Health in dogs

Every mammal that exists dies. Including humans. We all die, and nothing lives for ever.  But during our lifetime wouldn't it be lovely to say we all lived happy and healthy up to the day we drop down dead.  But life is not like this. For sensible people they understand that we cannot all live healthy until we die. For many of my family died from cancers and heart disease. 

The truth is all dogs die in the end from cancer and heart disease.   Cancers come in many forms. It can be tumours or it can be embedded into tissue with in organs.  None can eradicate cancers in dogs. We would have done it in humans first.  Great steps in human health and killing cancers but in dogs it's not that advanced yet.  Vets cannot give dogs the adequate dosage to kill cancers with out it effecting human health because these meds pass on. 

Some of us get deteriorating diseases which cause gradual death.  But if it's a dog people get up in arms about it. But do you see doctors and nurses telling families they should not breed?

Humans have very little genetic testing before having children.  I had a blood test once I was pregnant for downs syndrome.  I always thought what would I of done if it come back positive.  I am certain I would never have terminated the pregnancy.   

In dogs we are expected to foresee the future and it's not possible unless we have something called a DNA marker.  But the sad truth is there is very very little DNA markers for diseases in dogs.

Dogs have all the same health problems humans have.  If your dog gets something wrong with it look up human health as you will find it,  Dogs do not get different things wrong with them. The only thing thats advanced is vets being able to diagnoses health issues. 

When health tests become available for a breed we are dedicated to do them.  For you and us. We promise to do all we can with in reason.  But where do we stop ? This is where we have to balance what testing we do because if we started to do every single test available and when new come out do them too, the price of your puppy is going to be multiplied with a few more thousand pounds to pay for it.  The question is will someone want to pay several thousand more for puppies.  At what point do we stop testing.  Today ive applied for another test of four which costs £150 but again that comes out of my pocket because the price of the puppy will not allow for this test.  I ask myself will people be grateful to know ive done this new test.  Or If I asked for another £200 for each puppy so I could do several dogs would people like that or not.  Or would they prefer I did not do it. Hmm.!! Its difficult isn't. it. 

One day I went to a vets and asked to speak to the head vet.  I told them about a health problem in Hungarian Vizsla.  At the time the clubs were talking about this problem and they were all pointing fingers at each other for producing it.  The vets said they had never had a case of it in the doors.  But when I listened to people in the breed you would think they were all dying from it.  The vet said she promised if anyone had a Vizsla and it got diagnosed in their surgery that she would pass on the contact details for the health co ordinator so they could gather DNA for future research.  But she said to me, the health problem I was talking about they had seen but in three other breeds.  I said at the time I thought it was only related to Vizsla.  Oh no she said and if you look up youll see humans also get something very similar. This made me think.  She then said but if you stopped every dog in every gene pool having this health issue you do realise another would take its place. Now this was ten years ago and in that time I have began to realise how right the vet was.  Because if you take one thing away you get something else.  I spoke to a specialist vet who said the problem was really so small in the breed that they did not understand why certain ladies were blowing it up making it seem that every litter is effected.  I did not have an answer, except people care and want the dogs to live for ever.  I got told thats never going to happen.  I guess if dogs lived for ever vets would be out of a job.?

When you look at a pedigree where does the buck stop. The parents, grand parents, great grandparents or up to the day the breed was created.  Because things that carry on genes will be there from the start.  

So breeding dogs is a right pickle.  Trying to work out what to do.  So we do health tests and as many as we can possibly do with keeping the prices of our puppies in reason. Because we know people can not afford bigger prices.   In fact we now do more health tests than anyone else I know because we want to try and produce healthier and healthier.  But we will always say we can not eradicate everything.   I would say out of all the dog breeders our puppies are actually healthier than many other peoples. But Im logical and tell myself every day there will be a day when something new presents itself. Because thats life. 

I hope this makes sense to you.  

The Kennel club set out health tests which they believe are what all Vizsla breeders should do.  But it's not compulsory. 
For Vizsla it is Hip scoring, Elbow scoring, Glaucoma testing and the yearly eye test.  That is it. But we do DNA tests also, trying to do our utmost for the breed.  Then we look at adverts online advertising puppies and parents do not even have basic health tests done.  These people sell their dogs easily as they are so much cheaper.  So it is a balance on what you want to pay for the health tests done on the parents.  It makes sense to go to breeders like ourselves who do more than basic health testing.

For Bracco it's hip and elbow scoring and eye testing.  In Bracco's there is a problem with kidney disease and this is something I doubt will be one hundred percent be got rid of.  A dna marker is needed. But they are a long way off.  The test for it is one that only tells you if the dog has it.  So you can do the urine test and blood test and your dogs clear. Then years later it has it.  So the health test is only as good as the day you do it. 

Now with that being said, there are hundreds of diseases which we simply have no dna markers for.  So what happens when something is hereditary. But with no dna marker  ?  

There are two options. 1: Do not breed. 2: Use a different dog on bitch.  You do not do the same pairing again. 


What happens if a dog is effected by a disease and showing signs of being effected?
Do not breed the dog. 

Because the chances are all the offspring will be affected.  But I know someone mentioning no names at all who bred two affected dogs.  Both dogs showing signs of the health problem. The one dog fitted daily. The other not very often but both had Epilepsy.  Both were cross breeds. The one was a poodle cross.I said to her that I would not of bred either of them because they are clearly affected. But if you looked at the dogs you would have said they were the cutest dogs in the world. But that was no reason to breed two affected dogs.  

Effected is different to carrying something.  Because if a dog carries something and put to a dog which does not carry it, you wont see that health problem.  This is where avoidance comes in. 


No good breeder sets out to breed health problems.  They will do the DNA tests if available. They will do the X-rays to check for dysplasia. They will do the eye tests.   

You are better going to someone who tries to do the best to their ability, than someone who does not.

I remember a few years ago a case of a dog we bred.  We bred a Pug which went off and at the age of 2 the owner got in touch with me to say.  Their beloved dog had died from PDE. I said how sorry I was, and then suddenly thought, hang on it cant be PDE as both parents were dna tested and it cant be that.  So I said to her it cant be PDE.  So she went back to her vets who said yes it was.  So she got back to me and I sent over the DNA results and she took the reports into her vets.  They tossed them aside and said oh we only thought it was that.  Yet they had told this woman to ring me to to complain.  They then dismissed it as their diagnosis was absolutely wrong.!  When I spoke to the woman she had given a very strong veterinary flea treatment hours before the dog died. I said could it be that product?  In the very end of going back and forth they had to finally admit it probably was.  Now if I had not of stood my ground we would have all accepted the diagnosis.  So whats the moral of this story.  Vets can be wrong!  Why? They are humans following symptoms on a sheet.  Not all things are tested properly. 


I hope this sheds light on why health tests are important, but also why breeders do tests with in limits because the costs are very high.  But our promise to you is to do as much as we possibly can do with keeping the price of your puppy reasonable.