Health Testing

Like all breeds of dogs, standard poodles are susceptible to certain health problems, with some of them being of a hereditary nature. Signs of inherited diseases may not appear until your poodle is three to seven years old. We incorporate genetic and health testing in our Standard Poodles for the following hereditary diseases.

• · Von Willebrands Disease (vWD) vWD, a blood disorder, is a deficiency in clotting factor VIII antigen. Similar to hemophilia in humans, dogs affected by the disease do not effectively utilize their platelets for blood clotting and therefore are more likely to have excessive bleeding episodes upon injury. vWD is a common inherited disorder. A DNA test to detect vWD is available from VetGen.
• · Hypothyroidism Low thyroid function is the most common endocrine problem in dogs. Auto immune thyroiditis, in which the thyroid is destroyed by the body's immune system, is hereditary. It can lead to weight gain (without an increase in eating), a coarse, brittle coat that falls out, thickening and discoloration of the skin, lethargy, obesity, mental slowness and irregular heart rhythm.
• · Hip Dysplasia A condition in which the head of the femur fits improperly into the hip joint socket, causing pain and lameness. Pain killers and/or surgery are the usual treatments. Being a large dog, the Standard Poodle is more likely to suffer from Hip Dysplasia, though it can affect Miniatures and Toys.
• · Sebaceous Adenitis (SA) A chronic skin disorder that affects Standard Poodles, resulting in abnormal, inflamed, or absence of, sebaceous glands. Symptoms may include excessive dandruff, scaling, darkened skin, thickened skin, a silvery scaling of the skin, a musty, unpleasant odor, and hair loss. SA can show up when the poodle as young as 18 months or as old as 9 years. Diagnosing SA is done with a skin biopsy. Statistic show that as many as 50 percent of all Standard Poodles are carriers or affected. There is no cure. Therapeutic baths and antibiotics for secondary skin infections are the recommended treatments.
• · Neonatal Encephalopathy “Neonatal” refers to the time immediately after birth. “Encephalopathy” refers to a disease affecting the brain. Thus Neonatal Encephalopathy means a disease of the brain that becomes apparent soon after pups are born. Affected pups have been weak, uncoordinated, and mentally dull from birth. If they survive the first few days, they nurse adequately. They may not, however, be able to compete with stronger pups in the litter and their growth may be stunted. Some cannot stand at all. Others manage to struggle to their feet and walk with jerky movements, falling frequently. Seizures develop in most affected pups at 4-5 weeks of age. Attempts to control these seizures with medication have proven futile, and the pups die or are euthanized before they reach weaning age.
• · Eye Diseases Eye disease can cause a series of ailments, including eye pain, discharge, cloudy or filmy eyes, or glaucoma.