The Jagdspanielklub has fixed regulations which are committed to every breeder.
For example:
Check up for hipscoring (HD). At the age of 1 year it is allowed to check up the hips by X-ray. The X-ray will be send to a central analysis.
The clinical eye check up. Done by a vet specialist for this kind of check up who belongs to a group of vets named “ Dortmunder Kreis.” For the moments there are check ups for 14 eye diseases. But the main focus for our breed are two points: Progressive Retina Athropie (PRA) and Katarakt, both hereditary diseases.
Since a few years DNA analysis for a specific kind of PRA –“prcd PRA” – and for “Familial Nephropathy" ( FN ) are possible. FN is a kidney disease. Dogs which affected virtually never beome a breeding dog because they mostly die before they are one year old.
Up to now these check ups are voluntary. The results are registered in the pedigrees. There are several laboratories for these DNA tests. For example OPTIGEN in America, Antagene in France and LABOKLIN in Germany. They check up the blood which was sent to them. The owner of the dog gets back the result and a certificate.
We are absolutely supporter for these DNA analyses and our dogs are tested. Since June 2008 delegated members of the Jagdspanielklub decided that just one of the studdogs in each mating has to be normal/clear of prcd-PRA.
This rule makes it possible for us in the long term to breed with healthy dogs and to get progency which never suffers from these two illnesses at the moment.
Again it sets a right trend!
