COPPERPOND LABRADORS

GENETIC HEALTH TESTING

Why is it so important?

Lets talk about DNA Health Testing!

This testing is crucial for thoughtful and ethical breeding. It eliminates unsuitable candidates in pre-screening so the chance of unhealthy puppies are much, much less likely. So why don't all breeders do health testing? Well, these tests cost a lot of money and excludes a lot of dogs from breeding programs.

All Copperpond Labradors have extensive testing to ensure your dog will be as healthy as possible for as long as possible!

You can see an example in the photo below of the test results. This is for our Sire, Murphy's, DNA test. All his results came back Clear.

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These DNA tests are to check for recessive diseases in Labrador retrievers and are all tested via oral swabs and sent to PawPrints Genetics Laboratory.

For a puppy to have any of these diseases, both parents must carry a mutated gene. Our puppies should never exhibit these diseases because we ensure that one of the parents is Clear for all mutated genes.

The diseases tested are Centronuclear Myopathy, Degenerative Myelopathy, Exercise-Induced Collapse, Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis, Progressive Retinal Atrophy, Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration, Retinal Dysplasia/Oculoskeletal Dysplasia 1 and Skeletal Dysplasia 2.

Centronuclear Myopathy- Puppies are born apparently normal; however, it quickly becomes evident that there is a problem. The puppy will often not gain weight adequately, due to decreased muscle tone in the esophagus. Within 2 to 5 months, the disease has usually progressed to display the full range of symptoms, including a loss of muscle tone and control, an awkward gait and extreme exercise intolerance. This condition is exacerbated in cold conditions. Unfortunately, there is no cure for CNM, as the dog will never develop properly functioning muscle tissue. The dog usually has a normal life span, however, he will always be plagued with the symptoms of CNM.

Degenerative Myelopathy is a progressive disease, meaning that dogs get slowly weaker and weaker over a period of time following the onset of symptoms. DM usually affects the hind legs first, but muscle weakness can spread to the front legs as well. Dogs with DM may begin to stumble frequently as they become progressively weaker due to nerve damage. Eventually, dogs with DM will lose control of their bladder and bowels. As the disease moves into its final stages, symptoms of weakness, trembling and stumbling will begin to affect the front legs as well.

Exercise-Induced Collapse is a devastating genetic disorder causing affected dogs to suffer from a loss of muscle control following periods of extreme exercise. This disorder is caused by a mutation in the Dyamin 1 gene. Because EIC is a recessive disorder, a dog must have two copies of the mutation (one from each parent) in order for the disease to manifest itself. Typically, an affected dog begins to show symptoms between 5 months and 3 years of age. The do can live a happy life as a sedentary pet but in severe cases, is sometimes euthanized for humane reasons.

Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis is an inherited, recessive genetic defect that affects specialized cells of the canine nose, resulting in the formation of a crust with cracks over the nasal area of young dogs. Affected dogs are otherwise healthy, although leaked fluid tends to accumulate in the cracks.

Progressive Retinal Atrophy/ Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration/ Retinal Dysplasia are a group of degenerative diseases that affect the photoreceptor cells. With this disease, the cells deteriorate over time, eventually leading to blindness in the affected dog. There are two main forms of PRA recognized in dogs, an early onset or inherited form, also called retinal dysplasia, which is typically diagnosed in puppies around 2-3 months of age, and a late onset form that is detected in adult dogs, usually between the ages of 3-9 years. It is common for the late onset form to be called PRA and the early onset form to be called retinal dysplasia.In the majority of cases, the rod cells degenerate first causing night vision to be affected before daytime vision, but eventually the cone cells also degenerate, leading to complete blindness.

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Having these DNA tests to confirm your puppy WILL NOT inherit these genetic weaknesses will save you so much worry and stress! Its so nice to be confident in the fact that your best buddy will not suffer from these ailments!!