These are brief description, just to give you an idea-I am not
an expert. There are wonderful resources online to research the
health disorders and terms.
Collie Eye Anomaly and PRA
Normal:
This
is the highest rating. A dog can be a normal/non-carrier or a
normal/carrier. Non-carriers are genetically clear of the genes
for CEA/CH- this can only be determined by specialized testing
of a blood sample. Normal/affected are normal eyed dogs that
carry the affected gene and they can pass either the normal or
the affected gene to offspring. "Go Normals", are dogs that
where diagnosed as very mildly affected that as the eye grows
they appear to be normal, but genetically are affected and will
pass the affected genes on to the offspring.
Choroidal Hypoplasia:
Most
common abnormality found in Collie eyes. CH is also referred to
as mild CRC, or Grade I. The dogs vision is good and will not
go blind.
Staphyloma,
Coloboma:
Refer to a bulging in the eyeball usually in the area of the
optic disc. The size and location of the Coloboma/Staphyloma may
affect the vision on the affected side.
Retinal Detachment:
Loosening or separation of the retina. This may involve a small
area or the entire retina, in one or both eyes. If there is a
complete detachment, the dog will be blind in the affect eye.
Above are the official certificates for examination of Collie
Eye Anomaly. The front of the certificate has the owners name,
registration number of dog/pup, the birth date,
breed/markings/variety, the date of the exam, the results, and
the Ophthalmologist Veterinarian signature. The back of the form
is what the owner fills out (basically the same as the front),
but puts in their home address vs the breeder and of course
their credit card information to pay to have it recorded. If the
owner chooses to send the exam in w/payment they receive a
certificate stating their dog is normal eyed and it can be
looked up on line. As a collie purchaser you want to see this
form or one similar with all the appropriate information to show
it goes with the pet you are receiving.
If
you would like to read more about CEA/CH please visit:
http://www.optigen.com/opt9_test_cea_ch.html
MDR1 and Problem Drugs
Collies and other herding dogs can have adverse reactions
from the drugs listed below, to see the full list and research
more information follow this link to the MDR1 web pages from
Washington State University http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-VCPL/
The MDR1 is a single mutant gene that makes them susceptible to
certain drugs that can cause adverse reactions, toxicity and
death in Collies as well as other Herding Breeds when given
certain drugs and at certain dosages. Some documented drugs that
can cause problems to MDR1 mutant dogs are:
Ivermectin antiparasitic agent
Loperamide ImodiumTM; antidiarrheal agent
Acepromazine tranquilizer and pre-anesthetic agent
Butorphanol analgesic and pre-anesthetic agent
Vincristine, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin chemotherapy
agents
The MDR1 tested dogs can be:
Mutant/mutant- highest risk for these drugs. Can only pass on
mutant gene to offspring
Mutant/normal- Some research shows these dogs can have dosages
at lower percentage
Normal/normal- they do not carry the mutant gene and can only
pass the normal gene to offspring.
Seizures
Seizures can be caused from Epilepsy a neurological disorder
that affects the brain, from drugs and toxins as well as other
causes such as trauma.
Epilepsy is a chronic medical condition produced by temporary
changes in the electrical function of the brain, causing
recurrent seizures which affect awareness, movement, or
sensation. A single isolated seizure would not be epilepsy.
Studies have shown some family lines are more prone to seizures,
and that it is best not to use dogs known to have epilepsy in
breeding programs.
Bloat
Bloat is a medical condition in which the
stomach
becomes overstretched by excessive
gas
content that is unable to escape due to the stomach twisting. It
is also commonly referred to as torsion, gastric torsion, and
gastric dilatation-volvulus when the stomach is also twisted.
Bloat is a life threatening emergency and needs to be treated by
a veterinarian. Symptoms include restlesness, lethargy,
abdominal distention, and appear very quickly.
Studies
have been done that show bloat can be more prevelant in certain
lines of dogs, but on the other side studies have shown there is
no family link to bloat.
Nutrition and Vaccinations
You
are what you eat, the same goes for your animals. Choosing a
high quality dog food with no chemical additives is one of the
easiest ways to keep your dogs healthy.
Feeding your dog raw food is the healthiest of all diets and
there are several sites published and on line to assist you with
proper requirements and information. We feed a combination of
Nutri-Source chicken dog kibble and raw, I would prefer to feed
just raw but with dogs going to handlers and shows we feed both
kibble and raw. If you decide to go with this method you can not
feed the kibble and raw at the same time as kibble takes 12+
hours to digest and raw takes on average 4 hours. We rotate
days, some people I know will feed kibble in the morning and raw
at night. As with everything else some veterinarians will be
very much for raw feeding and some will be very against,
fortunately mine have several clients that feed just raw and
others that rotate like us, and some that feed cooked meat only.
The
main thing is, purchasing lower grade dog foods are not only bad
for your animals, but in the long run will actually cost you
more money, as the dogs eat more due to not being satisfied
(which of course means more for you to clean as well), and often
have more health problems due to all the additives, sugars and
dyes in the food.
Vaccinations are also known to cause long term health problems.
The new recommended guidelines can be seen on these web pages:
http://www.finchspoms.com/home/VACCINATION%20NEWSFLASH.pdf
http://www.thewholedog.org/vaccinations.html
Nightstar’s Collies warranties are pup’s for 5years.
This warranty covers the heart, liver, kidneys, PRA,
dermamyositis, bloat, grey collie syndrome and dysplasia.
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