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Health
and Genetics Standard Poodles are subject to
a number of various genetic disorders such as Hip Dysplasia, Bloat,
Sebaceous Adenitis, von Willebrand's Disease, Juvenal Retinal Disease,
Addison's and others. This is no different than any other breed
of dog. The Standard Poodle is no 'healthier' or 'sicker' than other
dogs. The information on this page is simply offered to educate owners
on resources available to them for the poodle breed. OFA: The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) contains an online searchable database of health tested dogs. The database is searchable by dog name, kennel name, breed, specific test, etc. Links to our dogs health testing pages on OFA can be found on each of their pages here on our site or you can put our dogs names into the OFA search engine to find their testing results. CHIC: The Canine Information Health Center (CHIC). Searchable by dog name, breed, etc. Their database is linked to the OFA Database listed above. The Poodle Club of America (PCA) as of 2004, has set the minimum genetic health testing standards for Poodles to achieve a CHIC rating. We hope to eventually have all our poodles have the elite CHIC rating to show our commitment to genetic health testing and responsible breeding. So far 3 of our poodles have earned the elite CHIC rating! *Note: a Standard Poodle can not achieve a CHIC rating until after the age of 2 years. Poodle Health Registry: Health database for Poodles. This database contains the records of registered poodles that have been confirmed to have a genetic health condition. We encourage people to support this effort by registering their poodles with PHR if diagnosed with a health issue, or to support the poodle cause by donating funds to keep the database online and functioning. This database is invaluable to the poodle community as a whole to help track and eventually eliminate some of these serious health conditions affecting our beloved Poodles. NOTE: The Poodle Health Registry is simply a TOOL for breeders and owners to use to help make educated decisions. Just because you see a pedigree with health issues in it on the PHR and another pedigree with NOTHING listed on the PHR... does not mean that 2nd pedigree is some how 'healthier' than the first. It probably simply means that one breeder CARES enough to register the health issues they have encountered and the other breeder does NOT (or doesn't even know the PHR exists...). There are no lines of poodles anywhere on this planet (let alone any line of DOGS) that are 'free' of health issues. Just as there are no families of HUMANS that are free of health issues! Does your Great Aunt Nellie have cancer? Did your Uncle Jim die of a heart attack? Do you have a 2nd cousin with Lupus? Dogs are NO different than humans. What ever you do, as a puppy buyer do NOT penalize a breeder by refusing to buy a dog from them BECAUSE they cared enough to register the issues they have encounted with the PHR. Instead you should be supporting those breeders who cared enough to make their problems public and take the heat from their peers for doing so. They are the ones that have truly shown that they care about the health of the breed.
In addition, as of mid-2005, we enrolled all WP's Poodles into the UC Davis Standard Poodle Addison's DNA Study. UC Davis has been hard at work for several years trying to find the DNA marker for the genes that cause Addison's Disease. Therefore, to assist UC Davis in their efforts, we have supplied them with DNA samples for all WP's Poodles and many of our extended relatives. If you'd like to help with this effort to find an answer for this disease, there are two ways you can help. The first way is to submit the DNA of your Standard Poodle to the UC Davis study. It's free, easy, and takes no more than 10 minutes of your time. UC Davis is looking for samples from ALL Standard Poodles. Your poodle does not have to have Addison's disease to take part in the study. They need non-Addison's samples to help them find the DNA differences between those affected and those that are not. The second way you can help is buy giving a donation to the Versatility in Poodles Addison's Fund. VIP has made a pledge to donate a large portion of funds to the Portegese Water Dog Addison's Disease study.
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