[Pruett]

A lot of diseases are breed specific however, we do not know if other breeds may carry the specific mutation that we test for. When we test for a disease on our panel, we are only testing for the specific mutation that we have in the panel. This usually has been described from a single breed and perhaps has been seen in other breeds.

When the report indicates the animal does not carry the mutation, then it is clear for that possible mutation. There can be other mutations that cause the same disease that we do not know or cannot test for. In humans, there are about 1,000 mutations for cystic fibrosis. In dogs, there are several diseases where there is more than 1 known mutation. It is not possible in any organism to test for all possible disease causing mutations, just the ones we know and can be readily tested for.

As to breed specificity, most are mainly or even only found in one or a few other related breeds, but we have seen more than one case where a breed not known to carry a particular disease mutation is, in fact, positive for it. It is rare in the breed so that is why it is not known for the breed.

We cannot say a dog is not a carrier for a disease because we did a test for the disease and it is negative, we can only say it is negative for the known mutation for that disease that we test for. Who's to say that the mutation is different in every breed?

First of all, the health testing is part of the parentage profiling that the BTCA requires on all breeding dogs. Members pay $45.00 for this DNA profiling. Not much difference in what you pay for the DNA kit through AKC.

Nothing is 100% but we will continue to use all tools available to us in our breeding programs to develop the healthiest foundation possible. If we can stop just one problem then it has all been worth it.