Dog Community

Question about testing for genetic defects

Posted : 5/1/2006 6:49:42 PM

Actually this question is late, but I would like to know how much this will cost and if it will tell me about future problems with my dogs. I have posted in reply to some other posts and some of you know the story about our dogs and I also posted in the health section the other day when we found out that our 10 months old puppy has scoliosis( I think there is a different word if it is in a dog..) Someone wrote me what it is, but I did not look it up again.
To make this short we had bred our purebreed dachshunds, not intentionally, but the male got out and got a hold of the female( trying to separate a dog that is in heat and a male is almost impossible and we we have learned a very expensive and sad lesson to say the least). And it happens very very fast. She got pregnant the very first time they were together. Afterwards they stayed separated. It only took that one time and those few minutes. But I am not telling anyone anything new here.
Chelsea had four pups. Three females and a male. We kept two females, sold the others. One is living just around the corner and doing great. The people take excellent care of him. He comes and stays with us when they go on vacation. The other one we sold to a young family that we are not close to, but that we know. One of the pups, Belle, that stayed with us has had healthproblems off and on and now she has been diagnosed with the above mentioned condition. It is very hard to see and especially hard to know that it is our fault that she has this condition. The vet told us it is in her genes. As soon as we found out we contacted the owners of her brother and let them know and then we tried to get a hold of this young couple and did not reach anyone until today. Sadly we had to hear that they only had the dog for about 5 weeks. She died one morning, a week after hurricane Rita, in her sleep. We are heartbroken. I offered the family their money back, but they did not want it back. They were afraid that we may be mad at them and that is why they had not told us. We are not mad just so very sad. But I wonder if her death may also be associated with something being wrong with her genes as well. I want to test my dogs now. It won't change anything, but I like to know what they all may be up against in the future.
A very hard and very sad lesson learned.
I had never heard of genetic testing before I started to read this forum.
Her other sister and the brother are doing very well and the parents also( so far at least). When we sold "Carly" she was up-to-date on her shots. We did not give them ourselves. We had it all taken care of at the vets office each time. She was on fleaprevention and on heartwormprevention. The people had taken her to the vet for a check-up just prior to her death and she was found to be in good health.
Thank you all already for any info.
I have already started to talk to friends and anyone that will listen about spaying/neutering, dangers of pregnancy and birth etc. I know anyone that will meet Belle will wonder about her back being the way it is and I will tell anyone why it is and that it is our fault she is living this way.
I will get the tests done regardless, I would just like to kind of know about how much it will cost since I know that some of you gotten this done.
I know this is longer than just a regular question, but I am so sad tonight and I just had to write a bit about the situation.

mudpuppy

Posted : 5/2/2006 8:45:07 AM

you cannot test for a genetic disease unless you know which one to test for.

amstaffy

Posted : 5/2/2006 9:39:13 AM

This is a hard lesson to learn and sad to say many people come here looking for info after it's too late and when they get the needed info and the harsh truth they think we are, well you know what they think.

I'm really sorry to hear about the little one who has passed as well as the other pup who has the spine issues. Even when you do health testing you can still have health problems BUT the biggest thing is health testing gives you the opportunity to make better educated breeding decissions.

Sometimes you find out that the dog you had really high hopes for isn't really the dog you should be breeding. Sometimes health testing and using a "Better" dog can improve what you are doing but again, sometimes it doesn't, you have to be honest with yourself and dedicate yourself to make your decissions to "better the Breed".

My first suggestion is for you to really do some work studying first the breed standard [linkhttp://www.akc.org/breeds/dachshund/index.cfm]http://www.akc.org/breeds/dachshund/index.cfm[/link] , evealuate your dog as the standard decribes. Be honest and be critical. Seek out other Doxie breeders who do show, talk to them, ask them about the breed, learn from them the problems with the breed health, structure and temperament. Spend a lot of time here [linkhttp://www.dachshund-dca.org/]http://www.dachshund-dca.org/[/link] on the parent clubs site and especially here learning about the health problems including what tests should be done to better improve the health for the breed [linkhttp://www.dachshund-dca.org/health.html]http://www.dachshund-dca.org/health.html[/link]

dackelfan

Posted : 5/2/2006 10:23:40 AM

Thank you so much for your reply. My babies are spayed/neutered now. I was just wondering where I need to go to get the tests done, how much it will cost and be prepared what else may come our way as far as their health goes.
I did not know that there are only certain things you can test for..that is helpful to know. I will go to those websites and see what else I can find out. I have been looking on the net for days now trying to find out more about Belle's condition, but only found this particular condition in another breed of dog( I can't remember the name of the breed now, but it was a small breed).
I have known since I was a child about the discproblems that can occur in dachshunds, but I did not know about any genetic defects a dog may have other than that one in dachshunds. I did not understand until now why someone would want to have a genetic test done on their dog etc.
People on this forum are great with all of their advice. I really appreciate all the input.

Hillarie

Posted : 5/2/2006 10:24:46 AM

I'm so sorry for the loss of the puppy and for your puppies spinal issues. Honestly though I am not sure if you can do anything more than alter everyone, pray for the best and love every day with them like there may not be another one. I live with three pets who have illnesses that can be monitored but basically not treated and I know that any day they could die. I try to tell them everyday how much I love them incase today is "the day"

amstaffy

Posted : 5/2/2006 10:47:08 AM

I'm really glad you are open to learning. There is a great amount of information on the net and through dedicated breeders who have been in the breed and are striving to maintain the integrity of the breed. Those are the people you want to seek out and get involved with. A Mentor is a very valuable asset who can give so much more insight to the breed. I can provide you with general links to start you but since this is not my breed I can't really be of much more help other then supporting you with the knowledge of how important health testing is. Breeding as you have found is not for the faint of heart, it comes with many, many heart breaks and problems even when you are doing all the right things. It isn't something I take lightly and try to educate people who are interested in doing things right the best I can.
If I can be of any help or you have general questions please don't hesitate to ask, I'll try and find you the answers.

As far as who can do your health testing the first place to start is with your local vet, ask them if they do the required testing listed on the link I gave you. Pricing will also depend on where you are located. Many clubs will host health clinics and offer tests at a reduced price, those are the ones I try to use often as it also supports their clubs. I really didn't go into what tests are listed but some may require specialists. In my two breeds I cardiac which I use a cardiologist. A regular vet can certify heart but do an OFA but many times I have found through others cardiac disease has been missed by a regular vet. I don't want to take that chance so I go right to the pro. Hips, patellas and spines on my frenchies are done through my regular vets and I submit the x-rays to OFA for evaluation. I have had many vets give me their "opinion" and that is really all that that boils down to. I've had one vet out of four who have done my hips be right on target so that too is best to be left to those who are educated in that field.

amstaffy

Posted : 5/2/2006 10:53:38 AM

Many health clinics can be found here on the OFA site
[linkhttp://www.offa.org/clinics.html]http://www.offa.org/clinics.html[/link]

They do update this often so book mark it and check it often to see if there might be something in your area