Health Clearances on Dogs We Own or Co-Own

Content.

Adults

Am/Intl CH SilverCloud's Sunset Bandit MW CGC (deceased) - "Reilly"

'Normal' results for:

CERF DHW-262 (years tested; '03, '04, '05, '06)*
OFA - Patella DH-PA17/21M/P-PI**
OFA - Thyroid DH-TH4/26M-PI (years tested; '03, '05)***
Cystinuria - Negative****
Spinal X-Ray - Calcifications at T2-3, T9-10 & L1-2 at 35 months;
Clear at 37 months******
Calcifications at T2-3, T9-10, L1-2 and L3-4 at 59 months
- 19594 - All of Reilly's offspring whelped at Ruger with the exception of Gracchus (see below) have tested 'Normal' for both eyes and knees.

Reilly passed just shy of six years due to DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation) caused by acute (sudden) liver failure. We had a necropsy performed at CSU and they were unable to determine the cause of the liver failure. We are happy to discuss this with anyone who is interested.

FC Sunrise Lightly Tanned MS ME ROMX - "Tania"

'Normal' results for:

CERF DHS-348 (years tested; '04, '05, '06, 08)
OFA - Patella DH-PA32/19F/P-PI
Spinal X-Ray - Calcifications at T1-2, T2-3 & T3-4 at 20 months
- 19597 - All of Tania's offspring whelped at Ruger have tested 'Normal' for both eyes and knees.

DC Sunrise Maximus v Ruger MW - "Maximus"

'Normal' results for:

CERF DHW-275 (years tested; '04, '06, '08)
OFA - Patella DH-PA50/12M/P-PI
OFA - Thyroid DH-TH8/36M-PI
- 24085

DC Sunrise Ruger Gracchus MS JE - "Gracchus"

CERF DHS-355 (years tested; '04, '06, '08)
At just shy of 4 years, Gracchus' recheck showed an absolutely normal eye, as found by the ophthalmologist who has been checking him all this time.
We took Gracchus at 22 months for a eye recheck. The ophthalmologist we saw felt that since Gracchus' first checks from 8 to 16 weeks, the encapsulated cataract had become what she called a "very very tiny anterior capsular opacity" and was still no cause for concern.
Gracchus' first litter of puppies all tested 'Normal' in both eyes at 10 weeks.
Gracchus was diagnosed 'normal' in his left eye and 'E1' in his right eye. 'E1' indicates that a dog has a punctuate cataract. Our initial ophthalmologist, Dr. Tanja Nuhsbaum, DVM, MS, DACVO, indicated that this is a pinpoint, or capsular, cataract that will not progress or affect Gracchus' eyesight. She feels that this type of cataract is developmental and not congenital or hereditary, but we will err on the side of caution and only breed Gracchus to bitches with clear eyes. We took Gracchus to two other ophthalmologists and they had the same opinion as Dr. Nuhsbaum in regards to Gracchus' cataract, it's origins and it's future.

'Normal' results for:

OFA - Patella DH-PA49/12M/P-PI
OFA - Thyroid DH-TH7/32M-PI
Spinal X-Ray - Calcification at T11-12 at 31 months
- 24084

CH Doxikota Payton v Ruger MW - "Payton"

'Normal' results for:

CERF DHW-292 (years tested; '05, '09)
OFA - Patella DH-PA88/20F/P-PI
- 39481

CH Rumor's Liqur Is Quikr v Ruger - "Guinness"

'Normal' Results for:

CERF -waiting on number- (years tested; '06)
OFA - Patella DH-PA97/15M/P-PI

Youngsters

CH Delaney v Ruger Thx 2 Doxikota - "Ryan"

'Normal' results for:

CERF -waiting on number - (years tested; '07)

Dugan v Ruger Thx 2 Doxikota - "Doogie"

'Normal' results for:

CERF -waiting on number - (years tested; '07)

CH Ever After v Ruger JE - "Evie"

'Normal' results for:

CERF -waiting on number - (years tested; '07)

Ever-Ready Sidney v Ruger JE - "Sidney"

'Normal' results for:

CERF -waiting on number - (years tested; '07)

Emazing Axel v Ruger - "Axel"

'Normal' results for:

CERF -waiting on number - (years tested; '07)

Puppies

None at this time

*CERF (Canine Eye Research Foundation) results for Dachshunds currently clear only the presence of disease (like PRA) or eye anomalies, like Iris-to-Iris or Iris-to-Cornea PPMs, entroption, iris colmbomas, etc...see a complete list of categories of eye issues at http://www.vmdb.org/categories.html Hopefully, as with other breeds, there will someday be a test to clear dogs both as carriers of eye diseases such as PRA (Progressive Retinal Athrophy) and to identify those dogs who have the disease, but do not yet show it.

This DNA test is currently available for miniature long Dachshunds only from AHT in England. http://www.aht.org.uk/clinics_small_dogs_prog.html

It tests for two copies of the cord1 mutation in miniature longs only. IMO, the jusry is still out on whether or not this is a truly helpful test.

CERF results can be viewed at http://www.vmdb.org/cerf.html and at http://www.offa.org if the dog has also been tested for OFA registered diseases and conditions. CERF recommends testing should be done *yearly* for dogs used for breeding. Additionally, there are some eye anomalies that are only detectable when dogs are very young, so all puppies born at Ruger will have an eye exam around 8 weeks of age.

**OFA results for Patellar Luxation (more information available at http://www.offa.org/patluxinfo.html ) currently show only the degree of luxation or lack thereof. A breed database number is issued to all dogs found to be normal at 12 months of age or older. The breed database number contains the age at evaluation and it is recommended that dogs be periodically reexamined as some luxations will not be evident until later in life.

***OFA results for Thyroid (more information available at http://www.offa.org/thyinfo.html ) currently only show the level of thyroid classification. A breed database number is issued to all dogs found to be normal at 12 months of age. Ages are used in the certification process since the classification can change as the dog ages and the autoimmune disease progresses. It is recommended that reexamination occur at ages 2,3,4,6, and 8 years. Specific information regarding Dachshunds and thyroid disease from the University of Michigan is available here: http://www.dachshund-dca.org/HealthWelfare/MichiganStateThyroidStudy.html

****Cystinuria information can be found at ( http://mastiff.org/exhibit-hall/health/cystart.mv ). Currently, there are only tests to indicate if a dog is positive or negative for Cystinuria for the majority of breeds. There is a DNA test to identify carriers only in the Newfoundland breed. This disease is not thought to be a problem in Dachshunds, but many dogs are misdiagnosed as the disease often does not present itself until later in life. We really will not know if it is a problem in Dachshunds unless more Dachshunds are tested. Dachshunds are on a list of about 60 breeds who have had individuals test positive for Cystinuria, so the disease *does* exist in Dachshunds, but we do not know at what level. The disease in humans and in Newfoundlands is an autosomal recessive Mostly males are affected.

*****Calcifications in the disc material between vertebrae are a bit controversial; there have been only a few limited (in terms of numbers of Dachshunds bred) studies. http://members.tripod.com/dachshealth/european_and_american_studies_of.htm There are some dogs with calcifications that never develop IVDD and there are dogs with x-rays that are clear of calcifications that become paralyzed. As you can see by Reilly's results above, calcifications are not static and they can disappear and reappear. There are many different stimuli that could cause spinal calcifications; everything from diet to injury to heredity. There are those that feel environment (musclature, weight, nail length, jumping down) plays a large part. There are some people that believe that any dog with 2+ calcifications should not be bred. There are no easy answers, but all dogs bred together at Ruger will be x-rayed and all resulting puppies will be x-rayed at 24 months. It is the best we can do (for now) with the tools that we have. I will make an effort in the near future to put up a page devoted exclusively to spinal x-ray studies. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Share this page on your favorite Social Media Sites!