OFA ORTHOPEDIC TESTING
The OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) was founded in 1966, with the sole mission of promoting health and welfare of companion animals through a reduction in the incidence of genetic disease.
OFA tests, such as hip and elbow certifications use x rays to check the health of a dog's hips and elbows. These readings can range from poor to excellent, and a certificate is issued to the dog owner after a team of veterinarians from the OFA go over the x-ray.
These tests are used to check for the possibility of hip & elbow dysplasia and should be performed on all breeding dogs!
All reputable breeders will perform OFA testing on their dogs and should show the certificate to those who want to adopt their pups. OFA results are public record & can be found on the OFA website with the OFA umber listed on the certificate.
DNA TESTING
DNA testing has been readily available since 2007 & should be done on ALL breeding dogs. I use Embark, which tests for over 200 conditions. Labradors can suffer from over 20 conditions & Poodles over 12. DNA testing ensures that two dogs are not being mated while containing genetic disease which would be passed to the offspring. Roughly 60% of dogs are carriers of at least one genetic condition, which is extremely high, & while being a carrier does not affect a dog's health, it will affect an offsprings health if two dogs are mated while carrying the same genetic disease.
Two types of disease exist. Recessive- in which the offspring would need one bad copy of the same disease from each parent, & dominant, where only one copy needs to be present. If two dogs are mated that carry the same recessive condition, 25% of the offspring will be born with that disease. If it is a dominant condition, 50% of the offspring will be born with the condition.
BOTH LABRADORS & POODLES CAN SUFFER FROM HIP/ELBOW DYSPLASIA, & GENETIC DISEASE! ALL breeding dogs should be fully DNA & orthopedically tested!!
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DNA Testing
DNA testing should be a staple in ALL REPUTABLE BREEDERS breeding program. These DNA tests help rule out any genetic traits being passed to puppies from the parents. Myopathy EIC, PRA and IVVD to name a select few, are diseases that can affect certain dog breeds, such as Labrador Retrievers, and Poodles, including mini poodles. A puppy that is breed from parents with a lack of complete DNA testing & OFA hip/elbow testing, have between a 35% & 65% chance of developing either a genetic disease and or hip/elbow dysplasia in its lifetime. These are staggering numbers which makes both DNA & OFA testing not only a priority, but a necessity.
The breeder should be able to show DNA & orthopedic results. I give a copy of both parents DNA reports. I also give copies of my dogs' OFA certificates. I use Embark for my genetic testing, as they test for over 200 possible genetic conditions.
Sadly- over 90% of breeders are not performing full panel DNA or OFA orthopedic testing. Many will claim they do the testing- but if they do not provide copies of the reports, chances are the testing was not done at all.
Sadly, many breeders are charging top dollar for their puppies- while doing no OFA testing, and no, or very little genetic testing. Most genetic conditions surface between 3-8 years of age. When this occurs, all you know is that your dog is sick, so you take him to the vet. The vet will diagnose the problem & you will think it was just an unfortunate turn of events, & in most cases, there will be no correlation made between the dog being born with this disease due to lack of DNA testing on the breeders part & the fact that this could have been avoided if the breeder was responsible & was doing DNA testing You now have both a financial & emotional burden. Most of these issues could be avoided with thorough and complete DNA and OFA testing.
COEFFICIENT OF INBREEDING (COI)
COI is a means of testing a dog's DNA to check how diverse its gene pool is. The lower the percent, the more diverse the dog's gene pool is. This gives the dog the potential for ultra-high intelligence and potentially lessons the chances of genetic issues. The average C.O.I of a purebred dog is 20%. The average C.O.I of a mixed breed dog is 10%. While this isn't the "end all be all" it does give you a good idea of the dogs gene pool. It can also be used to tell if a dog was inbred, line bred or cross bred. All of my puppies have a COI of between 20% and 0%. This number, however, is enhanced by a DNA profile which is clear of all genetic issues. All of my dogs are 100% clear of ALL genetic conditions. When a dog has a clean DNA profile, as well as a 0% to 20% COI, you are getting a genetically perfect animal. COI is basically the icing on the cake while DNA is the cake.