Keeva Bay Reg'd

Hip Dysplasia Both parents should be x-rayed at the age of 24 months to determine whether or not hips are free from dysplasia. Hip dysplasia is when the hip and joint is not formed perfectly. Dogs may experience mild to severe discomfort when moving. This is a terrible genetic disease because of the various degrees of arthritis (also called degenerative joint disease) There is no evidence of dysplasia in Faela’s parents.  All Keeva Bay dogs are xrayed at the age of 2 years and evaluated by the Orthopaedic Foundation for Animals.   Hips are graded as dysplastic, fair, good or excellent.   It should be noted that hips dysplasia can occur in offspring of parents who are totally clear of the disorder. It is infrequent, but possible. This condition is considered “complicated” and the best the breeder can do is provide evidence that it is not present in both the sire and the dam. For more information regarding hip and elbow dysplasia go to www.offa.org/hipgeninfo.html and www.offa.org/elbowgeninfo.html.

Autoimmune Thyroiditis: This is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in dogs.  The disease has variable onset, but tends to clinically manifest itself at 2 to 5 years of age.  Dogs may be clinically normal for years, only to become hypothyroid at a later date.  The marker for autoimmune thyroiditis, thyroglobulin autoantibody formation, usually occurs prior to the occurrence of clinical signs.  Therefore, periodic retesting is recommended.  More information can be found at www.offa.org/thygeninfo.html.  All Keeva Bay bitches are blood tested prior to every breeding to ensure blood chemistry is normal.

Elevated Alt Readings in Blood Chemistry: This is not an illness or a health issue in and of itself in the Dutch Sheep Dog, but is common in our breed.  It was discovered in the past when some dogs went in for routine spaying and neutering and can be indicative of liver problems.  These high readings prompted veterinarians to treat our dogs with medications and many dog owners were advised that their dogs were dying.  This was not the case.  A European study discovered that since the Dutch Sheep Dog have extraordinarily muscled thighs that the elevated readings were coming from those muscles since these have the same chemistries.  This high Alt reading is considered "breed specific" and should not be cause for alarm.