Health

ELBOW DYSPLASIA - the elbow is made up of 3 bones which meet to form the joint. The humerus has a curved end and comes down from the shoulder to rest on top of the radius. The ulna reaches up past the bottom of the humerus and is the bone you can feel at the elbow point. Elbow Dysplasia is when the bones do not grow at the same rate or are not positioned correctly and the joint becomes stressed causing severe pain for the dog.

If you would like to know more, click here to visit Pat Long's Elbow Dysplasia page: http://www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/berner1/elbows.htm

Elbow dysplasia is a very real problem with larger breeds in general and Bernese in particular. All Bakkabyond puppies are required to have their elbows scored before the age of 2 years. X-rays are taken by your vet and sent off to a specialist to be scored. A score is given to each elbow with a value between 0 and 3 - 0 being perfect and 3 being extremely dysplastic. A perfect score would read 0:0.

It is the policy of Bakkabyond not to use a dog for breeding which has an elbow score of 1:1 or higher. We have a high preference for dogs with perfect 0:0 scores.

HIP DYSPLASIA - is the laxity within the hip joint. The hip joint is made up of a number of different bones, muscles and synoval fluid. All of these play a part in keeping the stability of the hip joint correct. For more information on hip dysplasia, go to Pat Long's Canine Hip Dysplasia page: http://www.vet.upenn.edu/pennhip/chd_intro.html

All Bakkabyond dogs and puppies are required to have their hips x-rayed and scored before the age of 2 years. They are usually done at the same time as the elbow x-rays to limit the number of times a dog must be anaesthetised. The x-rays are scored at 9 different areas of the joint and a separate score is given for each area to give a total score out of 53 for each hip — with 0 being perfect and 53 being severely dysplastic. You then add the 2 individual hip scores together to get an overall total hip score out of 106.

Example: If the right hip score was 2 and the left hip score was 3, then this would be quoted as 2:3 with a total hip score of 5.

The total hip score breeding average in Australia is approximately 12. Our policy at Bakkabyond is to breed only those dogs with a total hip score of less than 10, and to give a high preference to dogs with even individual hip scores and/or a total hip score of less than 4. The status of the worst individual hip is used for grading purposes. Hips are graded between 0 and 6 with 0 being the lowest and 6 the highest.

For more information on the AVA Hip and Elbow Scoring System click on this link: http://www.online-vets.com/HipScores/index.htm

MALIGNANT/SYSTEMIC HISTIOCYTOSIS — this accounts for approximately 25% of all cancer in our breed. It has been found to be inherited and polygenic, meaning multiple genes are involved and there is no simple answer for control. The cancer is very aggressive, not detectable early on, can affect a variety of organs and produce a wide variety of non-specific symptoms. Commonly, the onset is extremely swift, deadly and without cure.

MAST CELL TUMORS - also common to the breed and found to be inherited. This type of cancer is much less aggressive than Histiocytosis. The malignant tumors do not readily metastisize, and when found and removed early in their development, the main concern is generally recurrence at the local site involved. Mast Cell Tumors are graded as Types I, II or III.

LYMPHOSARCOMA/LYMPHOMA - common cancer in dogs of all breeds and mixes, not known to be inherited. Environmental factors (such as some pesticides) have been implicated in causing this cancer. The most common non-inherited cancer, it is most certainly caused by a variety of factors we do not yet fully understand.

FIBROSARCOMA - not inherited. They are cancerous tumors of fibrous connective tissue that can occur anywhere in the body, most often involving bone.

OSTEOSARCOMA - cancer of the bone, no conclusions have been reached as to the heredity of this cancer in the Bernese

When researching bloodlines, one of the things we, at Bakkabyond, look for is the incidence of cancer - how often it appears in the pedigree, how closely related are the affected dogs, how many generations are affected and what type of cancer is present. Not all cancers are hereditary and in fact most are thought not to be. But by being aware of the occurences we hope to try to combat this killer disease by decreasing the chances of offspring contracting it from an hereditary source.

PRA - Progressive Retinal Atrophy — or night blindness - is an hereditary disease. The retina at the back of the eye is made up of rods and cones. The rods work in dim light and the cones work in bright light. With PRA, a dog's sight will begin to fail in dim light and then in bright light with the dog eventually becoming totally blind. It is a very slow process that can take years to become apparent but with regular checkups, it can be diagnosed early. Dogs with PRA or suspected carriers of PRA should never be bred from.

We request that all Bakkabyond dogs and puppies have their eyes checked for abnormalities where and when possible. Your vet should be able to advise you of times and/or dates when a specialist will be visiting your area. The test is painless and only takes a couple of minutes - no anaesthetic is required. Tests should be repeated every 12 months to 2 years for the life of the dog.