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What Color's do Great Danes come
in? |
All About The Breed | ||
| WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF OFA
CERTIFICATION? |
The reason we OFA and
PENN HIP certify
breeding dogs is simple: to try and remove as many breed defects from
our line as we can. (OFA
own definition here) Though this is not perfect, it is a
helpful and effective tool for breeders and should be recognized as
such.
Searches of tested dogs can be done on line and has no affiliation to breeder's . You can search here : OFA SEARCH ON LINE You will need either the dogs REGISTERED name, OR you can also use AKC number's. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE CORRECT INFORMATION. If a breeder claims tests were done and they are not in the data base ASK FOR PROOF. If a breeder says their dogs are OFA clear: YOU NEED TO CHECK. People LIE. What health testing should you look for? (click to find out) Great Dane All of our information can be found on our web sight with our pedigree information and on our dogs individual pages. Breeders also have a choice to have all information become public knowledge. We test all dogs that we consider for breeding. There is no "guaranty" that they will pass. Some of the danes we test pass but don't develop qualities we need in our breeding program. This is why we some times have young adults available for placement. Click here to visit out Adult placement page Between 6 months and 18 we perform a PENN HIP evaluation. This is a different way to xray and grade hips. I have found it to be a fantastic way to screen young dogs. Every few generations we back that up with OFA screening also (See BUFFY'S OFA RESULTS for an example) At 1 year we complete our Heart OFA, Thyroid OFA and CERF evaluation ( eye) . Thyroid , heart, and eyes will be repeated while they are of breeding age. We follow out our lines in order to insure More links on Health testing and breed concerns Dane problems:
Foreign bodies, I had not added this subject until recently. I have had a situation here in my own home that nearly cost me my pets life. One of my girls ate a sock. I knew immediately something was wrong but could not figure out what. I took her to my vet and we did a radiograph series, at this point, it was obvious that she had pneumonia. I could hardly believe it. She was not coughing and was just acting off. We started her on antibiotics and breathing treatments. Her personality came back for a day . . .and then the vomiting started. At first, we thought it was the antibiotics. Then we came back and retook the radiographs. This time you could see that there was something in her intestines. That something ended up being my sons knee high soccer sock. I have no idea when she got it and the pneumonia was secondary to aspiration trying to bring it up. I do know that it nearly killed her and has put me on alert when it comes to cleaning and picking things up. I have decided that if they can eat something they will and it may not pass when they do. Since then, I have heard from two other Dane owners that have had similar problems. The solution is to always watch them and keep things out of reach. This is not always easy, but it will save you heartache and money in the end. Bloat: Bloat is when the stomach fills with gas and air resulting in an overly extended stomach. Bloat is deadly and is a dire emergency. Some believe (myself included) that bloat has not only feeding but hereditary components to it. Until Morph's death, I had been lucky to never have had one of my Danes bloat. Through work and connections with other breeders, I have heard and seen the reality. Because of this I am strict about my feeding protocol, am diligent when picking stud dogs (always check for known bloat deaths or sudden deaths) and I keep myself informed to the latest studies that are published. My Danes are always fed twice daily. I do not let them drink large quantities of water after they eat and they are restricted to the house for at least an hour after each meal. I also have a bloat kit at home just in case. The signs of bloat are the same as they are in horses. The stomach will look distended; they stand in a sawhorse stance with there head down. They may or may not vomit or try to vomit and they may pace. If for any reason you think that your pet is bloating you need to go to the nearest veterinary or emergency clinic IMMEDIATELY. The only way to stop bloating it through decompression and surgery. The surgery is to tack the stomach to the ribs and keep the bloating from becoming torsion. The Bloat it self is harmful enough but the torsion is deadly. I implore you to find out all you can about bloat and ask your veterinarian about preventive tacking. Arthritis: We strive to breed dogs that do not have any growth/joint problems. We implement two different test systems when screening our Danes. Penn hip is one OFA is the other. Penn hip is done in the first year of life. We also use the OFA recommendations on radio graphing our Danes prior to breeding. OFA Hips are done every couple of generations and is done at or after 2 years of age. We have found through out the years that we are at the mercy of other breeders when it comes to health testing. Many do not use OFA, PENN hip to evaluate their dogs, and most rely on a “pass” from their vet. Though this is ideally just as good as an OFA grade, it is more subjective. We can only control what are ours and not the other breeders programs. This is why it is important for us to check every single generation. Some arthritis/joint problems are due to environment (trauma, too rapid of growth, working too hard before the joint is fully developed). Because of this, we HIGHLY recommend you follow our feeding instructions, make sure to not over work your puppy, and keep them out of harms way. Cardiomyopathy ( DCM): Cardio is likely an inherited condition affecting the heart muscle. At the time of this writing it is the # 1 killer of male great Danes. There are many studies being done and I do have hope on a genetic marker test. We however feel that the likelihood of this happening is very low. When all is said and done I believe it will be much like Hip Dysplasia and there will be multiple markers and most likely it will be accumulative. Following out our puppies and watching for sudden deaths is one of the most helpful tools we have. We do have our danes hearts checked and do Echo's on Danes over 6. Why we Cerf: Great Danes can have numerous eye abnormalities, most are cosmetic, though occasionally surgery is needed to correct these abnormalities, as a whole they are benign. Other eye problems including cataracts (Juvenile and adult) can be found in the breed. These are more serious, effecting eye sight and some times causing blindness. We hope to decrease eye problems by using only Cerf cleared dogs in our breeding program. As with hips and other clearances, we are at the mercy of stud dog owners. Many have never had eyes checked and some of the dogs through the use of frozen semen, have been deceased. Thyroid Testing: Thyroid is another area where dogs regularly see problems. Though we have yet to have a problem, we have left a few dogs in our breeding program with equivocal results. Equivocal means just that: we do not know. It is left up to the breeder. We will continue to test, though some times it can take generations for a problem to surface. Thyroid conditions are extremely easy to treat but can be viewed as a burden to the owner. Untreated low thyroid can be serious health risks including obesity. We recommend along with your yearly exam to discuses with your veterinarian weather you should test your Danes thyroid level. This is a simple test, requiring a blood sample to be collected and sent to a lab. The results are usually with in 24 hours and if there is a problem your veterinarian can discuses treatment options. |
