Health tests for breeding staffs Health

Hi all,

On a forum that I am a member and moderator of, someone has informed us that their staffy bitch is pregnant... she was going to get the bitch spayed but her vet advised her to let her have a litter first

As you can imagine, amongst the regular members, this hasn't gone down well at all and I was just wondering what health screens a bitch should have before being bred as we are hoping to take action against the vet in question and so have asked if they advised her to have health tests first.

Obviously, not being a staffy person I don't know the ins and outs and assumed they were a hip scored breed but have just been told they may not be.

What health screens should have been advised to her?

Thanks

sal will be able to tell you more than me but she aint on line at present.
hip scoring is not common place in staffords,unless it is known in there line,as for health tests,l2 and hc,but there not that well known and not every1 who knows about them test,to my knowllege they are relatively new.
i was shocked to discover that not all vets no about these tests as yet!

Hi,
Staffords are not usually hip scored,
They should be tested for L2 HGA/HC these are DNA tests and should be done and results known before mating either a bitch or using a stud dog.
They should also be tested for PHPV and PPSC both are eye conditions along with HC.

Blood needs to be taken by a vet and then sent on to the AHT.(this is for L2/HC)PHPV and PPSC needs to be screened for by an eye specialist.
This link is good and you can download the forms for testing from here too.
http://www.aht.org.uk/sci_diag_disc_genetic_l2.html

You may also like to inform this person that none of these conditions are covered by insurance as they are inheredited.

hi sal,
seren is L2 and HC clear at birth,soz to sound so dum but i thought PHPV was the same as HC,does that mean i will need to have seren screened for this?!

PHPV is different to HC,and is screened for by an eye specialist, PHPV – PERSITENT HYPERPLASTIC PRIMARY VITREOUS

The mode of inheritance of PHPV is not so clear, but it is known that it is a congenital condition (present at birth) and that it is not progressive. This means that if a puppy is born with PHPV it can be detected by ophthalmic screening from 6 weeks of age and if it is affected, whatever the condition of the problem at that stage it will not change throughout the dogs life.

Even though the genetic test is now available for Hereditary Cataracts it is still important to screen for PHPV.

L2/HC only need testing for once but PHPV should be screened for yearly.

PHPV does not need to be tested for yearly anymore, providing your dog is geneticly clear of HC. When you go to the eye specialist they will test for PHPV & HC. Regrdless of whether your dog has been genitcly tested or not. It is the HC test that should be done yearly, however if your dog is geneticly clear there is no need.

In the above post it says

The mode of inheritance of PHPV is not so clear, but it is known that it is a congenital condition (present at birth) and that it is not progressive. This means that if a puppy is born with PHPV it can be detected by ophthalmic screening from 6 weeks of age and if it is affected, whatever the condition of the problem at that stage it will not change throughout the dogs life.

Thats pretty self explanitory really, if you test your pup at 6 weeks the condition will not change therefor will not need to be tested again

as my bitch was clear of l2 and hc at birth is it best i have her screened for them neway aswell as PHPV:?

Hi

No she will not need testing for L2 or HC if she was clear at birth :smt023

She will need testing for PHPV.

I dont know where in the county you are but if you look here i'm sure you will find somewhere thats local.

http://www.staffords.co.uk/eyeclinics.htm

oh my god,i cant believe i just said that
if shes genetically clear oviously she wont need to be tested

Dont forget folks PPSC
PPSC is a recognised eye disease in several breeds already
PPSC has an, as yet, unknown mode of inheritance
PPSC has a variable age of onset (from 10 months to 10 years and more have been reported)
PPSC is not usually noticed by the owner or their vets as only a BVA eye test can detect it
PPSC usually remains a small cataract but some PPSCs can progress to blinding catatracts in some unfortunate individuals
PPSC cannot be detected by litter screening
PPSC is unrelated to juvenile HC as seen in the stafford
PPSC cannot be detected by DNA testing as yet
PPSC in breeds such as the Labrador has led to the development of breeders demanding a *current* clear eye certificate (within the last 12 months) from stud and bitch owners before mating is alowed
Dogs can prove unaffected for many years and then test affected- HOWEVER they will have been genetically affected ALL THE TIME ! This makes control difficult
Investigation into the mode of inheritance is being hampered by only checking SOME dogs OCCASIONALLY, rather than EVERY dog EVERY year!

Annual testing is recommended even aftre breeding has ceased

AND BEFORE SOME IDIOT MENTIONS ITS ONLY IN SHOW LINES...... ITS A BREED PROBLEM REG OR UN REG