| HEALTH
The overall health
of the Dobermann is very good. The average lifespan, however, is
not so good averaging 9 years of age, but with improved breeding
programmes including fresh genes from new bloodlines with the opening
of the European bloodlines now easily accessible, this may be slowly
improving.
In Europe, dogs
and bitches must pass a ZTP (or equivalent according to their country)
~ Fit for Breeding Test in order for their progeny to be registered.
The ZTP includes health tests on Hips, Eyes and Heart and the dog
must pass a character test. Only dogs and bitches who pass a ZTP
can become Champions. Very regrettably, there are no such restrictions
on breeding and registering from untested animals in the UK. Therefore
a dog with severe heart problems, Hip Dysplasia, Von Willebrands
Disease, who is going blind from PHPV could easily become a Champion
and be widely used as a stud dog. Some breeders who like some red (denoting Championship status) on their pedigrees,
can take their (untested) bitches to a (untested) Champion, produce
a fine litter on paper, but the puppies could suffer serious health
problems. Kennel Club registration is no indicator of the true quality
of a dog, and puppy farmers are still registered by the KC. Dobermann
puppies costing an average of £500-£600 could cost a
great deal more money in the short term. There are still breeders
who don't care about health testing.
We have had good test results and poor results. We sincerely believe in health
testing and will never knowingly sell a puppy with serious health
problems, however, we also feel as strongly that to remove an otherwise superb dog from the gene pool due to one poor test if all other health aspects are excellent; if the dog is a superb example of breed type; and has an outstanding character is reckless and idealistic and would actually result in no Dobermanns being bred! There are breeders currently selling puppies for £700
+ whose parents have not had one health test. No-one can test for cancer, but we can all
do our best to test for those diseases we can identify and act rationally and logically on them. Our only exceptions to that above, are that we will never compromise on DCM or to breed a dog who may bleed from DCM. Other tests remain highly variable without factual definition.
DCM (Dilated
Cardiomyopathy) is the Dobermanns' 3rd biggest killer after old
age and cancer. |
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All
mammals will eventually die of heart failure if they remain otherwise
healthy, but DCM is a specific Dobermann related disease causing
weakening of the valves in the heart and muscle walls. DCM is hereditary and
dogs can and do die under year old. It is important not to breed into known
DCM bloodlines as the genetic predisposition to the disease is dramatically increased.
It is possible to have your dogs tested for clinical signs by a canine Cardiologist
and although this is such a serious problem, sadly very few breeders
have their dogs tested despite the new Boehringer Ingelheim funding for all registered Dobermanns between the ages of 5 and 9 to be tested free of charge. All Aritaur dogs (breeding
or not) who live with us are tested around every 18 mths for clinical signs of DCM. (NB without DNA marker, it is not possible
from any test to guarantee that a dog will not develop the disease
in later life). This does lead some breeders to use the current
lack of 100% definitive result as an excuse not to test at all. We can't guaranteee, but we and the very few others who test, do
our best to breed and raise healthy puppies. It is unacceptable for breeders to ignore DCM. Even though there is no definitive test, we can all do our best and ensure at the very least that we will never breed from a dog or bitch with clinical DCM.
VON WILLEBRANDS
DISEASE (VWd) is an recessive bleeding disorder (similar
to haemophillia) where the blood fails to clot. There is a specific
DNA test now available (Finnzymes - Finland). There are 3 status' ~ clear, carrier and
affected. The chart below details possible breeding pair combinations
in order to reduce the significance of the disease in a breed. There
is no risk in producing carrier animals (eliminating a large proportion of those dogs from a breeding
pool in the short term is extremely deleterious to the breed). Carriers
cannot bleed or suffer from VWd complications. All our dogs at home are tested for Von Willebrands
Disease. We have mostly clear and some carrier animals in our kennels and will
not knowingly breed to produce affected animals. Just because a
dog is affected, it does not mean they will necessarily bleed. Bleeding
depends on other health situations and the levels of Von Willebrands
'factor' in the blood.
Breeding Pair
Combinations for eradication of Von Willebrands Disease
Clear Male Carrier Male Affected Male
Clear Female 100% clear 50/50 carrier/clear 100% carrier
Carrier Female 50/50 carrier/clear 25/50/25 clear/carrier/affected 50/50 carrier/affected
Affected Female 100% carrier 50/50 carrier/affected 100% affected
Ideal
Breeding Pair : Puppies will
not have the disease gene either as carrier or affected
Breeding
is Safe: No affected puppies
will be produced. However, some or all puppies will be carriers.
Accordingly, it is recommended that carrier dogs which are desirable
for breeding, be bred with clear dogs in the future, which will
produce 50% carrier dogs, and 50% clear animals, to further reduced
the disease gene frequency. These offspring should be tested for
this defective gene, and if appropriate (alongside other considerations),
only the clear animals in this generation should be used.
High
Risk Breeding : Some puppies
are likely to be carriers, and some puppies are likely to be affected.
Even though it is possible that there will be some clear puppies
when breeding carrier to carrier, in general, neither this type
of breeding pair nor carrier to affected are recommended for breeding.
Breeding Not Recommended
: All puppies will be medically affected. It is estimated that around
70% of dobes in the UK are carriers. The only option for breeding
from an affected animal, is to a clear animal as the ultimate goal
has to be to produce clear animals. However, each time a dog is
eliminated from a breeding program it minimizes the genepool. The
purebred population of a breed cannot afford to downsize their population
- ie choice of mate by avoiding carrier animals completely, as other
serious problems would quickly arise by restricting breeding to
a small selection of only clear dogs. If a small genepool of affected
animals is frequently bred from, the lower the clotting factor in
the offspring therefore producing greatly increased risk of bleeding.
We will never breed from a dog to produce a VWd affected puppy. Before DNA testing was available we produced a VWd affected bitch. She is now coming up 8 years old and apparently has remarkable clotting actor, but it is not something we would like to risk again. Some years ago, we were considering using semen from a dog in the US, however, they had a huge VWd problem I spoke to Mary Rodgers (the world famous breeder of Marienburgs Dobermanns) for her advice and she said "I must have put VWd Affected to VWd Affected so many times, but it's hard for me to get excited about something I've never had a problem with". It's not something we would want to risk and fortunately we only produce Clear or Carriers, but it does show the value of real experience over breeding by numbers.
HYPOTHYROIDISM is a hormonal disorder in the Dobermann, usually occurring
around 2-5 years of age. Symptoms are lethargy, hair loss (usually
bilateral on the flanks) and coarseness of the hair, and obesity.
Dogs who are affected will be lethargic, feel the cold and often
shiver, huddling close to a source of warmth. Diagnosis is by means
of a blood test. Treatment is by means of a daily dose of Thyroxine
for life. There may be a link between onset Hypothyroidism, Auto
Immune and 'Acquired' VWd. However, this appears not to be 'true'
VWd, possibly another bleeding disorder prompted by the above. At
this stage it is pure supposition, but it does demonstrate the need
for wider Hypothyroidism testing. A dog may be clinically clear of hypo (producing too much thyroid hormone) or hyper (insufficient) thyroid-ism, but may be genetically affected. We are the only UK breeders to our knowledge who test our breeding bitches and stud dogs for TgAA - Thyroid Auto-immune antibodies in order not to pass the problem onto progeny.
HIPS: This subject has become close to our hearts recently, having produced some unexpected high scores on superbly moving animals. We did a great deal of research to discovert if we really did have more of a problem than anyone else or if
'average' UK score of 10 was, in fact, reflective of the breed. We reviewed statistics, talked to other breeders (in different breeds - few Dobe breeders test to our extent), and spoke with Jeff Sampson, Geneticist at the KC and AHT, and Malcolm Willis, Geneticist (Ret) for the BVA. We did our thorough research and did not act on hearsay or on a minute sample of the breed population. We didn't just follow blindly as many do saying 'that's the score and we should stick to it.' (If that was the case everyone would still be eating BSA burgers - 'cause we were told by the government it was ok!)
FACTS: With an average of 3,000 registrations annually, and around 30 dogs scored annually, 1% is grossly insufficient to gain a true average. Considering how few breeders/owners test, and that some breeders ask the vet not to submit poor results to the BVA, it is unsurprising that the UK has such an apparently low and stable score average.The BVA state that: 'Breeders wishing to reduce
the risk of HD should select their breeding stock (both dogs and bitches) only from animals with hip scores well below the Breed Mean Score. Many clinically sound dogs may have high HD scores and should not therefore be used
for breeding'.
Why then, would we consider using a dog with a 'high' hip score?
It is uncommon to see severe dysplasia in Dobermanns. HD is primarily hereditary, although
environmental factors such as a high protein diet and over exercise
in puppies can play a large part in the development of the disease. X-Rays can be carried out usually from one year of age.
The mode of inheritance of Hip Dysplasia is unknown, as identifying the gene marker responsible for HD is not currently possible given the variable scores of each factor. The pelvis and surrounding area is also taken into consideration on the overall score. Parents with excellent scores can produce progeny with very poor scores - ie two GSD brothers we knew of who were raised in the same household, on the same diet with the same environmental factors. Parents were 0:2 and 2:2, grandparents were 1:0, 2:1, 1:0 and 3:2, produced the brothers - one was scored at 2:2, the other at 86. Malcolm Willis, the internationally respected geneticist produced a BMD litter with two siblings - one scored at a total of 8, the other at 88. He later repeated the mating. The more dogs tested; the more dogs will be shown to have higher scores. In any breeding programme it is the overall health status which is fundamental to good breeding. Generally higher scoring parents produce a higher AVERAGE. Striving for perfection is a great ideal to which we should all aspire, but it is not possible to state that a dog scoring 3 or 4 or even 5 times the breed 'average' of 10, will suffer clinical signs of dysplasia. Generally the higher the score, the higher probability of clinical signs of the disease in the dog. Scoring is not an exact science. Is 15; 20; 25; 30; 40, 50 a 'bad' score? There is no figure at which anyone can state that a dog becomes clinically dysplastic. As J Sampson, KC Geneticist suggests, "the Sussex Spaniel has an average score of 45, but the breed will work all day and rarely develop osteo-arthritis". Lab Retrievers have just reduced their breed average down to 15 from 16. They have
We have had excellent scores and poor scores. Rather than turn a blind eye and ignore results, we will continue to score our dogs to enable us to identify any real issues we have from the dogs we breed from. Regrettably one woman recently suggested that we "have a problem with hips and people are watching which dogs we score and wich we don't". Of course those are the same people who don't score their dogs. Such comments are what causes most people not to test, because they are afraid of something imperfect being discovered on their dogs (preferring to live in blissful ignorance). Being watched so much may even encourage people with such an interest to score their own dogs. After all, what do they have to hide if they are perfect?! According to Jeff Sampson, "no, we don't have more of a problem than anyone else - some people focus on the negative - but the more research you do, the more things you unearth which can make you look like you have a problem". A healthy breeding line is not one which relies on just two dogs in the kennel having a good result! Those idealists incidentally, are the ones who have our bloodlines. They have had a couple of good scores, but neatly ignore the fact that their dogs are related to the higher scorers.
Today, we had three results back. Chelsea on 2:2, Tess on 5:4 and Ella on 13:13. The breed average in our kennel from the 14 dogs tested to date is 15 out of a total possible score of 106. Our range is is averaged on the basis of dogs scores 4, (2:2) to 39 (19:20). The dog with 39 moves just as well as the dog with 2:2. It is know that nutrition and early exercise has a large effect on hips. Whilst it can’t of course alter the shape of the socket, the degree of laxity could be altered. The Americans work on a system of Penn Hip Scoring which does measure exactly that, the degree of laxity. There are apparently two UK vets now offering the PennHip, so we will report back on that development shortly.
For those interested, our scores are: |
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Talking with the Top Breeder for many years of a large breed which has has it's fair share of HD problems, I asked if he tested his dogs. Emphatically no, was the answer. One of his reasons was that for over 40 years, Germany have strictly refused to allow any dog scoring over the breed average to be bred from. The result there is that his breed in Germany "is a disaster, with cow hocked dogs, so straight behind they're walking on stilts who look like they are in pain when they move". This experienced breeder has seen no correlation between high scores and poor movement which should be the defining factor in assessing dysplasicity.
Between 1984 and 1991, the BVA only sent score results over to the KC for publishing of scores below a total of 8! Apparently the release forms only allowed the BVA to send for publishing scores 8 or below - presumably so owners weren't embarassed with high scores, but the breed ‘average’ score is therefore only since 1991 – around 822 dogs. To put that in perspective, 31, 654 GSD’s were scores in the same period with an average score of 19. 37, 440 Lab Retrievers have been scored with an average result of 16. That sort of sample we can believe in. 822 we can’t.
Gary Johnson at the KC informed me that Lab Retrievers have now reduced their average score to 15. However, despite the numbers tested, high scorers - the 'outlyers' are being produced. A one point reduction out of a possible 106.
Despite Jeff Sampson stating that a plate scoring 10 can be re-assessed again and return a score of 15, if idealists were heeded, they would eliminate all dogs scoring over 10 (even those at 11 one presumes?), all dogs who are carriers of VWd, (although they can't bleed), all dogs with low thyroid, those with an imperfect shoulder layback, light eyes, bad movement, flat feet, low croup etc etc. So how many dogs will be left?! Perhaps the ones with defective characters. No thanks.
Whilst the converse argument would be - why test if you are not going to stand by results? - is a very valid one, our response is that we will continue to breed from dogs both below and above the breed average because whilst we do not wish to produce a dysplastic dog;
a) we can find no statistic or research to determine that we would produce a dysplastic dog from using a dog in say the mid 30’s to a bitch with a low score. Using dogs with low scores produces reduced averages. High scores are still thrown up from low scoring parents.
b) we test for our own information, for those who use our dogs and those who buy puppies from us; not for others with no interest in lines and who do not test anyway. We do not sit in an ivory tower claiming wonderful results. We ARE prepared to publish our results – how many kennels who do test and score with poor results would? Who can blame them? They are afraid of witch hunts.
c) we test to ensure we do not put two sets of poor hips together (like breeders do who don’t test at all!). Beware of that when you would consider using a dog who hasn’t been tested. You could find it a great deal worse than the dog who you know is higher than ‘average’, but who at least excels in other aspects.
d) we test in order to take a total view of the dog. We would not breed from a dog with a poor hip score, PHPV affected, poor character, poor thyroid and suspect DCM. We would breed from a dog with a poorer than average hip score if it excelled in every other respect. Do not throw the baby out with the bath water. A dog who moves correctly does not have a clinical problem. If it is not moving correctly it is compensating for either an injury or a clinical abnormality. Results are highly randomised and until every dog in every litter bred is tested we will not know what the true state of the breed is.
Fred Lanting writes about the Penn Hip method: While the hip-extended position is best for discovering DJD (Degenerative Joint Disease - real hip problems), it is not best for uncovering latent laxity, or what I call "covert laxity". False-negative means that a passing grade is given because the true laxity was not observed, and that is the biggest drawback of the hip-extended methods worldwide. There are some individuals (usually of certain giant mastiff-family breeds) that do not develop DJD but are OFA-assessed as dysplastic because of laxity at two years' age. But even more importantly, there are a greater number of dogs of other breeds that are adjudged "normal" at one or two years but later develop DJD or produce an unacceptably high percentage of dysplastic descendants. Thus, the accuracy of the hip-extended methods is gravely flawed. The gene pool is hurt most by these false negative diagnoses.
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PHPV (Persistent
Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous) is an eye disease occasionally causing
loss of vision. The primary vitreous - the membrane covering the immature eye, does not disappear as it should, leaving strands which interfere with vision. Very few dogs are tested in the UK and a grading is not given as it is in some European countries, so we do not
know how much of a problem it is in the breed in the UK. All Aritaur dogs
tested to date are PHPV Clear.
Cervical Spondylopathy
(WOBBLERS) is an abnormality in the structure of the spinal
column in the neck. Instability between the vertebrae result in
pressure and possible trauma being exerted on the spinal cord resulting
in loss of hind co-ordination and the classic wobbly hind legs.
Early exercise and diet are factors as in HD. Tests by means of
X-Rays can be carried out usually from one year of age. The disease
can be instigated by injury.
WHITE DOBERMANNS
- White Dobermanns are produced a a result of a genetic mutation. Regrettably,
some decided to 'cash in' on the 'rarity' of this occurrence
and deliberately breed white Dobermanns. One such person imported
a white bitch in whelp to the UK in 1999. She subsequently bred from
the bitch again, and bred from many of the bitch's progeny, recently
producing 5 whites in one litter. Understandly, responsible breeders
in the UK are concerned to keep their breeding away from this kennel
as it is a tiny minority who actively perpetuate problems in the
breed for notoriety (although it is questionable as to the sanity
of a person when they aim to say "I was the first to do xyz,
if the results are sickly animals and personal gain). White Dobermanns are profoundly unheathy and buyers should be extremely
cautious of buying a puppy with breeding associated with lines from
this kennel. For more information on whites, go to the links page
where Dr Ione Smith's excellent articles can be found on her website.
HEALTH/LONGEVITY OF ARITAUR
DOBERMANNS - One of the best indications of health of a dog
has to be the longevity of the parents/relatives. Pedigrees of our
dogs can be found on the relevant pages on our site. Relatives of our dogs are:
Ch Holtzburg Mayhem - died aged
9
Ch Perihelias Resolution - died
aged
Ch Sallate Ferris - died aged 10
Khaneve Rage n Honour - (Vinnie)
died aged 5 (brain tumour) (sire of Flip Fantasia, Midnight Rave, & Sweetest Taboo)
Crislea Centrefold of Aritaur (Juno)
- currently aged 12 - Still going VERY strong (DCM tested clear on 27 Dec 06)
Holtzburg Dior From Crislea (Freya)
- died in June 06 aged nearly 13. A HUGE loss to us all, especially
her 'mum' Pat.
Holtzburg I'm a Hooligan Too (Lucy) - died in August 06 aged nearly 13. Litter sister to Freya above, owned by Toni & Ian Norman.
Aritaur Flip Fantasia JW (Java)
died April 2006, aged 8 (liver failure/possible tumour). Still missing her every day.
Ch Tamerlan iz Slavnoi Stai (Tamer)
died June 2005 aged 8 (stomach cancer). A major loss to the breed.
Aritaur Giovanna (Paige) died aged 4 (kidney failure). Too young and badly missed.
I will add more when I receive correct information.
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