The foundation to good breeding is health. Without good health a breeding program will NOT have a future.
CA = OFA Database, in this case Cardiac (CA) 1234 = Ascending numerical identifier given to each animal within a breed evaluated as normal and given a number, in this case the 1,234 Cavalier to be given a cardiac number. 24 = The age in months when the testing was done, in this case 24 months. M = Sex, in this case a male. C = Suffix indicating the area of speciality of the attending veterinarian, in this case a Cardiologist. P = General Practioner/Veterinarian S = Specialist C = Board Certified Cardiologist PI = Indicates that the animal has been permanently identified in the form of tatoo or microchip. If the animal lacks permanent identification, a suffix of NOPI is applied. Syringomyelia (SM): Syringomylia is a neurological condition similar to what is known in humans as Chiari Type 1 malformation.This is a serious condition in which cavities develop within the spinal cord near the brain, and fill with fluid. It is also known as the "Neck-Scratchers Disease", because one of its common signs is scratching in the air near the neck. It is worldwide in scope and not limited to any country, breeding line, or kennel, and experts report it is believed to be inherited in the Cavalier. SM seldom can be detected in young puppies, as symptoms usually are not evident before the age of six months but usually will develop before a dog is two years old. Pain is the most important clinical sign of the disorder. Symptoms may vary widely among different dogs, but typical symptoms include: scratching at the neck and shoulder area without making contact, especially when excited or on a lead, a head tilt, unexplained yelping or pain, neck twisting, or even weakness of the limbs. The only accurate way of diagnosing this disease is through the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning, an extremely costly procedure. The MRI allows the veterinary neurologist to study the spine for the presence of any abnormality which might obstruct the flow of the cerebrospinal fluid. Accurate MRI results require the dog be anesthetised. Clinic charges for MRI examination of canines range from $1500 to over $2000. SM has been reported in other toy breeds including the Bichon Frise, Pug, Shih Tzu, Pomeranian, Chihuahua, Toy Poodle and King Charles Spaniel as well as others. For additional information click here. PSOM: Another disorder with symptoms similar to SM is Primary Secretory Otitis Media (PSOM), which is a highly viscous mucus plug which fills the middle ear and causes the tympanic membrane to bulge. Because the pain and other sensations in the head and neck areas, resulting from PSOM, are so similar to symptoms due to SM, the possibility that the Cavalier has PSOM and not SM should be determined before diagnosing SM. Click here for additional information. Hip Dysplasia (HD) : The hip joint has a ball (top part of the femur) which fits into a joint (hip socket in the pelvis). If the socket is not developed properly the ball does not sit in it properly. This causes stress on the cartilage lining the hip joint. With the constant stress on the joint the cartilage thins and becomes stiffer which decreases the joints ability to handle the daily stress of movement and weight bearing. Over time arthritis will build up in the joint and cause thickening and a decrease in range of movement along with accompanying pain. Some breeders believe that because of the small size of the Cavalier, Hip Dysplasia is not an issue in this breed. As more and more Cavaliers are being checked for this illness, it is becoming apparent that it is an issue, and breeders should x-ray all dogs used for breeding at two years of age and send the x-ray to OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) for certification. If the breeder says "My vet okayed the x-ray" this is not a valid clearance. If the breeder states the hips are certified this information will be available on the OFA website.To check for this information on line go to www.offa.org/search.html and type in the first part of your potential puppy's sire or dam's registered name, such as Dansyn. Then scroll down and click on Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as the breed you are looking for and then click begin search. If the hip x-rays have been submitted to OFA, the names of all the breeder's dogs should be there. Then you can look for a specific dog, such as the sire or dam of your potential puppy. If the dogs are not listed (make sure you have the spelling correct) they did not pass, or they were not done. Patellar Luxation: The patella is a small bone that is held in place by ligaments that shield the front of the stifle joint and should be located in the center of the knee joint. As the knee joint is moved, the patella slides in a groove in the femur. A luxating patella is a knee cap which moves out of the groove in the femur. What causes this to occur is the muscles of the thigh attached directly or indirectly to the top of the knee cap. There is a ligament, called the patellar ligament, which runs from the bottom of the knee cap to a point on the shin bone (tibia) just below the knee joint. The patella luxates because the point of attachment of the patellar ligament is not on the midline of the tibia. As the thigh muscles contract, the force is pulled against the groove (called the trochlear groove) on the inner side of the femur. With this abnormal movement, the inner side of the grove wears down and the patella dislocates or moves out of the groove. This makes it difficult for the dog to put its weight on the leg. The patella may dislocate towards the inside, called medial, or outside, called lateral, of the leg. Medial patellar luxation is present at birth and can effect either or both legs. Laterally luxating patellas are often the results of trama and can affect any pet. Diagnosis is made on physical examination and may be confirmed by xray. Luxating patellas can be surgically stabilized. A puppy that does a lot of jumping can suffer from this and therefore we recommend that you discourage your puppy from jumping from high places like the bed or couch. Retinal Dysplasia and Cataracts: The two most serious eye problems in Cavaliers are Retinal Detachment and Cataracts. With cataracts, the lenses of the eyes loose their transparancy and over time, can lead to blindness.There are three distinct types of Retinal Dysplasia. Retinal Folds- a generally harmless form of Dysplasia. Dogs with Retinal Folds can be breed. Geographic Dysplasia- a severe form of Dysplasia. Dogs with Geographic Dysplasia should NOT be bred! Retinal Detachment- this is the severest form of Dysplasia. Dogs with Retinal Detachment should NOT be bred! Click here for additional information. All Cavaliers used in a breeding program should have their eyes examined yearly by a Board Certified Veterinary Opthalmologist and be found clear of these problems. Many breeders opt to send their test results to the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF), although it is not mandatory. As with hearts, BEFORE you buy a puppy from anyone, see the eye tests on the parents! Puppies can be checked, but many times problems don't develope until the dog is older. Low Platelet Count in the Cavalier - not a problem : Cavaliers sometimes have a lower platelet count in their blood count which worries some veterinarians who do not know that this is normal in a Cavalier. Cavaliers may have a lower platelet count, but they also have larger platelets. The platelets must be hand counted to get an accurate reading. We are only including mention of the low platelet count of some Cavaliers so Cavalier owners reading this will be informed just in case they have a Cavalier with a low platelet count being misdiagnosed by a veterinarian who is not familar with our breed. Platelets are also called thrombocytes. these are the blood cells that are responsible for normal blood cloting. Thrombocytopenia is an abnormally low blood platelet count. Macrothrombocytes are abnormally large blood platelets. Normal blood platelet counts should be 150-200,000. Dogs will have bleeding abnormalities if their counts are below 40,000. However, the Cavalier may have counts well below 40,000 with no problems. Approximately 30% of Cavaliers have macrothrombocytosis and/or thrombocytopenia. This appears to be a congenital abnomally. The Cavalier does not experience any health problems despite these changes. It is thought that the large platelets of the Cavalier are able to provide the same function in lower numbers than that of other breeds. Because Cavalier platelets are so large, automated cell counters may mistakenly count them as white blood cells, artifically lowering the platelet count. Additionally, these cells may not be recognized when examined under the microscope on a blood smear because they may no look like the platelets of other breeds. Remember, the Cavalier does not appear to experience any health problems due to this condition, which has only been reported in our breed and no other. Flycatcher's Syndrome: Occasionally a Cavalier will experience a disorder called Flycatcher's Syndrome in which the Cavalier repeatedly bites or snaps at the air around his head trying to get a fly. Flycatcher's is thought to be a form of epilepsy and may also be a compulsive-obsessive disorder. It may be seen more frequently in the Cavalier than in other breeds. If the condition is severe, medical intervention may be warranted. Click here for additional information. Auto-Immune (mediated) Diseases - very rare: Under normal circumstances the body's immune system recognizes an invading infectious disease and sends cells to attact this disease. In the case of an auto-immune disease the body's signals become crossed and the immune system inadvertenly starts to attact the body's own tissues and organs. There is much discussion about the causes of auto-immune diseases, in some cases there are genetic predispositions for auto-immune diseases, however there are indications that over-vaccination, drugs, diet may also have some role in these diseases. There are many diseases which may be considered auto-immune in nature, ranging from certain skin conditions, to diseases that attact specific organs like hypothyroidism and addisons or system wide problems such as lupus and AIHA (autiimmune hemolytic anemia). It is important to understand that even if the sire and dam have been screened and found clear of any health problems, no breeder can guarantee that your puppy will never develope a problem during its lifetime.The most important thing you can do is to find a breeder who is willing to talk to you about the health problems in Cavaliers and what they are trying to do to better the odds of producing puppies that will be free of these problems. They should not tell you that other breeders have these problems, but they have bred them out of their lines. This is virtually impossible. Breeding from tested and cleared parents is not a guarantee that your puppy will never develope health problems, but it certainly stacks the odds in the puppy's favor. When a breeder does not test their breeding dogs, then every breeding is like playing Russion Roulette, as they have no idea if a dog has a problem or not, and may be passing on genetic problems. They may even be doubling up on the chances of producing puppies with health problems. If a breeder does not test, they don't know! |
|
