HEALTH
NEWS FLASH !
A world wide Toller Health Survey has been undertaken and now all the results have been compiled at are on line - CLICK HERE.
There are a few things prospective buyers need to be aware of when looking at purchasing a Toller puppy here in Australia. The Toller is a quite a sound breed compared to some, but they still have genetic problems which all puppy buyers need to be aware of.
FOR ALL OF OUR DOGS HEALTH CLEARANCES HERE AT FIONAVAR, YOU CAN GO TO THEIR INDIVIDUAL PAGES. EACH DOGS CLEARANCES ARE VIEWABLE BY CLICKING ON EACH INDIVIDUAL CLEARANCE- IE HEART or HIPS or EYES etc!! IF THERE IS NOT A PARTICULAR CLEARANCE THERE, IT MIGHT BE THEY ARE TOO YOUNG AND HAVE NOT HAD IT DONE YET. IE HIPS/ELBOW OR EYES WHICH IS NORMALLY DONE AFTER 2 YEARS OLD. We here at Fionavar have nothing to hide and are quite happy to put all our dog clearances on line and discuss any health issues with you. All breeders should make this available to prospective owners. Please note with eyes clearances should be up to date within 12 months of being used for a breeding for a litter.
1 Make sure the parents of the puppy have both been cleared of Hip Dysplasia. Make sure you sight the Australian Veterinary Association's Hip Clearance Certificate/Report. In some cases also recorded on this certificate is an elbow clearance and grading. Most breeders have their breeding stock xrayed for hips and elbows. You can view our dogs health clearances on their own home pages.
2 Make sure the parents of the puppy have been heart cleared of all defects by a Specialist. Yes a SPECIALIST, just a normal vet is not quite good enough. Like human specialists these people have been trained to pick up any slightest variations away from normal. Most breeders will have their puppies heart checked anyway before placing them in their new homes- this can be done before 8 weeks. You can see our dogs heart clearances by going to their own home pages.
3 Make sure both parents have been Eye Cleared - with Tollers this should be done at least every 12 months. Again this is a SPECIALIST field-so check the document you may be shown carefully. Tollers are subject to Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) and Cataracts. PRA in Tollers is late onset so just one clearance, at say 2 years old, is not good enough for life!!! Check the certificate to ensure that it has been done within the last 12 months. You can see all our dogs eye clearances by going to their own home pages. NEWS FLASH - CLICK THE LINK --- PRA HAS HAD IT'S DAY.
The above are all the clearances you should be looking for off a breeder when purchasing your Toller puppy. The fact that the parents have all the required clearances unfortunately doesn't mean that your puppy won't experience a problem. The only sure check is the Heart- it is only done once, and if cleared is cleared for life. Hips/Elbows/Eyes cannot be guaranteed, though, by the clearing of the parents, the breeders are giving the puppies the best chance. Genetics work like that unfortunately, 2 Excellent Hip Scored parents might still produce a Dysplastic offspring, still most Breeders will be happy to give you as much background behind the parents as possible. Also you can always speak to your vet and check out other sites on any worries you might have. Be informed so to speak! But generally our Australian Toller population is a healthy lot , with nothing too horrible cropping up since the arrival of the first imports in 1993- with luck and with breeders doing the right thing it might stay that way.
I could go on and on and provide masses of links on Toller health, lucky for us and for the breed worldwide, two wonderful people, Laura Norie and Donna LaHaise in Canada spent many hours and produced a Web Site devoted entirely to Toller Health problems. This is a MUST SEE sight and is not restricted to Canada but in fact covers the world. It is still growing, has some wonderful personal stories and links that will keep you busy for hours.
Don't miss it.
Click
Here is another link which will help you understand the Australian Hip Rating System Better. Click HERE.
