HEALTH CHECKS FOR BREEDING ANIMALS
Hips
Hip dysplasia is a concern in all dog breeds, but especially in the large and giant breeds of dogs. Dysplasia is a degenerative disease of the joint. Hip dyplasia can vary from borderline to complete subluxation. The veterinary community generallyagrees that hip dysplasia is caused by a combination of genetic and environmetal factors. It is non-congenital, as the problem does not appear at birth and is rarely found in dogs weighing less than 25 pounds at maturity.
It is extremely common in large and giant breed dogs.
Dogs with mild hip dysplasia can generally be kept comfortable with moderate excersize, keeping their weight a bit on the light side of normal and sometimes medication may be necassary as they get older.
Moderate to severe hip dysplasia is sometimes harder to treat but dogs often respond well to pain meds and excersize.
All Newfoundland breeders should be screening for hip dysplasia using either the Penn-Hip method ,OFA or OVC.
Here at Cedar Valley we use the Penn-Hip method.
Heart Disease
Congenital heart disease is a recognized problem within the Newfoundland breed.
There are several heart diseases and defects that are known to occur within the breed. These can occur in any bloodline. Responsible Newfoundland breeders should use only dogs cleared by a Certified Canine Cardiologist for breeding.
The most common heart diseases and defects are:
patent ductus arteriosus
pulmonic stenosis
aortic stenosis
Aortic stenosis is an obstruction of the outflow from the left ventricle, most commonly occuring in the subvalvular position.
The most common heart defect in Newfoundlands is Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis, commonly referred to as SAS. SAS is not present at birth, but develops as the puppy grows. A heart murmur of moderate intensity is present by 1 year in moderate to severe cases of SAS.
Mild cases of SAS are usually non life threatening, cause no lifestyle changes for the dog and generally need no ongoing medical treatments or medications. Although not usually a serious problem, dogs with SAS of ANY degree should NEVER be bred.
Moderate cases of SAS vary widely in their health effects on the dog. They sometimes require medication, sometimes can cause a somewhat shortened lifespan and sometimes require ongoing medical treatments or medications.
Severe cases of SAS usually present a life threatening disease.
Life expectancy is short, medications are often necessary and sudden cardiac arrest is a real concern regardless of the dogs age.
Cystinuria
Cystinuria is an inborn error of amino acid transport that results in the defective absorption by the kidneys of the amino acid called cystine. The name means "cystine in the urine." As a result of this defect cystine stones are produced in the dog and cause considerable pain.
The disease normally begins to show symptoms in the Newfoundland between 6 and 12 months of age..Females are usually asymptomatic if affected, but any cases of vaginitis or chronic urinary tract infections should alert the owner to the possiblity of cystinuria in the female. Males usually experience repeated urinary tract infections and excruciating pain. Surgery is often necessary to remove the cystine stones that develop in males. In the Newfoundland the stones tend to recur more rapidly than in other breeds, often making multiple surgeries necessary.
In the Newfoundland a DNA test is available to check the genetic status of breeding dogs to ensure that this crippling disease not be passed on to future generations.
All Newfoundland breeders should be using only dogs cleared by parentage, or dogs DNA checked for their cystinuria status
For a more in-depth review of the role of DNA testing and heritability involved in cystinuria click HERE.
In the colored box below is information on where OFFICIAL clearances and screenings will come from.
OFFICIAL hip checks and evaluations will be from either OFA or PennHip. OFA requires that a dog be 24 months old before it can be officially certified. OFA prelim ratings of GOOD and EXCELLENT are considered very accurate after 6 months of age. PennHip requires that they be 4 months old. PennHip is a newer, less objective process that gives more information on the hip condition of an individual dog than OFA does. PennHip evaluates a particular dog against all other dogs within the same breed, as well as all other dogs in general. This gives a breeder considerable knowledge on the true hip condition of a particular dog.
OFA uses a single view X-RAY, while Penn-Hip uses 3 views.
NOTE: Since Penn-Hip can be done at a much earlier age, uses 3 X-RAY views instead of one AND gives us a percentile rating compared to all other Newfoundlands, we use Penn-Hip
OFFICIAL heart screenings CAN come from a general practice vet, but in our opinion SHOULD be done by a Certified Canine Cardiologist. There is a reason why a Cardiologist goes to school longer than a general practice vet, and in our opinion their expertise should be sought when evaluating a Newfie's heart for breeding soundness.
We feel this is ESPECIALLY true since the Newfoundland is known to be pre-disposed to heart problems!
General practice vets OFTEN miss very soft heart murmurs and irregularities and it is NOT uncommon to have a dog pass a Cardio screening by a general practice vet, only to have a Cardiologist detect an uncommon or hard to detect problem.
Your breeder should be able to show you either their OFA heart certification, or the screening from the cardiologist. A cardiologist is almost always found at a major teaching veterinary hospital affiliated with a large University. Seldom are they in private practice. It makes little sense to us that a Certified Canine Opthamologist MUST do a CERF (eye) screening, and a Certified Canine Orthopedic vet MUST read OFA X-RAYS, yet they dont require a Certified Canine Cardiologist to do heart exams! Oh well, we are not the ones who make the rules!!
OFFICIAL thyroid screening will show a thyroid T3 or T4 test and screening and the results. It is also possible to send the blood samples to the Univ of Michigan and have a DNA test run. OFA has a registry for thyroid clearances processed through the Univ of MI.
OFFICIAL cystinuria screening is done through a DNA test that checks the genetic status of an individual dog.
DNA tests can be done either through cheek swabs or blood tests. They CANNOT be dont through urinalysis.
Dogs can be DNA clear, DNA carriers or DNA affected.
When breeding, DNA carriers should ONLY be bred back to DNA normal dogs. In this way cystinuria cannot be passed on to future generations.
Parents who are both DNA normal will produce ONLY DNA normal offspring. If one parent is a carrier and one is normal they can produce carriers and normals.
If both are carriers they can produce carriers and affecteds.
Carriers DO NOT have cystinuria, nor will they ever develop it.
Carriers are NOT a problem in a breeding program, as long as they are not bred to another carrier.
It is ESSENTIAL that your breeder test and know the cystinuria status of their dogs.
