Labrador Health

Labrador Health

Recommended screenings for breeders
The Breed Club recommends three:

- Screening of hereditary eye diseases canines (retinal degeneration, retinal dysplasia and cataracts)
It must be done by a specialist veterinarian.

- Hip dysplasia
Hip dysplasia is a genetic disease transmitted to offspring. Source of more or less severe early destruction of the joint, the clinical manifestations can be very significant and debilitating. It is therefore essential that dogs intended for breeding be screened.
The club advises breeding only with dogsdogs rated A, B or C.

- Elbow dysplasia
Elbow dysplasia includes 4 types of problems that can exist in isolation, or be associated to varying degrees:
  • the non-union of the anconeus process
  • fragmentation of the medial coronoid process
  • osteochondrosis or osteochondritis dissecting of the medial humeral condyle
  • joint incongruence.
In the context of radiographic screening, we seek to highlight the presence (or absence) of these conditions, as well as the presence (or absence) of signs of osteoarthritis of the elbow, which are in almost all cases related to elbow dysplasia.
The reading of the snapshots makes it possible to define five stages:

Grade 0 = Normal elbow
SL-grade = Limit stage, almost normal but elbow with very slight defects.
Grade DC1 = Mild osteoarthritis.
Grade DC2 = Moderate osteoarthritis and moderate alteration of bone tissue.
Grade DC3 = Severe osteoarthritis and significant alteration of bone tissue.

In Germany, for example, it is strongly discouraged to breed dogs from Grade DC2, even unilateral.

Sterilization of the labrador
- There sterilization has become over the last 20 years a pcommon practice and highly recommended by veterinarians. It is unfortunately common to see as soon as the puppy is vaccinated at 3 months, veterinarians offer sterilization before the first heat for young females and sterilization of the male before puberty.

Sterilization should not be automatic!

Today it is recommended wait for growth to end, that puberty has passed and that hormones can allow normal development, in particular of organs such as the vulva which, if it is malformed, leads to vulvitis or chronic vaginitis but also of the skeleton. A causal link has been demonstrated on the increase in the percentage of dogs with elbow dysplasia for puppies sterilized too early.

It is therefore better wait for the 2nd or even the 3rd heat before considering sterilization of the female dog.

Moreover, the mental maturity of dogs go through steroid hormones. Early sterilization can therefore reduce the learning phases of the Labrador.

Sterilization can also result in:
a increased risk of obesity which is all the stronger for the Labrador,certain cancers, of the incontinence and orthopedic conditions.

Think carefully before making the decision!




The head of the femur should be

perfectly integrated into the pool


Attention, a puppy registered with the LOF does not guarantee that the breeders have been tested, these tests are unfortunately not compulsory!


If the X-rays of the breeders have been taken and read officially, their results are notified on the puppy's pedigree for each of the parents and you can now also consult the tests carried out on the breeders on the database of the canine central.https://www.centrale-canine.fr/lofselect

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