Health Testing 

HEALTH TESTING 

I feel it is important to conduct health testing on my dogs to ensure I am using healthy dogs within my breeding program. Even though the Japanese Spitz are generally a very healthy breed, they can still suffer from heath issues which is why health testing should be conducted.

Patella Luxation 

Patella Luxation can affect the Japanese Spitz breed. Patella luxation is where the kneecap does not move normally up and down in the knee groove but rather slips or pops out of the socket. In order to check for Patella Luxation.  My dogs knees are manually checked by a Veterinarian.  This is the only mechanism by which patella luxation can be assessed, as there is no genetic testing available for this issue.  I prefer to use dogs who are unaffected (0/0 grading) by Patella Luxation, to ensure my puppies are not affected by this issue. 

Classification of Scoring

Grade 1 –   The patella easily luxates manually at full extension of the stifle joint but returns to the trochlea when released. 

Grade 2 – There is frequent patellar luxation which, in some cases, becomes more or less permanent. 

Grade 3 – The patella is permanently luxated with torsion of the tibia and deviation of the tibial crest of between 30 degrees and 50 degrees from the cranial/caudal plane.  

Grade 4 – The tibia is medially twisted, and the tibial crest may show further deviation medially with the result that it lies 50 degrees to 90 degrees from the cranial/caudal plane. 

PRA-RCD4 Testing 

Progressive retinal atrophy rod-cone degeneration 4 (rcd4-PRA) is a heritable condition characterized by late-onset degeneration of photoreceptor cells in the retina, leading to loss of vision and blindness. Dogs with late-onset rcd4-PRA typically start showing signs of visual impairment between 5 and 12 years of age, with an average age of onset of 10 years. Vision loss can progress to complete blindness.

There has been a global push to commence testing as we have identified Japanese Spitz who are affected by PRA. This is not a new thing, there have been JS who have had this issue in the past; however we have been unable to directly link it with a specific gene and test until now. It is important that we test so that we can eliminate the number of Japanese Spitz who go blind due to this issue in the future. 

When I test my dogs, they can come back with the following results:

Clear: The dog has two normal alleles and cannot pass the mutation on in any way.

Carrier: The dog has one normal and one mutated allele – they are healthy and cannot be affected by the disease, but can pass one copy of the mutation on.

Affected: If the dog gets two mutated alleles, it’s Affected—the disease can develop and they will pass on a mutated allele to any offspring.

A dog who has been tested as a carrier or affected is not automatically removed from breeding. They just need to be paired with a partner who is clear, to ensure that their offspring cannot be affected by the issue. It is important that dogs are not removed from breeding due to having a carrier or affected status, as this will have long term diversity impacts. 

I have tested all of my dogs to ensure that I am not knowingly breeding carrier or affected dogs with any partner who is not clear.  

DNA Testing 

All of my dogs are DNA Profiled and Parentage Tested to prove parents and Pedigree Papers are Provided.

Hip & Elbow Dysplasia 

Hip and elbow dysplasia are issues which can affect the Japanese Spitz. Hip and elbow dysplasia is when dogs hip or elbow joints are not perfectly formed and is an issue primarily found in larger dogs (although small dogs can be affected too). This issue can be caused by genetic or environmental factors. Dogs affected by hip or elbow dysplasia will often have issues such as degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis. Hip and elbow x-rays are taken and then read by an independent specialist who assigns a score towards the hips to indicate how good to poor they are.  I am hip and elbow scoring my dogs to ensure my dogs, particularly my stud dogs who may produce several offspring are scored.

Factor VII Deficiency 

This is rare inherited bleeding disorder caused by a deficiency in Factor VII protein, which is crucial for blood clotting. This deficiency leads to prolonged or excessive bleeding, even from minor injuries, and can sometimes cause severe complications like intracranial hemorrhage.  All of my dogs have been tested for this and are Clear.