At Loving Doodle, we know that healthy puppies begin with healthy parents. We take the physical and emotional health of our parents very seriously. 

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-We run genetic tests on every one of our parents.  If there are any major genetic markers for our dogs, we do not breed them.

-We do any other health tests that our vet recommends, including OFA hips and elbows for our lab and OFA cataracts for our Australian Shepherds.

-We do not have kennels, but give our dogs a large section of our 1.25 acre property so that they have plenty of room to run and play.

-We have 9 kids that love to pet and play with the dogs.

-We think that everyone of our dogs is beautiful and special.  We have lots of love and care to give them.

 

Health Testing Helps Ensure that You Have a Healthy Puppy

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Genetics is the study of how different traits written into DNA are passed on from one generation to the next.  Studying genetics is important so that we can understand what traits the parents are going to pass on to their puppies.  Many people think of this solely in reference to what colors of puppies we can expect from 2 parents.  This is part of the genetic tests, but this is actually not the most important reason for a breeder to run a genetic test.  As a breeder, my number #1 concern is looking at genetics relating to the health of a dog.

  Running a genetic test is pretty simple.  You order the kit and collect saliva from the inside of the dog's cheek.  Considering how inexpensive it is to test, how easy and noninvasive it is, I think that it is inexcusable that any dog be bred without genetic testing.  I recently had an old time breeder complain to me that "in her day, no one did genetic testing." I simply can't understand her complaint.  I love genetic testing because it shows me that a dog is: A. the breed that I think it is and B. that this dog is not going to pass on problems to their puppies. Genetic testing is the first step that I use to make sure that I am selling healthy puppies.

 

    I'm not going to lie, I have had my share of disappointments after getting the test results. Once we got an adorable dog that we were told was an AKC Australian Shepherd, but that they had lost the papers in their move.  I questioned if her ears really were Australian Shepherd ears, but she was so cute that I decided to purchase her.  Well, a simple swab later and a few weeks of waiting, and the results were in...... that she was an utter and absolute mutt.... an adorable mutt, but not an AKC registerable Australian Shepherd and definitely not a good fit for our breeding program.  Fortunately, because she was absolutely adorable, it was easy to find her a new home.

  Another time, I brought a gorgeous AKC Australian Shepherd named Elsa into my program from Texas.  Unfortunately, Elsa's genetic test results came back that she was a carrier for hereditary cataracts a condition that would be passed on to 50% of her puppies. Taking responsibility for my breeding choices and offering you a 2 year genetic health guarantee makes me very committed to only breeding dogs that are at low risk of passing on problems to their puppies.  I am now accountable to you, my puppy buyers, for the health conditions that I allow to be passed on to my puppies.  The confidence that I have in re-homing healthy puppies is worth the thousands of dollars that I lost in finding Elsa greener pastures. 

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  As a breeder, I believe that it is my responsibility to take on the cost and risk of failed testing, not yours as the puppy buyer.  When I pick a new dog for breeding, I am choosing to take on responsibility for the health of your family members.  A genetic test should be the absolute minimum that a breeder is doing to ensure that you are getting a healthy family member. 

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For instance, my Labrador Retrievers have all passed their testing for: 

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Exercise Induced Collapse (EIC)

Centronuclear Myopathy (CNM)

Progressive Retinal Atrophy (prcd-PRA)

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This means that your Labradoodle puppies are not at risk of having or ever developing these potentially serious health conditions.

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We also test them for hip/elbow dysplasia.  However, this good test result does not guarantee that your puppy cannot develop hip/elbow dysplasia.  Dysplasia is a combination of good genetics, good nutrition and good exercise habits.  So we take seriously the genetic side of this and the puppies early nutrition.  However, the dogs will need continued good nutrition, they need to maintain a healthy weight and they need the right kind of exercise.  As this study found, puppies under 3 months climbing stairs caused an increase in cases of hip dysplasia.  On the other hand, being outside on the natural ground, running around, dealing with different terrains, etc. helped decrease instances of hip dysplasia.  

 

   Any breeder worth buying from has genetic testing results available for you to look over, I have chosen not to publish mine on my parents page, but I am happy to provide them upon request.  If you are investing in a long term family member, please make sure that your breeder has done at least the minimum to give you the healhiest companion possible.