Health Testing Explained
Breeding dogs isn't what it used to be...well, kind of lol. Back in the day the male and female got together and 2 months later you had yourself a litter of precious pups that you hoped would grow to be healthy adult dogs and live out a long life with their families. Nowadays, with so many advances in veterinary medicine, we responsible breeders can do so much more to ensure our litters have the best chance possible to live that exact future. So many breeds of dogs have been put through the genetic ringer (so to speak) and have developed genetic diseases or abnormalities that effect their quality of life, and in the worst case, stop their life short because irresponsible breeders turned a blind eye when breeding their dogs. Putting the sire and dam through rigorous health testing's BEFORE you breed them, is the true sign of a great breeder. We want to ensure that only the best genes get reproduced therefore not only ensuring the health of the individual dog, but ensuring that the breed itself only gets better with time. For the amount of money that we breeders charge for our puppies, you'd better be getting a puppy from health tested parents!
vonWillebrands Disease: This is a bleeding disorder. The dogs blood fails to clot properly which puts it at greater risk from bleeding out during surgery or from injury. This can be a life threatening disease. This is a DNA based disease. This means that both parents have to carry the gene for the puppy to be effected by the disease, a dog cannot just develop this disease one day. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM): Degenerative myelopathy is a disease affecting the spinal cord, resulting in slowly progressive hind limb weakness and paralysis. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures (NEwS): This is an inherited progressive brain disease of Standard Poodles and related crosses that is characterized by weakness, mobility issues and seizures. This mutation was first described in Poodles. This disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, meaning that affected dogs must have two copies of the mutation to show clinical signs. This is a DNA based disease. This means that both parents have to carry the gene for the puppy to be effected by the disease, a dog cannot just develop this disease one day. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD): PRA-prcd is a retinal disease that causes progressive, non-painful vision loss. The retina contains cells, called photoreceptors, that collect information about light and send signals to the brain. There are two types of photoreceptors: rods, for night vision and movement, and cones, for day vision and color. This type of PRA leads to early loss of rod cells, leading to night blindness before day blindness. This is a DNA based disease. This means that both parents have to carry the gene for the puppy to be effected by the disease, a dog cannot just develop this disease one day. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD): Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD or OD) is an inflammatory condition that occurs when the cartilage separates from the underlying bone. It most commonly affects the shoulder joint but the elbow, hip, or knee (stifle) may also be involved. This is a DNA based disease. This means that both parents have to carry the gene for the puppy to be effected by the disease, a dog cannot just develop this disease one day. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD): IVDD, or Intervertebral Disc Disease, is a spinal disorder that follows from the herniating of an intervertebral disc inside an afflicted dog. This is a spinal disease commonly diagnosed in dogs. Typically, dogs with intervertebral disc disease need spinal surgery to address the issue.
PennHip: PennHIP stands for Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Progam. PennHIP is a much more popular, reliable and accurate hip test compared to OFA hip testing. PennHIP testing is purely objective, as opposed to OFA hip testing which is subjective. PennHIP tests for hip joint laxity which is the underlying cause of hip dysplasia. OFA hip testing subjectively judges how much of the head of the femur (ball) is covered by the acetabulum of the pelvis (socket). The OFA radiologist then gives a subjective rating of Poor, Fair, Good or Excellent. This is why I no longer use OFA hip testing. It's purely dependent on that specific radiologists opinion. A different radiologist could have a different opinion, therefore rate a dogs hips differently. PennHIP is based purely on measurements of hip join laxity. This means, when sedated, how far can the doctor luxate (pull out of socket) the hip joint. The dog is sedated, the hips are stretched using a special instrument, the space between the head of the femur and the acetabulum is measured and a specific algorithm is used to give the hips a decimal rating. That rating is then compared to a pool of dogs within the same breed.
OFA Eyes: This is a specific eye exam that can only be performed by a board certified ophthalmologist. They look for specific structures or anatomical changes (or lack thereof) in the eye. Many disorders of the eye are genetic so if the dog being tested has abnormal results, it is likely to be passed to his/her offspring.
OFA Cardiac: This test can be as basic as your general DVM practitioner auscultating (listening to) the dogs heart to detect any murmurs and reporting the findings to the OFA. This test can also be as extensive as a board certified cardiologist doing a thorough EKG of the dogs heart and also reporting the findings. Certain breeds that are more prone to heart problems should have more extensive cardiac testing than other breeds.
OFA Dentition: Standard Poodles are famous for a malocclusion (bad bite) known as Base Narrow Mandible. This is exactly as it sounds. When the dog closes it's jaws, instead of the lower canine teeth sitting in front of the upper canines, the jaw is too narrow so the lower canines poke holes into the upper palette. A simple oral exam by your local veterinarian will check for this malocclusion along with having the proper number of teeth, loss of all baby teeth and full eruption of all adult teeth. The findings are then reported to the OFA.
OFA Thyroid: It can be common for the poodle as a breed to have thyroid issues. It's the most common endocrine disease in all dogs. Most common is HYPO-thyroidism or an 'underactive thyroid gland'. which can cause a myriad of problems such as weight gain, hair loss, lethargy and skin changes. A simple blood draw sent to a specific lab will test for any current thyroid problems and report the findings to the OFA.
OFA Patella: Patella is the medical term for 'knee cap'. It is very very common for the poodle (especially the toy and mini) to have a condition called 'luxating patellas'. This means that instead of the kneecap staying snug in place of the femoral groove, when the dog flexes and extends their knee, the knee cap will slip in and out of the groove. This a painful and the hallmark sign of a luxating patella is the dog will be running or walking, suddenly yelp, hold up the affected hind leg for several steps then place it back down again. The dog placing the leg back down signifies the knee cap has found it's way back into it's appropriate groove. This condition is genetic and if the dog is affected, he/she will pass it to their offspring. The test can be easily performed by your local veterinarian and the findings reported to the OFA.
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM): Degenerative myelopathy is a disease affecting the spinal cord, resulting in slowly progressive hind limb weakness and paralysis. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures (NEwS): This is an inherited progressive brain disease of Standard Poodles and related crosses that is characterized by weakness, mobility issues and seizures. This mutation was first described in Poodles. This disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, meaning that affected dogs must have two copies of the mutation to show clinical signs. This is a DNA based disease. This means that both parents have to carry the gene for the puppy to be effected by the disease, a dog cannot just develop this disease one day. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD): PRA-prcd is a retinal disease that causes progressive, non-painful vision loss. The retina contains cells, called photoreceptors, that collect information about light and send signals to the brain. There are two types of photoreceptors: rods, for night vision and movement, and cones, for day vision and color. This type of PRA leads to early loss of rod cells, leading to night blindness before day blindness. This is a DNA based disease. This means that both parents have to carry the gene for the puppy to be effected by the disease, a dog cannot just develop this disease one day. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Osteochondritis Dissecans (OCD): Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD or OD) is an inflammatory condition that occurs when the cartilage separates from the underlying bone. It most commonly affects the shoulder joint but the elbow, hip, or knee (stifle) may also be involved. This is a DNA based disease. This means that both parents have to carry the gene for the puppy to be effected by the disease, a dog cannot just develop this disease one day. Health testing determines if the dog in question carries this gene.
Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD): IVDD, or Intervertebral Disc Disease, is a spinal disorder that follows from the herniating of an intervertebral disc inside an afflicted dog. This is a spinal disease commonly diagnosed in dogs. Typically, dogs with intervertebral disc disease need spinal surgery to address the issue.
PennHip: PennHIP stands for Pennsylvania Hip Improvement Progam. PennHIP is a much more popular, reliable and accurate hip test compared to OFA hip testing. PennHIP testing is purely objective, as opposed to OFA hip testing which is subjective. PennHIP tests for hip joint laxity which is the underlying cause of hip dysplasia. OFA hip testing subjectively judges how much of the head of the femur (ball) is covered by the acetabulum of the pelvis (socket). The OFA radiologist then gives a subjective rating of Poor, Fair, Good or Excellent. This is why I no longer use OFA hip testing. It's purely dependent on that specific radiologists opinion. A different radiologist could have a different opinion, therefore rate a dogs hips differently. PennHIP is based purely on measurements of hip join laxity. This means, when sedated, how far can the doctor luxate (pull out of socket) the hip joint. The dog is sedated, the hips are stretched using a special instrument, the space between the head of the femur and the acetabulum is measured and a specific algorithm is used to give the hips a decimal rating. That rating is then compared to a pool of dogs within the same breed.
OFA Eyes: This is a specific eye exam that can only be performed by a board certified ophthalmologist. They look for specific structures or anatomical changes (or lack thereof) in the eye. Many disorders of the eye are genetic so if the dog being tested has abnormal results, it is likely to be passed to his/her offspring.
OFA Cardiac: This test can be as basic as your general DVM practitioner auscultating (listening to) the dogs heart to detect any murmurs and reporting the findings to the OFA. This test can also be as extensive as a board certified cardiologist doing a thorough EKG of the dogs heart and also reporting the findings. Certain breeds that are more prone to heart problems should have more extensive cardiac testing than other breeds.
OFA Dentition: Standard Poodles are famous for a malocclusion (bad bite) known as Base Narrow Mandible. This is exactly as it sounds. When the dog closes it's jaws, instead of the lower canine teeth sitting in front of the upper canines, the jaw is too narrow so the lower canines poke holes into the upper palette. A simple oral exam by your local veterinarian will check for this malocclusion along with having the proper number of teeth, loss of all baby teeth and full eruption of all adult teeth. The findings are then reported to the OFA.
OFA Thyroid: It can be common for the poodle as a breed to have thyroid issues. It's the most common endocrine disease in all dogs. Most common is HYPO-thyroidism or an 'underactive thyroid gland'. which can cause a myriad of problems such as weight gain, hair loss, lethargy and skin changes. A simple blood draw sent to a specific lab will test for any current thyroid problems and report the findings to the OFA.
OFA Patella: Patella is the medical term for 'knee cap'. It is very very common for the poodle (especially the toy and mini) to have a condition called 'luxating patellas'. This means that instead of the kneecap staying snug in place of the femoral groove, when the dog flexes and extends their knee, the knee cap will slip in and out of the groove. This a painful and the hallmark sign of a luxating patella is the dog will be running or walking, suddenly yelp, hold up the affected hind leg for several steps then place it back down again. The dog placing the leg back down signifies the knee cap has found it's way back into it's appropriate groove. This condition is genetic and if the dog is affected, he/she will pass it to their offspring. The test can be easily performed by your local veterinarian and the findings reported to the OFA.
