Why is it so important to carry out health tests on dogs prior to breeding?
Posted on March 25th, 2010 by admin
Please explain why and how these health tests can be carried out
Thank you
To prevent unnecessary suffering to the dogs (and to prevent unnecessary expense and heartache to the owners!)
There are hundreds of health problems affecting todays dogs, many of which have a hereditary component. These can cause blindness, deafness, blood disorders, and leave dogs unable to breathe or walk. Many are painful and debilitating, some are fatal.
Breeding untested dogs (or dogs known to have the problem) increases the chances that their pups will suffer. There is NO EXCUSE for this where health tests exist. For example, tests exist for hip and elbow displasia, PRA, SM, heart defects, deafness, etc.
If all potential breeding dogs were tested for the appropriate conditions, and if we only bred from healthy, sound dogs, then we could massively reduce the incidence of these disorders – perhaps eventually even eliminate some of them. We should at least try.
As for the human element – hereditary disorders also cause suffering for owners. Ask anyone who has seen a 9 month old puppy unable to run, living on painkillers because of hip displasia – or those who have watched their dog writhe and scream in pain from syringomelia. It is heart wrenching – and so often preventable by good breeding practices. In my opinion certain health tests should be compulsory by law, and those who breed untested dogs or those known to suffer these diseases should be prosecuted for animal cruelty!
March 25th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
Why simply so genetic health problems are not passed onto further generations. I have 3 rescued dogs and I can tell that my APBT was poorly bred. SHe has had a lot of skin problems (mange) and breathing problems.
It is important for so many reasons..
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March 25th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
It is to make sure that they do not pass on any genetic traits to their offspring.
Let’s just take a puppy I had in foster and who went to someone who has now become a friend. The poor little man has just had his 4th operation all caused through someone not doing any health tests on her dogs. Just thought it would be nice to have pups Grrrrrrrrrr
This dog is insured – just as well – otherwise we would be looking at approx. £4000 worth of ops, the latest being entropian in both eyes done this Saturday. All the problems he has had have been through genetics.
The tests differ for each breed, depending on what faults they tend to pass on.
They are not cheap, but that is why people will often prefer to pay for a decently bred dog. They can end up paying more out anyway, as my friend, with lots of heartache for her, and pain for the dog.
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March 25th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
To prevent the breeding of unhealthy animals. We’ve bred most of the instinctive objectiveness out of dogs. A domestic female in heat will mate with just about any male that comes across her. In wild canines and feral dogs only the strong and healthy breed.
As for how test range from xray evaluations to blood test, skin punches to dna testing to eye exams depending on the breed and the testing required for that breed. The most basic are OFA/PennHip and CERF.
For breeder who deal with dogs who carry the merle any pups with lots of white if not every pup in the litter would be CERF and BAER < hearing cleared before they left for their new homes.
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March 25th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
It’s important because if we don’t then our dog breeds will have even MORE genetic problems. Thanks to people breeding and not testing, we have a lot of genetic problems as it is. If no one tested, god knows what else might be wrong with our breeds.
If you don’t do any testing and you breed a dog that has hip dysplasia that can be passed to their offspring. It’s all about genetics. If the parents have it then the offspring can get it. And those genetic concerns are costly to fix and sometimes result in pain and suffering and eventually death in the dog.
References :
March 25th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
To prevent unnecessary suffering to the dogs (and to prevent unnecessary expense and heartache to the owners!)
There are hundreds of health problems affecting todays dogs, many of which have a hereditary component. These can cause blindness, deafness, blood disorders, and leave dogs unable to breathe or walk. Many are painful and debilitating, some are fatal.
Breeding untested dogs (or dogs known to have the problem) increases the chances that their pups will suffer. There is NO EXCUSE for this where health tests exist. For example, tests exist for hip and elbow displasia, PRA, SM, heart defects, deafness, etc.
If all potential breeding dogs were tested for the appropriate conditions, and if we only bred from healthy, sound dogs, then we could massively reduce the incidence of these disorders – perhaps eventually even eliminate some of them. We should at least try.
As for the human element – hereditary disorders also cause suffering for owners. Ask anyone who has seen a 9 month old puppy unable to run, living on painkillers because of hip displasia – or those who have watched their dog writhe and scream in pain from syringomelia. It is heart wrenching – and so often preventable by good breeding practices. In my opinion certain health tests should be compulsory by law, and those who breed untested dogs or those known to suffer these diseases should be prosecuted for animal cruelty!
References :
March 25th, 2010 at 6:04 pm
well if it has something that can be passed on to the puppies, then it shouldnt be bred from. so if you had a dog that had a history of a heart condition and it ran in the family, would you want to take the risk and breed from it
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March 25th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
By health tests, I assume you mean testing for genetic conditions that occur in individual breeds, like, for example, hip/eye displasia and the various eye conditions? It is important because breeders need to know the stock they are using to produce future generations are as sound as possible. It doesn’t mean rogue genes won’t come out (the dreaded recessives), but by testing, at least one can be reasonably certain to be avoiding deliberately breeding incorrect dogs together. As far as ‘health’ testing, every b itch should have a pre-mating check up, to be sure she’s fit enough to carry and rear a litter.
Hips and elbows are x-rayed and scored. Eye conditions receive the appropriate testing, with the necessary equipment, under the necessary conditions.
Hope this sort-of helps!
Add – I should say that breeding living beings is an art, based on knowledge, education and a ‘good eye’. Testing is a tool, an aid to help a breeder produce the best he can, but there are no guarantees and one of the challenges is how to deal with the unexpected.
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