It is generally not known or discussed that the Chinese Crested Dog has two forms of PRA as well as Glaucoma and Primary Lens Luxation.
Many breeders only tell you about the prcd form, which can be tested for by DNA. However the second form is not yet available as a DNA test and therefore requires bi-ennial (once every two years) physical eye examination. Doing this will also detect early issues with the other eye diseases.
Recent events in the USA have given us a DNA test for Primary Lens Luxation. This will add to our arsenal of available tests by DNA. Australian Gene testing facilities will soon have this test available for us to use.
If you do not have the physical eye exam done, then it is impossible to state that your dogs are totally clear. At the most they can be (PRA prcd) clear, either by DNA or by having clear Parents. We attempt to physically eye test every dog in our kennel bi-ennially even those that we no longer breed from until they reach the age of 12. After this time, on our Vet’s advice it is considered no longer necessary to do a physical eye exam.
We encourage owners and breeders to health test their dogs on a regular basis. However we are not the Breed Health Police and we cannot force others to do as we say by any form of bullying tactics. What we will do is help any breeder with sensible solutions to encourage them to start the testing process. If you think your dog has an eye problem, your first port of call should be your local vet. Vets are trained to recognise eye disease and if he or she considers that the dog needs further examination then they can recommend a Canine Ophthalmologist who will further investigate any issues.
There is also some investigation into the way the hairless gene expresses itself
The aim of this study is to obtain more insight on the inheritance of hair of Chinese Crested dogs. Because almost everyone has a preference for a particular hair type e.g., true or hairy hairless, it is useful to investigate which type of parents will bring forth a certain hair type in their offspring. To date one study has been done in which DNA (FOXI3) was examined. This revealed the difference between DNA of hairless dogs and powderpuffs but did not take the degree of hairiness into account. This study does take the degree of hairiness into account.
Therefore it allows predicting the hair type of puppies based on visible hair characteristics of the parenting dogs.
You as breeder of Chinese Cresteds can provide us with useful information. The more breeders respond the more reliable the predictions will be.
This study is also helpful for further investigation of DNA of Chinese Crested dogs.
