Question - partial health testing?

[Boxah]

I've been talking to a breeder for a few weeks now (I've been thinking of getting my boy's GF from her)...she seems really nice, but after reading BW I found out that she only health tests her adults for hips (not elbows), thyroid, and heart. So when I questioned her about the other tests (elbows, CERF, etc.) her reasons for not doing the rest of the tests are - elbows aren't usually a problem for boxers...and you can tell by looking if they have bad eyes or not (if there was a reason she could see she would have it done)...etc.

My question is would she be considered a bad breeder because she does not fully test her adults?

 

[GoCougs]

I've been talking to a breeder for a few weeks now (I've been thinking of getting my boy's GF from her)

Have you told her that you plan on breeding your male to her puppy?

I found out that she only health tests her adults for hips (not elbows), thyroid, and heart.

Screening for hip dysplasia, thyroid function, SAS and a 24-hour holter should be the minimum health tests that she should be doing on her breeding stock. Aside from health testing, her dogs should be evaluated by an independent evaluator (i.e. AKC judge) that the dogs possess the characteristics of a boxer. Finally, the dogs should compliment eachother. In other words, she isn't just breeding her pets, because it's convienent to do so.

 

[Boxah]

I'm not going to breed my guy....he's neutered. I'm just using him needing a GF as an excuse to get another one. At the same time I want to buy from a reputable breeder instead of going through a BYB - if I buy from a BYB I'm pretty much promoting them and what they are doing with their dogs.

Like I said she seems nice, but she does not get all of the tests done on her adults that the BW site/AKC says to get. So I was just curious what others thought.

 

[Alisha Mobley]

I'd guess many responsible breeders do not test elbows. Although testing for elbow dysplasia is one of the screenings the ABC recommends, it's not common in the breed. I've wondered if screening elbows is recommended because it's easily done at the time of hip x-raying.

Eye issues (CERF) isn't one of the ABC recommended health screenings: http://www.americanboxerclub.org/health-screening.html

 

[JulieM]

Currently the incidence of elbow dysplasia in the Boxer breed is 0% - there's really no reason for it to be part of the ABC recommendations. Breeders/owners who are involved in Agility or Utility might want to have elbow x-rays done, because those sports are high-impact for the elbows, but with a 0% affected rate it is not what I would call an important screening....

CERF, as well, is optional at this point; the primary eye issues with Boxers are entropion/ectropion and distichiasis, which you actually generally can tell the dog has by looking (and by the irritation of the eye). While these conditions may be hereditary (or may be due to the conformation of the Boxer head, which would make it hereditary in a different sort of way), they are not widespread at this point, and generally do not affect vision, health or longevity unless severe cases are left untreated. Certainly if there is a history of these problems in the line, CERF testing is a good 'safeguard', but again it is not what I'd consider vital.

If this breeder does hips, thyroid, and the two heart tests (for AS and ARVC), then you're ahead of the game.