Health Testing

Health testing is very important to us,

we very much believe that by using all the testing available to us, whether that be genetic, x-rays, scans or blood tests, it will help us in our quest to breed the

Healthiest great Dane puppies we can.

by doing that we can do our small part in helping our beautiful breed stay

healthy and long lived in future generations.

It is not fool proof by any means as when you involve nature nothing

is but it is a fantastic tool we feel we must utilise.

currently within the great Dane breed no health testing is compulsory.

we know science moves on on a daily basis and what we did yesterday will change tomorrow but we will keep researching and moving forward for

our Danes as they are what is most important.

Our current health tests

Hip & Elbow scoring

we now x-ray all of our Danes to get their hips & elbows scored, basically the lower the number the better

Hip dysplasia is a common inherited orthopaedic problem where abnormalities occur in the hip joints.

These abnormalities include changes to the shape of the hip, ball and socket and the development of

osteoarthritis (a common form of arthritis).

Changes to the hip joint will begin at a young age as the puppy starts to become more active and will get worse over time. These changes can lead to excessive wear and tear of the joint, causing one or both hip joints to become defective. At this stage the hip joint(s) may be painful and can have serious effects on the health,

behaviour and welfare of the dog.

For a more detailed explanation please download the BVA leaflet on hips:

https://www.bva.co.uk/media/2797/chs-hip-dysplasia-2019-v2-web-170419.pdf

Elbow dysplasia is a common inherited orthopaedic problem in dogs where the elbow doesn’t develop properly.

Elbow dysplasia includes a number of specific abnormalities or problems that affect different areas of the elbow joint. These cause problems by affecting the growth of the cartilage which forms the surface of the joint or the structures around it. Even a small change in the shape of one part of the joint can have major consequences for the joint function, leading to lameness, osteoarthritis, pain and serious effects on the health, behaviour and welfare of the dog.

For a more detailed explanation please download the BVA leaflet on elbows:

https://www.bva.co.uk/media/2791/chs-elbow-dysplasia-2019-v2-web-170419.pdf

Blood tests for heart function/stretch

Every 12 months we take blood tests to check pro/bnp & troponin levels, by doing this annually

we can monitor for any change

The pro/BNP Test provides a quantitative assessment of canine heart health by measuring the concentration of NTpro/BNP, which is released by cardiac myocytes in response to stretch and stress.

Cardiac troponins are quantitative markers of myocardial injury which can be reliably measured

in dogs which provide prognostic information, seemingly irrespective of clinical

presentation (acute or chronic), suspected type of myocardial injury (reversible or irreversible),

and underlying disease (cardiac or noncardiac)

Hereditary Myopathy / Centronuclear Myopathy (HMLR, CNM)

This is a mutation-based gene test that gives a clear, carrier of affected result,

so if you breed two Danes with clear results you will breed genetically clear puppies

Clinical features of hereditary myopathy include hypotonia, generalized muscle weakness, abnormal postures, stiff hopping gait, exercise intolerance and increased collapse

when exposed to cold.

Degenerative Myelopathy / Degenerative Radiculomyelopathy) DM (Exon 2)

This is a mutation-based gene test that gives a clear, carrier of affected result,

so if you breed two Danes with clear results you will breed genetically clear puppies

Canine degenerative myelopathy (also known as chronic degenerative radiculomyelopathy) is a progressive disease of the spinal cord in older dogs. The disease has an insidious onset typically between 7 and 14 years of age. It begins with a loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind limbs.

Degenerative myelopathy initially affects the back legs and causes muscle weakness and loss, and lack of coordination. These cause a staggering effect that may appear to be arthritis. The dog may drag one or both rear paws when it walks. This dragging can cause the nails of one foot to be worn down. The condition may lead to extensive paralysis of the back legs. As the disease progresses, the animal may display symptoms such as incontinence and has considerable difficulties with both balance and walking. If allowed to progress, the animal will show front limb involvement and extensive muscle atrophy. Eventually cranial nerve or respiratory muscle involvement necessitates euthanasia. Progression of the disease is generally slow but highly variable. The animal could be crippled within a few months, or may survive up to three years

Leukoencephalomyelopathy ( LEMP )

This is a mutation-based gene test that gives a clear, carrier of affected result,

so if you breed two Danes with clear results you will breed genetically clear puppies

LEMP is an autosomal recessive inherited disease of the central nervous system, which is characterised by progressive gait abnormalities including paw dragging and knuckling. dogs show lacks of coordination and generalised ataxia. As the disease progresses, affected dogs may become increasingly immobile within a few months.

Malignant Hyperthermia (MH)

This is a mutation-based gene test that gives a clear, carrier of affected result,

so if you breed two Danes with clear results you will breed genetically clear puppies

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is an inherited disorder of skeletal muscle characterized by hypercarbia, rhabdomyolysis, generalized skeletal muscle contracture, cardiac dysrhythmia, and renal failure, that develops on exposure to succinylcholine or volatile anesthetic agents. Specific interventions, including use of the calcium release channel antagonist dantrolene, are efficacious in reversing signs of the canine syndrome.

As we said earlier we keep researching and have now decided to add the BVA eye screening

test to our chosen health tests, Aoife will be the first girl screened in june 2021

Hereditary Eye Disease Scheme for dogs (BVA)

There are many types of hereditary eye disease, both congenital (conditions that exist from birth or soon after birth) and non-congenital (conditions that develop later in life), that affect dogs.

Many of these conditions can have serious effects on health and welfare, causing pain, blindness, or the need for lifelong medication, and should be taken into consideration when breeding dogs.

Dogs are currently screened for the following inherited eye diseases:

Congenital/Neonatal eye conditions (inherited conditions present at birth):

(CEA) Collie eye anomaly
(MRD) Multifocal retinal dysplasia
(TRD) Total retinal dysplasia
(CHC) Congenital hereditary cataract
(PHPV) Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous
(PLA) Pectinate ligament abnormality

Inherited conditions that develop later in life:

(HC) Hereditary cataract
(PLL) Primary lens luxation
(POAG) Primary open angle glaucoma
(PRA) Progressive retinal atrophy
(RPED) Retinal pigment epithelial dystrophy

Other eye conditions which may be identified during the examination include:

Distichiasis
Ectopic cilia
Trichiasis
Entropion
Ectropion
Combined entropion/ectropion
Corneal lipid deposition
Ocular Melanosis
Persistent pupillary membrane
Various lens conditions
Various retinal conditions
Optic nerve hypoplasia
Multi-ocular defects