By Fiona Douglas

How many dachshunds have you seen bumping into things lately?

As a breeder of miniature dachshunds, a test that has met my scrutiny is that for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) which is a disease that causes blindness. I believe that breeders of smooth haired dachshunds could be suffering unnecessarily if the DNA disease screening test proves to be flawed.

Responsible breeders take every opportunity to ensure the health status of their breeding dogs. Indeed, in Victoria it recently became law that dogs with heritable diseases can only be bred under an approved breeding program; a good thing providing, that is, the disease tests are correct.

Costs involved with incorrect diagnoses are many. One of the most serious of these is decreasing the health of a breed. Purebreds already have relatively small gene pools. Erroneous tests make this problem worse by seeing the phasing out of genetics that were in fact sound. The dangers of a smaller gene pool are the increased risks of new genetic defects arising because long-buried recessive genes surface into the phenotype.

Costs to the breeder include the personal distress of being told that a fine dog of wonderful temperament, who is perfectly fit and healthy, is to be publicly tagged ‘breed with conditions’. This naturally impacts breeding programs: programs that might have involved many, many years of planning and dedication. Then there is the financial cost of finding new breeding stock (thousands of dollars), not to mention the high cost of the DNA test itself which can be around $80 for an uncertified test result or up to $160 for a result certified by a vet. Multiply that by 10 dogs, say, and the costs build up.

Why do I doubt the PRA test? [Read more...]