rear leg might be mild or absent. Physical examination and manual manipulation are the preferred methods for diagnosis.

A grade 0 is normal and the preferred result

The four recognized diagnostic grades of patellar luxation include, in order of severity:

Grade I – the patella can be manually luxated but is reduced (returns to the normal position) when released.

Grade II – the patella can be manually luxated or it can spontaneously luxate with flexion of the stifle joint. The patella remains luxated until it is manually reduced or when the animal extends the joint and derotates the tibia in the opposite direction of luxation.

Grade III – the patella remains luxated most of the time, but can be manually reduced with the stifle joint in extension. Flexion and extension of the stifle results again in luxation of the patella.

Grade IV – the patella is permanently luxated and cannot be manually repositioned, with up to 90° of rotation of the proximal tibial plateau. The femoral trochlear groove is shallow or absent, with displacement of the quadriceps muscle group in the direction of the luxation.

Most cases of patellar luxation are medial, and this is frequently a congenital problem in toy- and miniature-breed dogs. Breeds showing a predisposition for medial patellar luxation include miniature and toy Poodles, Maltese, Jack Russell Terriers, Yorkshire Terriers, Pomeranians, Pekingese, Patterdale Terriers, Chihuahuas, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Papillons, Boston Terriers, Plummer Terriers and Teddy Roosevelt Terriers. Large-breed dogs are also affected, and the Labrador retriever seems particularly predisposed.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxating_patella

We strive to breed quality, strong and healthy puppies for you to enjoy for the lifetime of your pet.

Jo & Lee x