Mahelu Labrador Retrievers

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Health Testing

Health Testing Requirements for Labrador Retrievers

Here at Mahelu Labrador Retrievers we follow the National Labrador Retriever Breed Council of Australia recommendations for health testing of our breeding stock.

HIP AND ELBOW SCORING

This involves the dog to be x-rayed by a qualified vet under general anaesthesia or heavy sedation.  We use an experienced vet who ensures that both hips and elbows are placed in the correct position.  The dog has to be 12 months of age or older.   The dog is identified using their microchip or recognised tattoo, these details are placed on the images.

The x-rays are then sent to a reader from the list of authorised readers (of the owners choice) to read and accurately interpret the x-rays to provide a grade.  The lower the number (grade) the better.

A Hip score of 0:0 means perfect hips for both left and right hip.  A score of 3:3 is still regarded as low and is under the current breed average for Labrador Retrievers.  A score of 10:3 isn't considered great as one hip is higher then the other.  A score of 10 is also starting to become a concern as it is above the current breed average.  A good rule to go by when considering a dog for breeding is, do both scores add up to under 10?  

Elbows on the other hand are numbered differently.  They can only be out of 0, 1, 2 or 3 for each elbow.  Here at Mahelu Labrador Retrievers will not breed from a dog or bitch with a higher score of 0:0.

DNA HEALTH TESTING

All our breeding stock is DNA health tested through Orivet following the N.L.R.B.C. of Australia regulations.  

DISEASES

• Achromatopsia (Labrador Type)
• Progressive Rod Cone Degeneration (prcd) - PRA
• Exercise Induced Collapse (Retriever Type)
• Hereditary Nasal Parakeratosis (Dry Nose/Labrador Retriever Type)
• Centronuclear Myopathy (Labrador Retriever Type)
• Congenital Macrothrombocytopenia
• Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome (Labrador Retriever Type)
• Cystinuria (SLC3A1) Labrador Retriever Type
• Degenerative Myelopathy
• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (Labrador Type)
• Elliptocytosis B-Spectrin (Labrador Retriever Type)
• Hyperuricosuria
• Skeletal Dysplasia 2 (Mild Disproportionate Dwarfism)
• Macular Corneal Dystrophy (Labrador Type)
• Malignant Hyperthermia
• Myotubular Myopathy X-Linked (Labrador Retriever Type)
• Narcolepsy (Labrador)
• Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency (Labrador Type)
• Stargardt Disease (Retinal Degeneration)

TRAITS

• Brown Coat Colour Profile
• E Locus (Cream/Red/Yellow)
• K Locus (Dominant Black)
• A Locus (Fawn/Sable; Tri/Tan Points)
• Long Hair Gene (Canine C95F)
• D (Dilute) Locus  NOTE: This variation should not appear in a purebred Labrador Retriever. ​

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