Has your CKCS been MRI scanned?

I know I'm new to the whole world of CKCS and their loving owners, but coming from a prominent field pedigree of Labradors I have learned a thing or two about their health and how many times a field Lab will often times live longer and with fewer genetic deficiencies.

I've learned about some of our irresponsible breeders throughout the world who do not take into account the dogs health or genetic background. Once I have my Cav and he/she is at least 2.5 years old I will be having him/her scanned and placed on the Cavalier Club's list.

(I'm second on a waiting list for a litter due any day now)

I urge each and every person who will breed their Cav to please have it scanned and placed on the list. Genetics are no fun to mess with, and hopefully we can regain some of the bad rep that our contemporaries have given us for our enduring companion's bad bill of health while also saving future friends from the same health that we have allowed to accumulate through inaction on behalf of breeders.

http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/start.html

-EnTfy

Well we don't have a list over here but we plan to breed Qnotje if everything goes well but this means she'll be having to go through all the exams, including an MRI scan.. I'm not really in favor of having all the cavs having an MRI though..

when there are problems it should be done, but if nothing is wrong and he/she won't be used to breed with I don't see a reason why any cav would need to go through that test...

Both too young just now, but will scan the bitch before breeding IF and when we decide to breed her. Male is neutered, but will scan either/both if and when required.

I understand what you are saying about unnecessary testing, but if you have obtained your Cavalier from a responsible breeder, it's extremely helpful for them if you do have yours scanned, as they can then see which matings are producing clear/better results...

It's very difficult, as over 90% of Cavaliers will have some degree of malformation - and 30-50% will eventually develop symptoms {based on studies of dogs presented for prebreeding MRI's, NOT those showing clinical symptoms}. SO if you MRI and find something, you need to be prepared for that - emotionally. Many Cavaliers still lead a wonderful quality of life despite having Syringomyelia and are managed well on pain relief.

I would always recommend obtaining insurance for a Cavalier, with lifetime cover, and obviously obtaining that well before you MRI, as pre-existing conditions are not covered.

My brood bitch is MRI'd clear, and I have found a grade A dog for her for when the time comes - there are quite a few breeders MRIing now, thank goodness, but still not enough

As puppy buyers, we can do the most good for the breed by ONLY buying from breeders who do all the health tests.

Yes, I scan but even putting A to A you can still get S.M. Unfortunately, nothing is 100% All we can do if we want to breed is our best.

Nicki said:

I would always recommend obtaining insurance for a Cavalier, with lifetime cover, and obviously obtaining that well before you MRI, as pre-existing conditions are not covered.

My brood bitch is MRI'd clear, and I have found a grade A dog for her for when the time comes - there are quite a few breeders MRIing now, thank goodness, but still not enough

As puppy buyers, we can do the most good for the breed by ONLY buying from breeders who do all the health tests.

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I so agree with all this.

Yesterday I talked to two owners, both with cavaliers with SM symptoms, both with no insurance. If you do not have over £1,000 to spare for a full MRI , this leaves you in the situation of not ever knowing for sure what is wrong with your dog.

I am delighted to see the expansion of the MRI list, but remember that owners no longer need to show MRI certificate when they put their dog's name on this list.
Anyone looking for a stud dog or buying a puppy needs to be aware that "my dogs are scanned", or "my dogs are on the MRI list" means nothing at all, if not backed up by a certificate that shows these breeding dogs have no syringomyelia ( sometimes shown as syringohydromyelia ) when the dog is over 2.5 years old.

Some seemingly nice people really do know how to 'talk the talk' and I am hearing too many breeders announce they have 'clear' or 'A' dogs when the cavalier is not old enough to be bred from under the recommended SM guidelines.

I do so agree with only buying from those that breed with health as a priority.
Why should breeders test if they can sell without bothering? Make it worthwhile for those that are trying to do the right thing.

For those looking for a puppy, I usually know of breeders with litters from scanned parents, and I am always happy to pass on the details.

Margaret C

Margaret C said:

I am delighted to see the expansion of the MRI list, but remember that owners no longer need to show MRI certificate when they put their dog's name on this list.
Anyone looking for a stud dog or buying a puppy needs to be aware that "my dogs are scanned", or "my dogs are on the MRI list" means nothing at all, if not backed up by a certificate that shows these breeding dogs have no syringomyelia ( sometimes shown as syringohydromyelia ) when the dog is over 2.5 years old.

Some seemingly nice people really do know how to 'talk the talk' and I am hearing too many breeders announce they have 'clear' or 'A' dogs when the cavalier is not old enough to be bred from under the recommended SM guidelines.

I do so agree with only buying from those that breed with health as a priority.
Why should breeders test if they can sell without bothering? Make it worthwhile for those that are trying to do the right thing.

For those looking for a puppy, I usually know of breeders with litters from scanned parents, and I am always happy to pass on the details.

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We need to continually repeat this!

Just because a dog is on the club MRI list, it doesn't indicate the results of the scan or that a scan was actually performed, unfortunately. The age of the dog at the time(s) the scans were performed is key as well.

Always check the breeder's paperwork and learn how to read and understand it.

entfy said:

but coming from a prominent field pedigree of Labradors I have learned a thing or two about their health

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I’m in Australia and I know several prominent Labrador breeders/exhibitors/trainers as my wife and I for quite some years competed against their dogs in performance events with our Cavaliers. When talking to them about Health Issues they seem somewhat puzzled at the Cavalier scene. Labrador breeders quite openly show everyone their health test results, and they and even puppy purchasers understand things like there is NO 100% GUARANTEE. Where I am Labrador breeders MUST provide appropriate Health Certificates on the Parents when applying to register puppies, if not then the puppies registrations will not be processed. Their Labrador Club even has a “Puppy Sales Register Code of Ethics” which includes words like IS REQUIRED or MUST, and this even in providing puppy purchasers with copies of Health Certificates, please have a read via this link address and in PDF format.
http://www.labvic.org.au/documents/code_ethics.pdf
.

EddyAnne said:

I’m in Australia and I know several prominent Labrador breeders/exhibitors/trainers as my wife and I for quite some years competed against their dogs in performance events with our Cavaliers. When talking to them about Health Issues they seem somewhat puzzled at the Cavalier scene. Labrador breeders quite openly show everyone their health test results, and they and even puppy purchasers understand things like there is NO 100% GUARANTEE. Where I am Labrador breeders MUST provide appropriate Health Certificates on the Parents when applying to register puppies, if not then the puppies registrations will not be processed. Their Labrador Club even has a “Puppy Sales Register Code of Ethics” which includes words like IS REQUIRED or MUST, and this even in providing puppy purchasers with copies of Health Certificates, please have a read via this link address and in PDF format.
http://www.labvic.org.au/documents/code_ethics.pdf
.

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I'm extremely glad t hear that. We don't necessarily have to have all those checks, but where as I did breed mostly gun-dogs, we had extreme amounts of conditions and states of clauses that were placed into each contract.
Though we didn't check the bitch or the sire, we knew that neither had been in the same tree for a minimum of 12 generations (that was as far back as we had on the bitch (our dog))
We ended up with a litter of 11 and here in TX the alpha male (i fell in love with charlie) went on to compete for the national field trials and has since become a major stud here in east TX.

Everyone needs to demand more from their breeders. Though the breed standard is what they breed to, I will never accept a puppy till I have seen the results/certificate of the MRI. I made sure I have placed language into my deposit for my pup stating that I will be given a full refund of my deposit if I am not satisfied with the MRI results.

We can change the breed, but we must be demanding and diligent in our efforts.