Lab Tests – What do they mean?

• Medical definitions, Linda Aronson, DVM
• Urinalysis, what it means, Linda Aronson, DVM
• Blood tests and their meaning, Linda Aronson, DVM
• NEW. Understanding your pet’s lab tests, WSU College of Veterinary Medicine

Health Screening Tests

Health screening tests are used prebreeding to minimize or avoid future health issues in progeny.   Owners also may test future performance competition dogs to assure that the activity won’t make an existing condition worse (e.g., dysplasias).

BCCA CHIC (Canine Health Information Center with OFA) recommendations (not requirements):

• Hip evaluation (X-ray reading by OFA, BVA, FCI; Penn-Hip)
• Eye examination by AVCO (American Veterinary College of Ophthalmologists) yearly
• Thyroid (complete thyroid panel yearly until age of 5, then yearly; to rule out autoimmune thyroidits
• Elbow evaluation, optional (X-ray reading)

Genetic Tests

• NEW. Understanding modes of inheritance
• MDR-1 Mutation, Linda Aronson, DVM
• CEA (Collie Eye Anomaly/Choroidal Hypoplasia).   CEA is a recessively inherited eye disorder that causes abnormal development of the choroid, a layer in the eye beneath the retina.  It is detectable by eye exam only in the first few months before developing pigmentation of the retina obscures the choroid.  Clinically, the signs are variable ranging from minimal visual problem to malformations of the optic nerve or eye (e.g., coloboma), retinal detachment, intraocular bleeding, and subsequent blindness.  Both mild and severe forms are associated with a mutation in the same gene, NHEJ1.  Predicting severity of the disease in an affected puppy is difficult.  After a Kennel Club registered Beardie in the UK was identified as affected, CEA testing was begun in the UK.
  • Luckily there is a gene test available to breeders.  Subsidized testing (combined support of BeaCon, BCCA, BOW calendar crew) was offered to encourage testing. Testing was conducted by PawPrints; owners requested sampling kits directly from PawPrints.  The collective results were reported anonymously.  In late 2019 with data available on 201 dogs, the results w
    • Carrier – 15 (12.4%)
    • Normal – 176 (87.6%)
    • Affected – none
  • The BCCA joined the parent club partnership program at Embark in 2019.  Of 168 Beardies by late 2019 (no recent reports):
    • Carriers – 6 (3.6%)
    • Normal – 162 (96.4%)
    • Affected – none
  • There are 61 CEA tested Beardies reported by owners in OFA’s database; all have normal CEA tests (Dec 2022)
  • BeaCon’s health registry (Dec 2022) has 238 CEA tested and clear by DNA test, parentage, or are carriers.  All but 1 had blood tests (the other was on semen).
    • Carriers – 10 (4.2%)
    • Normal
      • DNA tested – 191 (80.3%)
      • By parentage – 32 both parents clear (1st gen) (13.5%)
      • By parentage – 5 one parent clear (1st gen) (2.1%)