{"id":1482,"date":"2026-09-07T14:28:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T14:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/?p=1482"},"modified":"2026-09-10T18:50:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:50:54","slug":"health-testing-genetics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/07\/health-testing-genetics\/","title":{"rendered":"Health testing & genetics"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Health testing & genetics<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  • \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tall about the breed\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA beautiful Toy Poodle is wonderful, but what\u2019s behind that beautiful face matters even more.\n\nResponsible breeding starts long before a litter is born. Health testing allows us to learn more about the dogs we breed, understand potential hereditary risks and make more informed choices when planning a combination.\n\nBut health testing is also a little more complicated than simply receiving a DNA report that says \u201cclear.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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    DNA testing<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    There are different kinds of health testing, and they tell us different things.<\/p>

    For Toy Poodles, the core health screening includes testing for prcd-PRA, examination of the eyes by a veterinary ophthalmologist and evaluation of the patellas (kneecaps).<\/p>

    DNA tests will give one of three results:<\/p>

    Clear: the dog has no copies of the tested disease variant;
    Carrier: the dog has one copy of the variant;
    Affected \/ At Risk:\u00a0the dog has two copies of the variant.<\/p>

    One of the advantages of genetic testing is that being a carrier does not automatically mean a dog has to be removed from a breeding program<\/p>

    Depending on the laboratory and panel used, poodles may receive results for conditions such as:<\/p>

    rcd4-PRA: another genetic form of Progressive Retinal Atrophy;
    vWD1: von Willebrand Disease; Type 1, an inherited bleeding disorder;
    DM: Degenerative Myelopathy, a progressive neurological disease;
    NEWS: Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures.<\/p>

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    Eye examination<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    This is where DNA testing and physical health screening become especially important to distinguish.<\/p>

    A clear DNA result does not mean that a dog’s eyes are automatically clear of hereditary disease.<\/p>

    There are eye abnormalities and diseases for which we either don’t have a DNA test or for which the known DNA tests only identify one particular genetic cause.<\/p>

    That is why breeding dogs should also undergo a specialist eye examination, such as an ECVO examination in Europe.<\/p>

    During this examination, the eyes are physically assessed for abnormalities and hereditary conditions.<\/p>

    In other words:<\/p>

    DNA testing tells us about specific genetic variants.
    An eye examination tells us what is actually observable in the dog’s eyes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Patellar luxation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Patellar luxation occurs when the kneecap can move out of its normal position. It is particularly relevant in small and toy breeds.<\/p>

    This isn’t something we can rule out with a DNA swab.<\/p>

    The dog’s knees therefore need to be physically examined and graded. Results are commonly recorded separately for the left and right knee, for example 0\/0, meaning no luxation was detected in either knee.<\/p>

    Screening breeding dogs helps us make more informed decisions and reduce the risk of passing a predisposition for patellar problems to future generations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    The bigger picture<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Even comprehensive health testing can’t predict everything.<\/p>

    Not every health condition has a simple genetic cause. Some are influenced by many genes, environmental factors or a combination of both. Others may have a hereditary component that science cannot yet reliably test for.<\/p>

    This is why we also consider pedigree, relatives and family history when choosing breeding dogs and combinations.<\/p>

    And health isn’t our only consideration.<\/p>

    We look at the whole dog: health, genetics, structure, temperament, pedigree and genetic diversity.<\/p>

    No breeder can promise that a puppy will never develop a health problem. Biology simply doesn’t work that way. What responsible breeding can<\/em> do is gather as much reliable information as possible, understand its limitations, and use it to make thoughtful choices.<\/p>

    Because breeding shouldn’t only be about creating beautiful puppies.<\/p>

    It should be about doing everything reasonably possible to give the next generation the best start. \ud83e\udd0d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A beautiful Toy Poodle is wonderful, but what\u2019s behind that beautiful face matters even more.<\/p>\n

    Responsible breeding starts long before a litter is born. Health testing allows us to learn more about the dogs we breed, understand potential hereditary risks and make more informed choices when planning a combination.<\/p>\n

    But health testing is also a little more complicated than simply receiving a DNA report that says \u201cclear.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1482"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1559,"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482\/revisions\/1559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petitpalaispoodles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}