Health Testing
At Kannandah Labradoodles, parents are chosen based on physical and behavioural attributes. All of our dogs are well socialised and love human interaction. They like nothing better than cuddles and attention. As well as full clinical examinations before entering the breeding program, parents are DNA tested for relevant genetic diseases and, where necessary, hip and elbow scored.
DNA Testing
DNA testing is an important tool to ensure genetic diseases are not passed down to pups. A mouth swab is taken from each dog and is sent to an Australian genetics laboratory, Orivet(R). Each dog is tested for a number of genetic diseases, common to the breed. For example, diseases tested for in a Labrador are not necessarily the same as those tested for in a poodle. Results come back as either clear, carrier or affected for each disease. Dogs that are affected by a disease are not and will never be included in our breeding program. This is because they will pass on the disease to a certain percentage of off-spring, even if they are mated to a clear dog. Occasionally we may mate a dog that is a carrier for a disease to a clear dog for various reasons, but be assured that the offspring will never be affected by the disease.
Hip and Elbow Scoring
Hip and elbow scoring is done on all dogs in our breeding program over 15kg in weight. This is because it is generally a disease process that affects heavier, larger breed dogs such as Labradors, German shepherds, Rottweilers, Golden retrievers etc.
To obtain a hip and elbow score the dog is fully anaesthetised, and x-rays of the elbows and hips are taken while the dog is completely still. The x-ray images are then sent to an independent radiologist familiar with hip and elbow scoring to give an independent assessment. The lower the score given, the lower the risk of hip and elbow dysplasia, a condition that leads to impaired mobility, arthritis, and pain later in life.
It is important to understand that a low score for the parents does not guarantee no problems in the offspring. Similarly, offspring of a dog with a high score may be perfectly fine. However, it is an indication of potential risk of a disease, therefor mating two parents with high scores should not be done.
At Kannandah Labradoodles we use hip and elbow scoring to determine which combination of parents to use and which animals to keep in the breeding program.
