Starstruck Labradors

 - Genetic Health 101 -

 A GOOD breeder will know the genetic make up of EACH of their dogs. Genetic testing is THE ONLY WAY to build a better, healthier Labrador Retriever!

Eyes - All our breeding stock, male and female, have passed CERF examinations. CERF is a general eye exam by a veterinary ophthalmologist (specialist) who examines the eye for any heritable eye diseases.

Hearts - Select dogs also have cardiac testing, although this means only that our Vet has listened to the heart, and makes note if there are any murmurs, etc. If an issue does arise, we can take the dog for further testing with a cardiologist. The heart has conventionally not been a problem in labs, but we have begun testing for it regardless during our usual testing protocols.

Hips - There are different ratings for canine hips; Excellent, Good, and Fair are all “normal” ratings. The next is a Borderline hip rating, followed by three degrees of dysplasia.

We x-ray the hip and elbow joints of all our breeding dogs to check for abnormalities, whether by injury or genetics. However, that does not mean we only breed the perfect dogs together. As the diseases of hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia are influenced by a number of genes and environmental factors, it is not an exact science. It is always best to breed "perfect" quality dogs together, who have excellent hip joints, normal elbows, flawless eyes, and no health issues of any other type. In the real world, keeping to the excellent categories would serve only to irreversibly diminish the Labrador gene pool. Furthermore, the quality of joints of the siblings, parents, aunts, and uncles of the dog in question can be just as important as those of the dog itself.

The statistics published by the OFA show that two dogs with "Good" hips together would produce 10% dysplastic offspring. Breeding two dogs with "Fair" hips produces 20% dysplastic offspring! However, very few of these dogs will ever limp, or show any clinical signs of dysplasia until their senior years. By the time any canine reaches the age 8-10 years, many signs of aging will be present, but lets face it, our human seniors usually have joint problems at this advanced age too.

Elbows - In comparison,  while hips are rated "Excellent," "Good," "Fair," "Borderline," or different grades of dysplastic, elbows are rated only as "Normal" (Perfect), and then different grades of dysplastic. So although a few of our great quality dogs have sub-clinical dysplasias, no one actually shows any outward signs of dysplasia.

The sad truth is, that breeding two dogs with normal elbows, still produces 31% puppies that if x-rayed, would be considered dysplastic. (Statistic from the International Elbow Working Group).

Again, this is a matter of constant improvement. We must always know what we are breeding to whom so that the line is improved, and the pups are of equal or better quality than their parents. If we disqualified all of the dogs with the slightest elbow issue, we would lose 31% of the breeding population in every generation, compounding an in-breeding problem that is historically present in purebred dogs

OFA statistics are huge studies based on up to 500,000 or so dogs of all different breeds. There is nothing specific to show-type Labradors, field-type Labradors, etc. All of these statistics also reflect clinical and sub-clinical dysplasias. ‘Clinical’ would be a dog who is actually lame. ‘Subclinical’ is a diagnosis of dysplasia based on poor joint conformation from x-rays. While we are always concerned about subclinical dysplasias in breeding, we don't warranty unless there is a clinical problem, as there are many dogs walking around happily with poor quality joints, who show no symptoms, and are perfect pets!

DNA - As a Starstruck Policy, we CLEAR all of our breeding males for the following diseases. These are simple recessive traits in dogs. This means that regardless of what the dam might carry for these genes, it is impossible for any of the puppies to exhibit these problems, because we know that the stud possesses all normal genes. The four following tests (Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA), Centro-Nuclear Myopathy (CNM), Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC)) are all tested via oral swabs, and set to a laboratory for analysis. For PRA, we use the Optigen or Genomia laboratories. For the remainder, we use DDC Veterinary Laboratory.

Again, ALL Starstruck puppies are 100% free of being affected by the following diseases, but we describe them for you in detail below:

• PRA- Progressive Retinal Atrophy, more commonly known as PRA, is a general term for a group of diseases causing degeneration of the retina, leading to a loss of vision. The form of this disorder in Labradors is prcd (Progressive Rod-Cone Degeneration). This leads first to the loss of night vision, and then to complete blindness of the dog, and the typical onset is between 3-5 years of age.

• CNM- 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 Centronuclear Myopathy.

• DM- Degenerative myelopathy is a progressive disease, meaning that dogs get slowly weaker and weaker over a four to six month period of time following diagnosis. Degenerative myelopathy usually affects the hind legs first, but muscle weakness can spread to the front legs as well. Dogs with degenerative myelopathy may begin to stumble frequently as they become progressively weaker due to nerve damage. Eventually, dogs with degenerative myelopathy 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. 
  

•  EIC- 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 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 dog can live a happy life as a sedentary pet, but in severe cases, is sometimes euthanized for humane reasons.

We can not guarantee a perfect dog. But we do feel confident enough in the quality

of our dogs to warranty them if they ever do develop a genetic condition.

  PLEASE! Help us fight the cause of poorly bred, ill, and suffering puppies - DO NOT buy puppies from breeders who do not spend the time and money to test their breeding stock for all of the above conditions. 

If you can read this page, and you can understand the importance of a well-breed dog, then breeders can too, there is no excuse!