Health Testing

Understanding DNA and Health Testing

DNA testing is a wonderful thing! As technologies are developed, we are able to test for, and thereby avoid, certain health issues. Not everything can be discovered with DNA testing, but we take advantage of what tests are available when considering our next litter. These are the things we routinely test for:

CEA (Collie Eye Anomaly). CEA is a group of eye problems and conditions including retinal detachment, colobomas, staphyloma, choroidal hypoplasia and chorioretinal change. Affected dogs may or may not have symptoms. Affected dogs may or may not be blind. The opposite of an Affected dog is a dog with a Normal gene. That's what we strive for. It takes only one Normal gene to make a collie Normal-eyed, the best rating, and protected from ever developing CEA. A dog which inherits a Normal gene from Both parents is a CEA non-carrier and can never produce a puppy with CEA. Dogs with two Normal genes do not see better than dogs with one Normal gene.


DM (Degenerative Myelopathy) In people, DM most closely resembles ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. It is usually associated with old age. There is no treatment. Dogs with one or two Normal genes are thought to be protected from developing this. But dogs with two Mutant genes do not necessarily develop it. Symptoms start with the back feet and legs, progressing toward the front of the dog. Eventually, they will be unable to use their legs and spine. This is unlike hip dysplasia or arthritis in that it is not painful for the dog. For us, it's painful to watch, but the dog remains happy.

MDR1 (Multi-drug Resistance). MDR1 is a deletion gene which humans also have. It helps the body get rid of chemicals and toxins. When a dog has one or both Mutant genes, it may not be able to remove harmful chemicals through saliva, urine, feces and tears, effectively becoming poisoned as the chemicals pass the important barriers into the brain, stomach, and testes or other organs. Ivermectin is the most common wormer for animals but is dangerous to collies who have Mutant genes. Many breeders avoid Ivermectin regardless of the DNA scores of their herding dogs. The old veterinary adage "White feet, don't treat" applies. Collies tend to be sensitive to many commonly used chemicals/drugs. You will want to work closely with your vet, ensuring any medications they give are safe for collies. A collie with one or two Mutant genes is not less healthy or hearty: their score is valuable information on how to choose safe wormers, insecticides, and medications.

These are things we test for as needed:

DMS (Dermatomyositis). DMS is a hereditary auto-immune disorder with symptoms of muscle and skin inflammation. It mostly affects collies and Shetland sheepdogs. Depending on the severity of the case, it may look like mild mange on the face or severe lesions on the face, legs, tail, elbows and ears. It is painful and there is no cure.

PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) This is a hereditary disease of the eye leading to blindness.

Hip dysplasia Over the years, we have had more than 160 dogs tested by the OFA (Orthopedic Foundation For Animals) for hip dysplasia. The results have not been as useful as we had hoped and we test for hips less than in the past. Many times, dogs who didn't seem to be able to get out of their own way had the best scores and dogs who could trot all day long with grace and ease had lesser scores. That said, some of the dogs in the kennel have their hips certified by the OFA.

With all the careful planning and health testing, there are no perfect dogs. We don't have any and neither does anyone else. Buying a dog with great scores does not guarantee you will never have a health issue with your dog, but it's a good way to eliminate the problems we already know about. 


There are many labs in the world which do animal testing. We use several. One of them is Gensol and they have a way of scoring DNA results which is easy to follow. In a nutshell, every puppy gets one gene from Mother and one gene from Father for each trait. If the puppy gets two Normal genes, Gensol reports their score as "A". If a puppy gets one Normal gene and one Mutant gene, the score is "B". And if the puppy did not get a Normal gene from either parent, the score is "C".


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