Blackhawk LRC

HEALTH AND GENETICS:
INTRODUCTION TO RESPONSIBLE BREEDING

The Labrador Retriever is one of the most popular dog breeds in the world. Annually it tops new registrations in the AKC, and is regularly found among the Top Ten registered breeds in the UKC.

This information attempts to enlighten new potential breeders about making a decision to become a breeder of Labradors, making a decision to breed a specific individual dog, finding the correct mate for a dog.

DECIDING TO BECOME A BREEDER OF LABRADORS

Questions:

Why do people become breeders?

Why should people become breeders?

Many people see dogs as livestock and an opportunity to produce and sell a product for profit. Other people see breeding dogs as a living experiment to fulfill some biological education for their children. Yet others believe that dogs should be allowed to breed and produce before they are spayed or neutered to fulfill a biological component of canine emotional growth.

All of these are false assumptions.

People should become breeders for one reason only. That is that they have a love of their breed and feel they can dedicate the resources required to maintain and improve their breed, and will take the time and effort to become educated about their breed.

MAKING A DECISION TO BREED A SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL DOG

Questions:

What is breeding quality?

Why is the Standard so important? Sometimes phrased as ‘why can’t I just do what I want to do? ‘

Who can help me determine if my dog is breeding quality?

Many new owners of a dog with individual registration automatically assume that the fact that a dog is registered means the dog is of breeding quality. And many owners also assume that if a dog has earned a title that means the dog is of breeding quality. Other owners assume that if a dog has a wonderful pet temperament that means the dog is of breeding quality.

All of these are false assumptions.

  • What is Breeding Quality ? An individual dog is a breeding candidate ONLY when it is a good example of its breed as specified by the written Standard of the breed. Dogs with DISQUALIFICATIONS under the Breed Standard must NOT be used for breeding.

You must make an OBJECTIVE decision about whether or not the dog IS or IS NOT a good example of the breed according to ‘the Standard.’ The Standard is the official written description for a breed. As a potential breeder, this is THE FIRST thing you should learn: what is in the Standard.

  • Why is the Standard so important? For great information about ‘the Standard’, see our Education page and click on UNDERSTANDING THE STANDARD.

A Standard is the result of decades of cumulative knowledge from large numbers of very experienced breeders. The Standard is typically owned by the ‘Parent’ or Original Breed Club or perhaps the Registry itself. Standards paint a word picture of what your breed should be.

The Standard is important because it closest thing to ‘sacred’ there is to breeders and conformation judges. By honoring the viewpoints and specifics in the Standard, you as a breeder will be incorporating the knowledge learned by all the breeders who have gone before you. The conformation judges compare each individual dog to the Standard.

By ignoring the Standard and breeding just what YOU want to, you will not be preserving the breed, you will be producing animals not truly of the TYPE required for your breed, and showing your disrespect for others in the breed who have gone before you and passed down to you all the good qualities in your breed. Your actions will say to others that you think you know more than all the accumulated knowledge and experience represented in the Standard, the thousands of breeders and great dogs who have gone before you.

  • Who can help you determine if your dog is of breeding quality? Many newcomers rely on themselves and their friends to evaluate their potential breeding stock. Many old-timers will tell you that they made this mistake when they started out, and then they had to start all over again with better dogs.

There are several good ways to evaluate your dog. Attend a Regional or National Specialty for your breed. Look at those dogs compared to your own. Ask an experienced breeder or judge to evaluate your dog and invite them to be as critical as they can be. Attend a large all breed AKC show and look at those dogs compared to your dog. Subscribe to several national or international breed magazines. Join an established breed club. Get a mentor, someone who has been in your breed for decades and is willing to help you learn.

FINDING THE CORRECT MATE FOR YOUR DOG

Questions:

When is a good time to think about breeding my dog?

What health screenings should I look for in a mate for my dog?

What characteristics should I look for in a mate for my dog?

Who can help me make this decision?

  • The only good time to think about breeding your dog is
  1. IF your dog is a good example of its breed according to the Standard.
  2. AND it is physically mature enough to be bred which means after 2 years of age because of health issue screenings,
  3. AND then, you have to screen your dog for health issues pertinent to the breed. You cannot claim to have ethics and not screen for all health issues.
  4. AND then, you have to know all there is to know about the breadth and depth of the gene pool represented by your own dog.

Many traits are polygenetic in dogs and so your dog may be carrying some genetic predispositions you need to be aware of when selecting a mate. This means, you should know everything about the health and physical characteristics of all siblings in the pedigree from the grandparents on down to your dog. If there are gaps in this knowledge, again, question your ethical decision to breed this dog. There are conditions that can occur that we have no genetic or phenotypic test for as of yet, such as pectus excavatum and ectoptic ureter and atypical collapse and epilepsy and allergies and others. Your ethics should demand that you NOT take a chance on producing these sorts of life-threatening and catastrophic conditions.

If you are still sure this is a dog for you to breed, and that the gene pool of your breed really needs your dog’s individual contribution for the betterment of the breed, then you need to critically analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your dog. Remember that each generation should show an improvement, each generation should be better than the one before it.

  • What characteristics should I look for in a mate for my dog? You will want to look for a mate that has none of the same weaknesses as your dog and some of the same strengths. And ALL of the same meticulous scrutiny that has gone into the health screening process.
  • Who can help me find the right mate for my dog? Again, you can look to an experienced breeder or mentor for guidance and assistance.

Many people make the gross mistake of breeding to a top-show-winning dog thinking if the sire is winning then his puppies will, too. Just because a dog has show titles and wins or field titles and wins does not mean that this is a good dog for you to select as mate. Each pairing is individual and should be chosen so that the next generation is better than the previous one. Many people make the mistake of choosing a pairing that highlights only ONE characteristic of the dog, such as height or color. Again, this is the wrong way of approaching the question. The choice should always be QUALITY first.

BASIC HEALTH SCREENING FOR POTENTIAL BREEDING CANDIDATES

Questions:

My dog acts just fine and has current health check-up from our family veterinarian and we love the temperament of this dog. Why isn’t this good enough for us to breed this dog?

Who do they think they are telling me what my dog needs for health screenings?

What are the recommended minimum health screenings? Do they ever change? Where can I find that information?

Why do some breeders require additional screenings?

  • Of course! your dog should appear to be totally healthy and have a stable temperament and be approved by your local family veterinarian. But there is more needed because none of us knows the ENTIRE history of health issues in Labradors and which individual dog may carry hidden genetic traits for some very debilitating diseases and traits. None of us wants to produce puppies that will have serious health issues like permanent lameness, blindness, periodic collapsing or muscle wasting. It’s the genetic screening that can reveal what problems an individual dog MAY carry so that you don’t choose a mate that will produce these issues if mated to your dog.
  • Who do they think they are? The Canine Health Information Center in cooperation with the ‘parent club’ for each participating breed, is a centralized canine health database. The ‘parent club’ is the repository of information about the history of its breed, including the history of health issues. The ‘parent club’ has a very active Health and Genetics Committee that sponsors research, collects results and information about all dogs and known diseases/syndromes within its breed. The Health and Genetics committee is very serious about its commitment to identify all known syndromes and diseases with the Labrador Breed and ways to test individual dogs for these conditions so that future puppies may be bred FREE OF DISEASE. The Health and Genetics Committee of the Parent Club makes the recommendation to the CHIC for its breed about which specific health screenings are required. If the individual dog has been screened for all recommended diseases/syndromes then the individual dog is identified with the CHIC seal. By using the CHIC program guidelines, you are making use of decades of collective scientific knowledge and experience of breeders who have gone before you. Using CHIC guidelines only makes good, smart sense.
  • The minimum recommended health screenings for Labradors are:
  • OFA Evaluation for Hip Dysplasia
  • OFA Evaluation for Elbow Dysplasia
  • Eye Examination by board ACVO Ophthalmologist
  • Results registered either with OFA
  • Exercise Induced Collapse [EIC] DNA test
  • Results registered with OFA
  • Central Nuclear Myopathy [CNM] DNA test [currently listed as optional]
  • D Locus test [only dogs who are NORMAL or DD or NOT Carrying Dilute should be bred}.
  • In order to receive a CHIC certificate for your dog, it must have permanent individual identification such as a microchip.

These requirements are updated from time to time by the Parent Club and the most up to date information can always be found at the CHIC website. R

  • Additional Screenings: Some breeders do use and require additional health screenings. This can be based on their experience within the breed and/or common practice among responsible breeders.
  • Cardiac Screening: there are some inherited heart issues within the breed. Cardiac screening is recommended. Doppler is the gold standard for evaluation.
  • PRA: Progressive Retinal Atrophy was once prevalent in the breed. Through conscientious use of DNA testing, its occurrence has dropped. Screening is recommended as PRA causes blindness.
  • RD/OSD: Retinal Dysplasia and Skeletal Dysplasia are genetically linked. Screening is recommended.OSD is a severe condition in which the dogs show a variety of skeletal malformations, including shortened limbs (dwarfism), and blindness at an early age; the blindness results from a generalized malformation of the retina that causes a partial or full retinal detachment and cataracts.
  • D Locus: expression of the dilute gene is a Disqualification in the Standard. D locus testing is recommended to eliminate this from the breed. * note that the Parent Club states that the D locus in a dog prevents it from being a purebred Labrador even though it may be registered as a Labrador
  • Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis (HNPK)The first symptoms begin about 6 months of age and can continue throughout the dog’s life. This is a painful condition for the dog. There can be crusts and fissures on the nose and pads, with inflammation. Antibiotics may be required.
  • Degenerative Myelopathy: is rarely seen in Labradors but is present in some other Gun Dogs. It appears very late in life and causes rear limbs to be drug, causing progressive inability to stand and walk.
  • Additional Concerns for which there are no current screenings. There are additional health concerns within the Labrador breed for which there are no current DNA tests or phenotypic screenings. Do not be surprised if experienced breeders ask these questions about your dog’s family history:
  • Epilepsy
  • Ectoptic Ureter
  • Allergies
  • Atypical Labrador Collapse [now being studied at the University of Minnesota]