What tests should be done prior to breeding?
 

I have done search after search on the web and all I can find is what health issues they can have. But what I really need to know is what tests to do.

I know an acid bile test is 1, and CERF, and OFA on knees. and that is pretty much all I know.

I have 2 females I am raising now to eventually breed (I have 2 others, 1 to tiny at 4 years and the other I have no heritage on so will be spayed).

I have been breeding for many years but this will be my first time breeding yorkies so I am trying to learn as much I can. I used to breed cocker spaniels, and english springer spaniels. So health tests done for them of course are different. and of course my cockapoos.

Once I start breeding yorkies I will no longer breed the cockapoos (2nd and 3rd generation is what I breed)..

When we bought Kizzie we had planned to eventually breed her but she ended up only being 3 pounds. I had her spayed when she finally hit 2 pounds at 10 months. She is 4 now. But we fell in love with the breed and I have an 8 month old now and a 4 month old. No boy yet but I plan to get a male.

Not to many breeders I run across doing any testing on their dogs. I have learned a lot since buying Gracie and Pennie. Pennie was a VERYYYY sick puppy I had to force feed her for 5 weeks and she just was not gaining. I spent $1,000.00 on vet visits and tests and in the end it was what I thought it might be all along, giardia!

As soon as we started the liver juice we saw improvement within 1 day. with a a couple of days of the meds we saw her do a complete 180 and now she is 4 months old and 3 pounds..LOL.. she has ver sparse hair now though because of lack of nutrition, but she is healthy and her coat will be gorgeous one day soon;)

Anyhow, I would appreciate it very much if anyone can give me some advice on tests, or links, etc.. all comments welcome except attacks please.:p

Thanks

Have eyes tested; PRA Progressive Retinal Atrophy is a problem
Ears Tested
Heart
Temperament Tests
STD Tests
Brucellosis Test

Keep in mind testing will give you peace of mind that your dog is clear, however, it does not guarantee that they are not carriers of genetic hereditary problems.....

Another disease that is being researched Protein-Losing Enteropathy (PLE). Genetic links are just being researched

My replies in red above..
Thanks:thumbs up

Hearing Loss


STD & Brucellosis are two different things. Your girl can have an infection that can be transferred to the male and vice a versa. Test your girl just as she's coming into Season, that way she can be treated for an infection (not always) prior to breeding.

What kind of STD's do dogs get? I have never heard of this before so I am confused. Especially if they have never bred before how can they get an STD?

Infections can be picked up if they haven't been bred. Just by the structure of their anaotomy, when peeing, especially if they are in Season. Just best to test prior to breeding. Omitting this test can cause you to lose a litter.

Ok, thank you. But what are the STD's they can get?

Maybe STD is the wrong term.....what you are testing for is anytype of infection.

Well I have looked on several web sites and the only ones I see are
1.canine transmissible venereal tumor, a very rare example of what's known as a parasitic cancer

2. Herpes

3. canine brucellosis

I am surprised nobody is answering this subject.

I am sorry that I don't have any wisdom to offer you, but I am happy you started this thread! It is very informative!

thank you. I think it is a very important subject as well when either breeding, or buying a dog.

Hearing Loss = so a regular hearing test?

Thyroid ?? yes no

Cataracts is there some test for that one?

I know about PRA

Do you first screen for Pra ABOUT one year then annually thereafter?

Cataracts are at times a fact of life as a dog ages. There is no tests.

PRA is a hereditary problem. The dog has it or it doesn't.

Remember not all breeders tests their dogs, just those that are cautious.

I think the reason for nobody else answering is because Mary has been. She is great with a lot of great advice :)
I am sure that there are others watching and learning

Thanks Mary :

I just want to make sure Razzle has all the appropriate tests as I have done with our male BRT.

with PRA I've been told to test annually which is what |I do

We screen OVC and OFA for hips and elbows for BRT's ... I know with Yorkies knees are most relevant there

We don't screen on hearing that was why the question not famiiar with that test

Magic has been temperament tested. He passed and part of his titles include TT. Now I don't know of any Yorkies that have gone through the working dog Temperament test. Of course as puppies they all get a temperament test to help to determine their working and personality qualities.

Bile acid Test was done on Razzle as a puppy - all good - do I retest again in another year?

DNA test for canine hyperuricosuria -Huu - again probably only appropriate to BRTs.
(huu), the production of high levels of urate in the urine that can
result in bladder stones.

Then of course the prebreeding tests for STD's.

We also test for Heart and Thyroid

Testing for PRA annually is very responsibe, but, if this is a stud/or breeding female and you are unsure as to whether the dog has PRA, I wouldn't be breeding it.

All the tests you peform, are very much necessary, however there is no tests out there that prove your dog is not a carrier.

I don't think it's necessary for a repeat BAT. Although, there is aquired shunts....My suggestion is to contact Dr' Center

Thanks Mary. I was told by the Opthmalogist that one should test annually so I have done so with Magic. I was given to understand that this is "normal"-- as far as I am aware with his sire/dam/grandsire/granddam there is no eye disease in his line. Umm maybe I was given a conservative opinion by the eye doc, that happily coincided with revenue for their clinic.

I will contact Dr. Center as advised to see what is their recommended protocol if any for repeat BATs.

Gawd I wish there were genetic tests for hip/elbow/dysplasia. It's polygenetic nature make it unlikely in the near term future.

I feel that my responsibility as a stud owner is as great as the breeding female's owner. So I wish to be as well informed as I can on what tests etc to do for my studs.

Thanks again for your information:)

Dr Center recommends that a pup be BAT tested at 16 weeks and then at 6 months..with the 6 month tests being the one that you can put your faith in that the dog is clear. To my knowledge I don't think that she's every recommended an annual test.

The hip and knee thing.....Mmmm you can only go on your x-ray and OFA tests. Your CFA tests for the eyes should be sufficient without testing for PRA annually.

So can a regular vet do the x-rays to send to OFA or does one have to go to a special vet for this , orthopedic I would assume?

And for PRA and CERF I would assume I would have to go to a ophthalmologist correct? Not to long ago I was looking for one and there aren't very many of them. I only found one down in Olympia, its about 1.5 hours away and I have only been past Olympia, never got off and gone there..lol (state capitol)

Can anyone give me a ballpark figure of costs involved for these tests? I know the last time I had hips done on my cockapoos's there was a "clinic" through the cocker club here and I got the eyes done for 20.00.

The hips were done by a friend of mine and I have no idea where she took the dogs. I just know it cost me about 80.00 each, but this was a long time ago now.

I had a BAT done on Pennie already because she was so sick and we were doing all kinds of tests, I had the vet do that. She was normal on that though. It turned out she had Giardia.

She was sick from the 1st day we got her. Well not noticeably sick, but after a couple days she got worse. I had taken her to the vet the day we picked her up. She had skin mites really bad, took 2 treatments. And she had a bacterial infection they couldn't pin point.

Mistake I know now, but I brought her home at 8 weeks and she was 1.7 pounds and she refused to eat even the first day, had to force feed her a few times in the beginning and then it was completely, all the time. I was doing it 6 times a day. She was always so lethargic. it took 4 weeks, and a bunch of tests to finally get the giardia diagnosis. I was LIVID!

Turned out the first time they tested her for it it showed nothing. Then I asked them to do it again, dropped off the sample and that time it showed up (sent out to a lab). Buggers can be hard to find sometimes. But I was working with a different vet in the clinic and she should of ordered it be done again the next week, not 4 weeks later when I had to ask.

This is when I learned a lot more about yorkies, LOTS of research. She was our 2nd yorkie, first one is 4 now and we had no problems with her.

I was told by everyone on the yorkie list I was on that the parents should have had the BAT done prior to ever breeding them, so I asked the breeder and she said she had not done it. So that was why I asked the vet to do it. It was expensive because they are also in the vets most of the day.

She was an expensive little girl by the time we got done..hehe.. Anyhow, within a few days of being treated for giardia she did a complete 180 and was actually walking and running and playing, and the best of all, eating on her own 100% about 1 week later. Now she is a pig and is up to 3 pounds by now.. Last time I weighed her she was 2.5 pounds. she is 4 months old now.

She lost A LOT of hair though and I will be so happy when it all grows back with her adult coat. Between the mites and the lack of proper nutrition it just killed off her hair and it's not soft at all right now. I would just die if it never grew in..

I know it has been awhile since anyone has written on this thread, but I was curious with the BAT and liver shunts. If a pup comes from parents with normal bile acid levels, clear of shunts, and has a shunt themselves is there anything more that could have been done to prevent that from happening? Obviously at least one of the parents is a carrier, but was there anyway of finding that out prior to breeding?

As far as I am aware there are no test to identify carriers. It is one of the areas the research is focussing on.

Okay thank you.
What would you recommend one to do if they found out one pup out of three has liver shunt and the bitch of that litter is already pregnant with her second (and was going to be her last) litter from the same sire?