Red-Dawn Goldens, Xandra with Alicia
Every dog breed has unique health concerns that follow their line. A good breeder knows what potential health risks are associated with the Golden Retriever breed and does the proper testing to help avoid health issues from developin
Red-Dawn Goldens Breeding Protocol:
Parents (including Grandparents/ Great Grandparents) have testing and certification of Clear/Normal health for Hips and Elbows (no dysplasia), no Heart problems, Eyes examined by the ophthalmologist, Thyroid blood panel, Patellas- knees normal and in good overall health. One or both Parents are fully DNA tested Clear/Normal to insure your puppy can not inherit the following:
Learn more about Golden Retriever specific diseases and their tests at Embark Genetics DNA testing:
Embark tests Golden Retrievers for over a dozen genetic diseases, including various forms of Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) and Ichthyosis, plus Degenerative Myelopathy, Muscular Dystrophy, Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis, and Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa. The specific conditions vary by test, but breed-specific health tests for Golden Retrievers cover eyes, brain, spinal cord, skin, skeletal, and muscle conditions
In addition, most our dogs are DNA health and trait tested by Embark. The full Embark DNA panel tests for 200+ diseases plus many useful heritable factors including their genetic inbreeding level.
Our goal as the breeder of your future puppy is to produce the healthiest litters because of our diligent testing protocol and superior genetics.
Details of testing of the Red-Dawn parent dogs:
It is not possible to prevent all health problems as dogs are still made up of many genes, and there are many variables at play, but the proper testing helps a breeder reduce the odds of a health problem. The following list explains what Red-Dawn tests for to help insure you get a healthy puppy from us.
- Orthopedic issues like hip and elbow dysplasia: Both hip and elbow dysplasia occur in Golden Retrievers. It doesn’t follow a set genetic path, and it is thought to be polygenic in nature, which means there are multiple genes that help create dysplasia. It’s not a simple inherited defect. Further complicating the matter is that the environment can also enhance a problem or even create a problem in a perfectly healthy animal. Excessive weight, poor diet, and heavy exercise and repetitive joint stress (such as impact jumping and running) can all contribute to dysplasia. A breeder can help limit the amount of dysplasia in a pedigree through the use of OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) testing to certify normal hips and elbows on the parents. Dogs with an OFA score of Excellent, Good or Fair should be the only dogs allowed to produce puppies. Owners of dogs also need to ensure a proper environment that supports healthy joint development.
- Eye problems like Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) and Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration (PRCD): These eye issues can lead a dog to early blindness. To the naked eye, a dog will look perfectly fine, and in fact could produce many offspring before developing a noticeable problem. This is why testing is so important. A DNA test can help determine what dogs may be a carrier for eye problems like PRA so that 2 carriers are never bred together. Regular eye health exams with an Ophthalmologist can also help limit the spread of other eye disorders where a DNA test is not possible.
- Heart health: Breeding dogs can be checked for heart problems. Currently the OFA will pass a dog as cardiac normal if the dog doesn’t possess a heart murmur at all or if it is innocent. Our Goldens are tested by a Cardiologist and most get and Echocardiogram done as well.
There are other health conditions that can arise, like Seizures, but in those diseases there currently are no preventative testing that can occur. Instead, conscientious breeders know their pedigree line of their breeding dogs in order to avoid producing unhealthy puppies.
Many potential diseases where a DNA test can be done, such as Progressive Retinal Atrophy and Von Willebrands Disease, are conditions that are spread through recessive genes. A DNA test will let a breeder know what dogs may be carriers (posses the gene but not be affected), affected (have the gene and the disease), or clear (neither have the gene or the disease). This knowledge allows only those dogs that are unaffected to be bred. Any dog that is a carrier can be left in the gene pool but must be bred to only a clear dog. Two carriers should never be bred, and affected dogs (even if symptoms are not present) should also not be bred.
Some diseases the inheritance is polygenic or unclear. These include hip dysplasia and patellar luxation. For these diseases only x-rays, examinations, and health clearances of past dogs in the line are the only way to help limit the spread of the disease. It’s not fool proof, but it the best method currently available.
Science is always changing, and new health tests and methods will become available. It is hoped that many more health problems can be limited in the future through further tests, as they become available to breeders.