UK Barbet breeders of healthy, happy, Barbet puppies
PRA (progressive retinal atrophy) is an inherited condition of the eye that causes slow progressive blindness over months or years. It can occur in almost all breeds, but it is more common in some.
There are several types of progressive retinal atrophy affecting different breeds.
This is an inherited condition which affects the bloods ability to clot. The equivalent in people is haemophilia. In dogs, there are three types.
Type 1 is the most common. It is also the mildest expression of the condition, where there is a partial deficiency in blood clotting.
This is the dilution gene, which sits on the D Locus. It is responsible for the dilution of colour in dogs. It is recessive, so two copies of the gene need to be present for the diluted colour to show. For example, black becomes blue and chocolate becomes lilac with two copies of the gene.
There are two conditions associated with this recessive colour gene. They are;
Colour Dilution Alopecia. This affects dogs that have two copies of the dilution gene, and causes hair loss and skin problems. As it requires two copies of the dilution gene, only dogs with a diluted colour will have this condition. It is usually reported in blue dogs.
Black Hair Follicular Dysplasia. This affects dogs that only have one copy of the dilution gene, causes hair loss. As it only requires one copy of the dilution gene, it affects black and liver hair. This condition is extremely rare.
Hip dysplasia is a developmental malformation which occurs when the ball and socket which make up the hip joint do not fit together properly. This results in laxity and then secondary joint disease. This is a complicated condition, and dogs can have good hip scores with significant symptoms, and bad hip scores with no symptoms. It can be acutely progressive with significant deterioration resulting in the need for surgery, or it can be chronic with an ongoing need for medication.
There are several different reasons why hip dysplasia occurs, and there are many factors involved. Hip dysplasia is far more prolific than elbow dysplasia.
It is passed on genetically to offspring of affected dogs.
Offspring may or may not have hip dysplasia, as heritability ranges from weak to strong.
The average probability of hip dysplasia in dogs is 20% to 60%, however, breeds with a predisposition to HD may have higher percentage, and breeds that do not have a predisposition to HD may have a lower percentage.
If a dog has hip dysplasia there may or may not be clinical symptoms.
Hip dysplasia in the Barbet is very low.
The environment has a big impact on hip dysplasia, and the first 12 weeks of life can make a huge difference in the prevalence and severity of hip dysplasia.
Hip joints can also be damaged by injury, over exercise, and excess weight, but it is not possible to precisely determine the cause due to the complicated interaction of different factors that affect the hip joint.
Find out more about Hip Dysplasia here
Elbow dysplasia is a developmental malformation of the elbow joint. It is almost always the result of a genetic issue, not an environmental one. It is quite rare in all breeds. Dogs that have elbow dysplasia always display symptoms, usually by the time they are a year old. It is extremely progressive and there will be significant deterioration of the joint that almost always results in the need for surgery.
It is passed on genetically to offspring of affected dogs.
Heritability does play a part in the expression of the condition.
The average probability of elbow dysplasia in dogs is 10% to 23%, however, breeds with a predisposition to ED may have higher percentage, and breeds that do not have a predisposition to ED may have a lower percentage.
If a dog has elbow dysplasia, it is very likely that there are clinical symptoms.
Elbow dysplasia in the Barbet is extremely rare.
Elbow joints can malform during development due to injury, over exercise, and excess weight.
There can also be changes to the elbow joint after development has finished. If changes occur later in life, it is a result of the dog living life, rather than genetic elbow dysplasia, and there are generally no degenerative changes.
Find out more about Elbow Dysplasia here
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