Test Results

Test Results

Since our inception in 1997 we have taken pride in our health checks, including hips, elbows and temperament. Many breeders say they don't test "because they've never had any problems". Well, neither have we and by continuing to test we can rest assured that we will be unlikely to ever have any hip, elbow problems or temperament problems.

Unfortunately heart problems went undetected with terrible consequences and we lost our special boy Cash to dilated cardiomyopathy when he was just two years old. We have now implemented new controls to hopefully prevent this from ever happening again.

DCM is an acquired disease and no test can guarantee that the dog will not develop the condition. We used to perform annual sonographs, but these were not predictive and at times led us to believe that there was a problem when there was in fact no problem. We now have a clinical exam of the dog's heart conducted prior to breeding and if there is any cause for concern a sonograph is conducted.

Despite all our tests and dedicated rearing we have had problems - breeding is not an exact science and when dealing with living beings there are many things that can and do go wrong despite the best efforts. In 10 years we have bred 58 puppies from 8 litters. Out of all of those dogs we have bred one dog with Wobbler's, one with hypertrophic dystrophy, one with a growth disparity, one with elbow dysplasia and one with an undiagnosed spine problem. Only one of the five required surgery and all enjoy a good quality of life. Our percentage of dogs with problems is 8%, which is exceptionally low in a giant breed.

We keep abreast of veterinary developments to assist us further in minimising genetic problems.

There is no shame in acknowledging a genetic defect in one's lines. There is however shame in trying to hide it.

Hip, Elbow & Temperament Testing

Dog's Name	Gender	Hips	Elbows	Temperament
Ch Saxony All About Colby	Bitch	0/0	0/0	DMA
Saxony Aberlour	Bitch	0/0	0/0
Saxony Achtung Boris	Dog	Not for breeding		DMA, Aptitude
Saxony Absolut	Bitch	0/0	1/1
Saxony Bally Hi Hopes of Cherriton	Bitch	0/0	0/0
Saxony Cracker	Bitch	0/0	1/1
Saxony Dr Dream Weaver	Dog	1/1	0/0
Saxony Ever Ready Joe	Dog	0/0	0/0	CGC Bronze
Saxony Editor In Chief	Bitch	0/0	0/0	CGC Bronze
Saxony For Johnny Cash	Dog	A2/A2 (0/0)	0/0
Saxony Guns N Roses	Dog	Not for breeding		CGC Bronze & CGC Silver
Saxony Goody Gumdrops	Bitch	Not for breeding		CGC Bronze
Jattilaisen Lappland v Saxony	Dog	A2/A2 (0/0)	0/0	CGC Bronze
Cherriton Jasmine of Saxony	Bitch	B1/B2 (0/1)	0/1
Saxony Goody Too Shoes*	Bitch	C1/C1 (1/1)	3/2
Saxony Hi Lan Der	Dog	B1/B1 (0/0)	0/0

*Toosh is a perfect example of why it is so important to test even if no problems are experienced. She has been the top winning dog in our kennel and apart from a couple of days of lameness when 10 months old she never showed any signs of skeletal problems. Much to our surprise her routine pre-breeding xrays revealed that she actually had bilateral elbow dysplasia. She has been spayed.

New Hip Dysplasia Ratings

As of 1 January 2007, we now have the FCI system of hip grading in use in South Africa. Dogs x-rayed prior to this date are not allowed to be re-graded on the FCI system, which is a pity as we would like to have our dogs re-graded on the more stringent system.

The comparison of the two grading systems:

FCI Grade	Description	FCI Criteria	Old SA Grade
A1	Excellent hips	No signs of hip dysplasia	0
A2	Good hips	No signs of hip dysplasia	0
B1	Fair hips	Near normal hip joints	0
B2	Marginal dysplasia	Near normal hip joints	1
C1	Mild dysplasia	Mild hip dysplasia	1
C2	Mild to moderate dysplasia	Mild hip dysplasia	1
D1	Moderate dysplasia	Moderate hip dysplasia	2
D2	Moderate to severe dysplasia	Moderate hip dysplasia	2
E1	Severe dysplasia	Severe hip dysplasia	3
E2	Very severe dysplasia	Severe hip dysplasia	4

Page last updated: 18-09-08 11:02:04 PM

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