Ask the Veterinarian - Health Testing Before Breeding my French Bulldog?
lorihuntdvm May 29th, 2008
I want to breed my French Bulldog, which I bought as a show prospect. I would like to know if there is a list of what to test for? I want to be a responsible breeder, so please tell me what to test for before breeding my girl, and if you could tell me the test names and why they are important that would be wonderful.
I have almost finished her and want to show her this year at the National show. I do know some of the stuff like hips but some breeders I’ve talked to said that they don’t matter. Do they?
Thank you!
Dr. Lori Writes -
Breeding is a pretty serious step, and one not to be taken lightly. It sounds as if you are going about things the right way. As for testing, I think it ALL matters. Here is what I do with my dogs, and recommend to others:
1) OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for animals www.offa.org ) hip X-rays. This will tell you how good (or bad) your frenchie’s hips are. Keep in mind, that according to OFA stats, only approximately 60% of the hips submitted pass, which means 40% fail (and I suspect this number is MUCH higher, as not nearly enough people submit radiographs to OFA). I feel this is important so you know what kind of hips to breed her to. If she has fair or worse hips, you would want to breed her to the best you can find. I wish everyone who bred submitted X-rays so we could all know what we are dealing with in our lines.
2) OFA spine X-rays. This will require X-rays of the entire spine of your Frenchie from head to tail. You will receive a report from dr. Keller. Your dog most likely will have a few abnormalities, which is common in Frenchies. Unfortunately, most veterinarians are not as good at reading spine films as they could be, so I think the only true opinions are those of OFA and/or a veterinary radiologist. The radiologist’s opinion will probably cost more than OFA’s, so I suggest sending it ti OFA where it can help us with the study on spines and we can all learn more
3) CERF (Canine Eye Registration Foundation http://www.vmdb.org/cerf.html). This is an annual exam on the dog’s eyes and will tell you if the dog has any hereditary defects, often times these cannot be seen with the naked eye and require dilation and special lenses to see what lies beneath.
4) OFA patellas. This can be done by your veterinarian or an orthopedic specialist. This tells you if there is any laxity in your dog’s knees.
5) OFA cardiac. Also can be done by either your vet or a cardiologist. Tells you if there are any underlying defects or heart murmurs. I recommend trying to find a cardiologist for this if you can.
6) Thyroid testing. Will let you know how your dog’s thyroid is functioning. There is hypothyroidism in Frenchies
7) von Willebrand Disease (vWD). This will let you know about your dog’s clotting factor. Since this test can be somewhat inaccurate, I recommend having a clotting profile run on your dog. If there are any clotting deficiencies, you can do further testing before breeding.
After you have completed all the testing, you decide if you still want to breed. I never tell anyone to eliminate the dog based on a single not so great test result. You always have to look at the WHOLE dog, and base your decision on that. The health testing in my opinion is so that we can better our breed. If we do not know what are dog has, how can we fix it? Wouldn’t it be nice to know if you have less than ideal hips so you can pick a stud dog who has good hips? Or a similar scenario with the spine? This is how we can continually better our dogs, by knowing what they are and what is behind them. I can proudly tell you that I have 4 generations of health tested dogs and when I choose breedings, I consider not only that dog, but all the ones who have come before…
Good Luck with your girl and hope to see you at the National in Kansas!
Dr. Lori Hunt, DVM
