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German Pinschers are generally a healthy breed, probably more so than some of the
more popular breeds, yet, there are some health concerns. There are three main tests
for our breed- which are- CERF for eyes, OFA or PENN HIP for hips, and a DNA test
for Von Willebrands Disease. (for Von Willebrands -vWD, they can also be 'clear by
parentage' which means that they do not carry the gene) It is important to do the tests,
but also to remember, a CHIC number does not mean they have to pass the test, just
do the test. Always ask for PASSING results!
Cataracts
The main health problem concerning German Pinschers is hereditary cataracts. Do not
buy a puppy from a breeder that does not do annual eye exams on their dogs.
Also, just testing once, then never again, is not enough, this usually doesn't show up
until the dogs are several years old . When buying a dog that you intend to breed,
make sure you find out about the eye health on as many relatives as possible.
Make sure you look up the eye test results at the CERF website. For foreign parents,
ask for proof of current passing results, that are verifiable. (In my links I include links to
online results for Finland and Sweden)
Find out the dates of the last eye exam on any puppies you are interested in, if its more
than one year old, ask why. Not testing is not any different than using dogs that did not
pass.
Hip Dysplasia
German Pinschers have quite good hips in relation to many other breeds, but it does
seem that overall hip scores are not improving in this breed, so we need to be sure that
all breeding dogs have their hips X-rayed and certified by either OFA or Penn Hip. You
also want to make sure that the dog has passed these tests, not just had the tests.
These results should be online on the OFA database. For Foreign parents- ask for proof
of results that are verifiable.
OFA -the passing results are FAIR, GOOD, and EXCELLENT. Personally- I would be
very cautious with the use of FAIRs and never would use a FAIR bred to a FAIR.
For Penn Hip scores, they do not have a passing score, what they recommend is that
we only breed dogs that are better than the 50th percentile for the breed. This
percentile number will change periodically- currently - January 2009- the number is .40
DI, that means that if the number is higher than .40 DI- Penn Hip suggests this dog is
not bred. In the fall of 2009 Penn Hip should have their online database up and
running where they will list all passing dogs, this will only include dogs that are better
than the 60th percentile according to recent communication from the director of Penn
Hip. A lot of people will post their penn Hip scores to the OFA database too- make sure
that the dog is better than the passing scores recommended by Penn Hip. According to
Penn Hip research- a dog with a Penn Hip score of .30 or less has basically no risk of
developing Hip Dysplasia. The number we want is .30 or less. The higher the number,
the higher the risk. If the two hips have different numbers what they typically are saying
is- average the two numbers to get the number for that dog when making breeding
choices.
Von Willebrands Disease
This is a hereditary bleeding disorder. This is not common in German Pinschers, but it
does happen, and it is very important that you know the vWD status of a dog that is
intended for breeding. If both parents are carriers there could be affected dogs in the
litter, also affected dogs should never be bred. There is a simple DNA test for this, and
if both parents are clear, or even if one is a carrier, there is no chance of your dog
developing this later. If a dog is a carrier and not affected it can live a normal life without
worry. We need to test for this though to prevent accidentally producing affected dogs
as some breeds have.
Heart issues
We have found several heart issues in the German Pinschers. Nothing at an alarming
rate, but there none the less. They have not been found to have cardiomyopathy like
the Dobermans though, so don't worry about that. It is suggested that German
Pinschers are heart examined by a cardiologist to be sure the dog truly is clear of heart
disease. Some heart defects are easier to detect than others. A cardiologist can give a
preliminary evaluation that is quite accurate at a young age, (different age for different
problems) , but to get a true clear certification for hereditary heart defects the dog must
be over one year of age, and be certified by a veterinary cardiologist.
According to the ACVIM only cardiologists should be used for this exam, however,
currently the OFA health database still allows any veterinarian to perform this test. After
their results online there is a designation to let you know who performed the test, The
cardiologist is the only one the ACVIM recommends, this will be designated by following
their Heart exam number with the letter-C, for only a general practitioners results they
have the designation-P, and they also have the designation-S, for specialist- however
this does not have to be a heart specialist, they can be a specialist in anything and no
extra training in hearts.
Other Health Issues
It is also a good idea to test for thyroid function, this is common in all breeds, also there
have been some cases of demodectic mange which is hereditary and some other health
issues.
Be sure to ask the breeder all about the health of the breed (any breed, if you are still
thinking about other breeds). One red flag about a breeder to me is- if you ask about
health and the breeder tells you there are no health issues in this breed. In fact- this is
the case in any breed. All breeds have some health issues, and if a breeder (any
breeder- of any breed) tells you there are no health issues either they are not very
informed, or not very honest- either way- a breeder you should avoid.
Also, it is important to remember, that even with the best breeder doing everything right,
and everything indicating nothing but good things, health problems can still
occasionally occur that are unexpected. I think this is important for us all to remember,
often times when things go wrong, or problems arise, people get angry and try to put
the blame somewhere. I think its only right to do everything right as far as testing for
common disorders.
more popular breeds, yet, there are some health concerns. There are three main tests
for our breed- which are- CERF for eyes, OFA or PENN HIP for hips, and a DNA test
for Von Willebrands Disease. (for Von Willebrands -vWD, they can also be 'clear by
parentage' which means that they do not carry the gene) It is important to do the tests,
but also to remember, a CHIC number does not mean they have to pass the test, just
do the test. Always ask for PASSING results!
Cataracts
The main health problem concerning German Pinschers is hereditary cataracts. Do not
buy a puppy from a breeder that does not do annual eye exams on their dogs.
Also, just testing once, then never again, is not enough, this usually doesn't show up
until the dogs are several years old . When buying a dog that you intend to breed,
make sure you find out about the eye health on as many relatives as possible.
Make sure you look up the eye test results at the CERF website. For foreign parents,
ask for proof of current passing results, that are verifiable. (In my links I include links to
online results for Finland and Sweden)
Find out the dates of the last eye exam on any puppies you are interested in, if its more
than one year old, ask why. Not testing is not any different than using dogs that did not
pass.
Hip Dysplasia
German Pinschers have quite good hips in relation to many other breeds, but it does
seem that overall hip scores are not improving in this breed, so we need to be sure that
all breeding dogs have their hips X-rayed and certified by either OFA or Penn Hip. You
also want to make sure that the dog has passed these tests, not just had the tests.
These results should be online on the OFA database. For Foreign parents- ask for proof
of results that are verifiable.
OFA -the passing results are FAIR, GOOD, and EXCELLENT. Personally- I would be
very cautious with the use of FAIRs and never would use a FAIR bred to a FAIR.
For Penn Hip scores, they do not have a passing score, what they recommend is that
we only breed dogs that are better than the 50th percentile for the breed. This
percentile number will change periodically- currently - January 2009- the number is .40
DI, that means that if the number is higher than .40 DI- Penn Hip suggests this dog is
not bred. In the fall of 2009 Penn Hip should have their online database up and
running where they will list all passing dogs, this will only include dogs that are better
than the 60th percentile according to recent communication from the director of Penn
Hip. A lot of people will post their penn Hip scores to the OFA database too- make sure
that the dog is better than the passing scores recommended by Penn Hip. According to
Penn Hip research- a dog with a Penn Hip score of .30 or less has basically no risk of
developing Hip Dysplasia. The number we want is .30 or less. The higher the number,
the higher the risk. If the two hips have different numbers what they typically are saying
is- average the two numbers to get the number for that dog when making breeding
choices.
Von Willebrands Disease
This is a hereditary bleeding disorder. This is not common in German Pinschers, but it
does happen, and it is very important that you know the vWD status of a dog that is
intended for breeding. If both parents are carriers there could be affected dogs in the
litter, also affected dogs should never be bred. There is a simple DNA test for this, and
if both parents are clear, or even if one is a carrier, there is no chance of your dog
developing this later. If a dog is a carrier and not affected it can live a normal life without
worry. We need to test for this though to prevent accidentally producing affected dogs
as some breeds have.
Heart issues
We have found several heart issues in the German Pinschers. Nothing at an alarming
rate, but there none the less. They have not been found to have cardiomyopathy like
the Dobermans though, so don't worry about that. It is suggested that German
Pinschers are heart examined by a cardiologist to be sure the dog truly is clear of heart
disease. Some heart defects are easier to detect than others. A cardiologist can give a
preliminary evaluation that is quite accurate at a young age, (different age for different
problems) , but to get a true clear certification for hereditary heart defects the dog must
be over one year of age, and be certified by a veterinary cardiologist.
According to the ACVIM only cardiologists should be used for this exam, however,
currently the OFA health database still allows any veterinarian to perform this test. After
their results online there is a designation to let you know who performed the test, The
cardiologist is the only one the ACVIM recommends, this will be designated by following
their Heart exam number with the letter-C, for only a general practitioners results they
have the designation-P, and they also have the designation-S, for specialist- however
this does not have to be a heart specialist, they can be a specialist in anything and no
extra training in hearts.
Other Health Issues
It is also a good idea to test for thyroid function, this is common in all breeds, also there
have been some cases of demodectic mange which is hereditary and some other health
issues.
Be sure to ask the breeder all about the health of the breed (any breed, if you are still
thinking about other breeds). One red flag about a breeder to me is- if you ask about
health and the breeder tells you there are no health issues in this breed. In fact- this is
the case in any breed. All breeds have some health issues, and if a breeder (any
breeder- of any breed) tells you there are no health issues either they are not very
informed, or not very honest- either way- a breeder you should avoid.
Also, it is important to remember, that even with the best breeder doing everything right,
and everything indicating nothing but good things, health problems can still
occasionally occur that are unexpected. I think this is important for us all to remember,
often times when things go wrong, or problems arise, people get angry and try to put
the blame somewhere. I think its only right to do everything right as far as testing for
common disorders.