FOUNDED 1973

 

HEALTH INFORMATION  

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ ALL THE INFORMATION BELOW - IT IS VITAL IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO BREED FROM YOUR STAFFORD OR LOOKING TO BUY A HEALTHY STAFFORD PUP THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THESE FACTS!  

Although the Stafford is basically a healthy breed there are two known inherited problems for which we are fortunate to have a DNA test.  When planning to breed or when buying a puppy it is IMPERATIVE that you know the DNA status of both sire and dam for the two conditions Hereditary Cataract (HC) and L-2-Hydroxyglutaric acidurea (L-2-HGA).   Breeding from DNA tested clear stock means that all resultant progeny will be clear of the conditions.  If one of the parents is a carrier for either condition all puppies in the resultant litter should then be DNA tested by the breeder before they are sold so that their individual status can be determined. 

If you are planning to buy a puppy please only ever buy from stock which is tested.   It is the only way you can be certain that your puppy will not suffer from either condition.  If a puppy is tested as a carrier it means that although the pup will not develop the condition it will be able to pass on the rogue gene if it should be bred from in future.  This needs very careful consideration. 

For anyone planning to breed from their Stafford please ensure that you have the DNA status for your breeding stock prior to mating. Do not agree to mate a tested dog to an untested one.  In this age of litigation you may well find yourself in court if you should produce an affected puppy from untested stock.

  A brief explanation of the conditions is:

Hereditary Cataract (HC): 

This is a cataract which develops in young stock, often from around 9 months old.   It will affect both eyes and the dog will end up totally blind.  It is operable but the operation is a major one, traumatic and not always 100% successful.   It is also a very expensive operation.

L-2-HGA:

This is a neurological condition, similar in type to epilepsy, whereby the dog has seizure episodes.  It can manifest from around 5 months onwards and may range from mild affliction to very severe.  It is not curable and although it can be maintained in milder states with medication in its severest form the dog is usually euthanased.

PHPV & PPSC:

As well as the DNA tests available through the Animal Health Trust you should also clincally eye test all breeding stock for two other eye conditions : PHPV (persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous) and PPSC (posterior polar subcapsular cataract).  Both of these conditions are types of cataract found in Staffords although as yet no-one is aware of their mode of inheritance.    By clinically testing at least you can be sure that the dog being mated is not affected by the condition, although it may be capable of passing the defective gene on to its offspring.   

It is also possible to screen a litter for PHPV from 6 weeks of age.  As PHPV is known to be congential (there from birth) if a puppy is screened at 6 weeks and declared unaffected it will not develop the condition later in life.  If buying a puppy it is advisable to seek a puppy that has been screened as you can then be sure that your puppy will not be affected by PHPV.  Anyone breeding a litter is strongly advised to take the whole litter for screening before sale.  

For any litters taken for clinical litter screening of eyes the KC has advised if the KC registration forms for the puppies have been received then these should be taken (these should be available if litter is registered on-line when 3/4wks old), but if not yet received, the dam's registration papers should be taken plus the registration or stud book number of the sire, which breeders require for registration purposes. Should you be unable to supply full details of the parents, notably the sire, the examiner should test the litter but only give the results verbally and retain the official report to be posted to you when the missing details have been supplied.

The Animal Health Trust is researching PHPV currently and it will be hoped that at some future stage a DNA test may be developed.  

Wanted Samples for PHPV/PPSC Research.

If you own or have bred a dog diagnosed with either of these eye conditions, could you help by supplying mouth swabs from the affected dog plus its parents and litter-mates.  Any PHPV positives found in litter screenings are not reported in the Breeds Record Supplement, nor are any cases of PPSC - hence this appeal. If sufficient samples from affected cases can be obtained, it is hoped that research to determine the inheritance of both conditions may be commenced, possibly leading eventually to DNA tests similar to those available for HC and L-2-HGA. A copy of the eye test certificate and a copy of the dogs pedigree would also be appreciated. All samples and information will of course be confidential just in case anyone has any concern's about that. If you can help with this and thus help the Stafford , can you please contact one of the following who can supply swabs and any information required. Diane Taylor - 01670 823635 email - taylor@niatona.fsnet.co.uk    Lesley McFadyen - 01205 871762 email - easbtc@thedoghouse89.freeserve.co.uk Archie Bryden - 01772 715807 email - archie.bryden@yahoo.co.uk                             Many thanks for your co-operation.

   

If you are looking to buy a puppy make sure you have seen the appropriate certificates:   check out  http://www.eastangliansbtclub.co.uk/certificates.html

 

 Clinical Eye Testing Sessions

for the list of examiners see here http://www.staffords.co.uk/sbtbc/eyeclinics.htm 

Check out forthcoming clinical eye testing sessions here

 

The SBT Breed Council of GB & NI has produced a Cause of Death Survey which, it is hoped, will be useful in determining anything of significance within the breed.  If you have owned a Stafford that has died in your ownership since 1995 please download, complete and return a copy of the survey   http://www.staffords.co.uk/health_survey.htm