HEALTH & THE BEARDED COLLIE

Thankfully Beardies are a relatively healthy breed, with many Beardies living to 13 or 14 years of age and some considerably longer.  There is no evidence in the UK, at the moment, to suggest that Beardies are particularly prone to certain health problems but there are some health issues that can occur within the breed.

Good breeders will always do their utmost to ensure that they breed from healthy dogs – in this way giving puppies the best start in life, so do ensure that you always buy a puppy from a reputable breeder who should be able to answer any concerns you may have. 

The following information is for guidance:

Hip Dysplasia

Good breeders ensure that both parents of any prospective puppies have been hip scored before breeding from them. A hip score is a measure of evidence of hip dysplasia (abnormal development) and dogs with hip dysplasia can go onto develop arthritis and other problems with their hind legs at a young age. Hips are X-rayed once the dog is over 12 months of age and a score is assigned to each hip.  Scores for each hip are added together to get an overall hip score for a dog and range from 0 to 106 (a maximum of 53 for each hip), with the lower the score the better. The average for Bearded Collies is 11 – low compared to many other breeds, but without scoring breeders could breed from affected dogs and more Beardies could become affected by this potentially crippling condition.

Ideally breeders should use dogs with scores below the breed average but provided that the sum of the score for the sire and the score for the dam of the litter does not exceed two and a half times the breed average (i.e. 27), it is acceptable.

Unfortunately even when both parents have been scored there is no absolute guarantee that their offspring will not develop hip dysplasia, however breeding from parents with good scores significantly reduces the chances of this occurring and caring & responsible breeders will always score their dogs.

Eye Testing

Unlike some of the other Collie breeds Bearded Collies in the UK do not appear to be affected by inherited eye disease such as Collie Eye Anomaly or Progressive Retinal Atrophy. However inherited eye disease has been found in Beardies in other countries and so many breeders choose to eye test their dogs to err on the side of caution.

Eye tests should be repeated every few years to ensure that no inherited eye conditions have developed as the dog ages.

Auto-immune Disease

Auto-immune diseases such as Addisons disease, haemolytic anaemia & thrombocytopaenia can occur in Bearded Collies as in many other breeds. Such conditions can be serious and life threatening and usually present in young to middle aged dogs. It is difficult to say whether Beardies have a higher than average incidence of such auto-immune conditions, statistics are very hard to come by. These diseases are complex and it is thought that several genes, together with environmental influences, may determine whether or not a dog is affected by auto-immune disease. As yet there are no genetic tests available to determine susceptibility to these conditions and it is unlikely that a simple genetic test will ever be able to tell us unequivocally whether a dog will become affected. However breeders are trying to learn more about these diseases and are supporting research into identifying the genes concerned. Dogs affected by auto-immune disease should not be bred from.

If you are concerned about auto-immune disease or have a Beardie that has been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease the following maybe able to help:

Jo Tucker: Tel 020 8368 9148 e-mail: Jo Tucker

Jo set up CIMDA (Canine Immune Mediated Disease Awareness) for all those whose dogs (of any breed) that have been diagnosed with an Auto-immune condition. CIMDA offers help, advice & support for those owners and Jo is very knowledgeable. Jo is always willing to help and her expertise & guidance has helped to ensure a speedy diagnosis and correct treatment.

General

Betty Aughey MRCVS – Betty is the Breed Health Co-ordinator for Bearded Collies and is interested in documenting health concerns within the breed.

E mail: Betty Aughey

You can also go to the Kennel Club website and use the Dog Health Test Search facility. This tool will allow you to search for any health results for any dog which is registered on the Kennel Club’s Breed Register either by its registered name or registration number (or stud book number).

It will display any health screening results received and recorded by the Kennel Club from a British Veterinary Association/Kennel Club (BVA/KC) health scheme or an official Kennel Club DNA testing scheme (currently just Hip Scores are recorded for Bearded Collies).

The web link is: www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/health/search