Philosophy on Health Guarantees

What are Health Guarantees?

 Breeders often provide health “guarantees” when they sell puppies.  Here are my opinions regarding supplying guarantees, and what we can guarantee and what we cannot.

Eyes

Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA) is the eye condition that is most likely to present in the Border Collie breed. Most, if not all of the experts in the breed would agree with that.  However, I have spoken with four different Board Certified Veterinary Ophthalmologists in the past decade who provide conflicting opinions about the other canine eye diseases with regards to their occurrence in the breed.   One stated that he had never seen Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) in a Border Collie.  Two said the incidence of PRA in Border Collies is very minimal, one of those made a distinction between “working line” Border Collies and “show” Border Collies; stating that he has not seen PRA in working lines, but has in the show lines.  One said that PRA is in many breeds, including Border Collies, although he did not offer any information on the rate of occurrence.  CERF (Canine Eye Registry Foundation at http://www.vmdb.org/cerf.html) compiles the data on eye conditions of examined dogs.  The Canine Inherited Disorders Database website states the Border Collie can be afflicted with Central PRA (CPRA), which is one of several progressive retinal diseases.  Here is a link to that source http://www.upei.ca/~cidd/Diseases/ocular%20disorders/Progressive%20Retinal%20Atrophy.htm.

Very interestingly, however, are the data presented by Gregory M. Acland B.V.Sc.,DACVO, MRCVS (Animal Health College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University) that CPRA has all but disappeared in dogs and the theory that supports the data best is that there is a nutritional basis for the CPRA diseased dogs.  Additionally, the article states that PRA is very rare, or perhaps non-existent in Border Collies based on a reevaluation of the dogs that were originally diagnosed with the disease.  This information can be found at: http://www.dogstuff.info/retinal_disorders_in_border_collies_acland.html

All quality Border Collie breeders have been testing the parents of their puppies and/or their puppies for CEA (a condition that will present in puppies at 6 weeks old, so that each puppy can be cleared by examination) prior to sale.  Since the disease can be detected in puppies, a breeder can have the puppy examined and determined clear by a Board Certified Veterinary Ophthalmologist and, in fact, guarantee that that puppy will not present with CEA for the rest of its life.  It is interesting to note that the USBCHA National Border Collie finals requires a dog to have a CERF exam prior to running in the National finals trial each year.  This practice may have lead to a reduction in the of incidence of CEA in working dogs.

There is now a genetic screening test for CEA (Opgitgen.com) that will not only determine whether the dog is affected with CEA, but will also determine whether a dog is a carrier of the condition.  Carriers are not affected, nor will they become affected in their lifetime.  However, a carrier will pass on to 50% of his offspring the affected gene.  A dog requires two genes (one from each parent) to be affected with the disease.  Dogs can be determined as clear, carriers or affected.  When making good breeding decisions using the genetic screening data, breeders should only mate dogs that will produce clear or carrier puppies (clear x clear or clear x carrier).   In those breedings, all puppies will be either clear or carriers and there would be no need to have each puppy CERF tested prior to sale if CEA were the only condition under scrutiny.  When the genetic data are not available on a sire or dam, then getting each puppy tested is warranted.

When individual puppy CERF testing or genetic screening data are available, then the breeder can GUARANTEE that the puppy is not and will not become affected with CEA.

PRA, however, is a progressive disease that often does not present itself until the dog is middle age.  So, to determine whether a dog has PRA or any other eye aliments that may be heritable, quality breeders will have the parents of their puppies examined.  A CERF eye test is a comprehensive examination of both the external and internal eye.  So, when a breeder “guarantees” eyes on the puppy, the CERF data on each parent (and preferably additional relatives) is required to truly provide such a guarantee, unless the guarantee specifically states CEA as the only eye ailment covered in the guarantee.  However, there really is no guarantee that a dog is free of a disease, like PRA, that may not manifest itself a year or more after the dog is bred and produces puppies.

The CERF paperwork that you receive when you purchase a DarnFar puppy includes information that the board certified veterinarian was able to provide at the time of the exam.  It will provide evidence that the puppy is not affected with CEA or eye conditions that are apparent at the time of the exam.  Other eye conditions that may present at a later date are not covered by the exam.  The CERF certification on the parents of the puppy you purchase provide evidence that, at the time of the exam, they had no known eye disease.  Since PRA is a progressive disease that presents later in life, and since there is no blood genetic test for PRA or CPRA in Border Collies at this time, it is impossible to guarantee that a puppy is free of late onset eye diseases.  Of course, if you accept some veterinary ophthalmologist's theories, the chances that a Border Collie will present with PRA or CPRA is rare to non-existent.

Elbows

Some breeds of dogs started to present with a condition called Elbow Dysplasia and so breeders began to have their dog’s radiographs reviewed by OFA for the disease.  However, the incidence of elbow dysplasia in Border Collies is quite low.  At the writing of this article (10/05) Border Collies were ranked 66^th of 73 breeds for incidence of the condition in the breed.  What that means is that it is quite uncommon compared to other breeds.  There were 741 dogs evaluated with a 98.8% “normal” rating for the breed.  Compared to the Rottweiler, which is rated as the 2^nd highest breed (Chow Chow is number one with 45.7% dysplastic), the Rottie has 8642 individual dogs reviewed and a 58.3% normal rating / 41.0% affected rating.  German Shepherds, with 21,380 dogs reviewed, sits 7^th on the list with 19.6% dysplastic elbows.  As a breeder, one can do every test available, but when the condition does not plague the breed, at some point, it seems senseless overkill and increases the price of producing a puppy with little added value.  There are several other genetic conditions that are screened in other breeds that I feel are not applicable to Border Collies.  This is a breeder's choice and a buyer's obligation to review.  Although I do not plan to "go back" and have elbow x-rays done on dogs in my breeding program that have already been radiographed for hip status, I have begun to add an elbow view on dogs that turn 24 months and are x-rayed for OFA hip status review.

Hips

The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA at www.offa.org) collects statistics for canine hip dysplasia (HD).  As of the printing of this article (10/05) Border Collies ranked as follows. 

The breed sits 76^th out of 137 reported breeds (1^st being worst).  6303 Border Collies have been reviewed that resulted in an 11.2% HD rate and an 11.5% Excellent rating (the ranking is a combination of % dysplastic and % Excellent).

Here is a compilation of a few of the breeds and their rankings:

Many breeders will offer a “hip guarantee” on a Border Collie puppy which specifies that the pup’s hips will be “good” until the pup is 24 or 25 months old (some breeders guarantee it beyond that time).  What this means is that a buyer can wait until the puppy is 24 months old, send a radiograph of the puppy’s hips to OFA and if they clear as “normal”, then they have met the guarantee.  If the puppy’s hips do not clear as Excellent, Good or Fair by the OFA (which are the three “normal hip conformation ratings”), then they do something to “make good” on the puppy. 

In the event of a puppy not passing an OFA evaluation for hip conformation, some breeders will refund some or all of the purchase price.  Some will exchange the puppy with another puppy from a future litter, the timing of which is sometimes specified, and other times not specified.  I have seen timelines of “within two years” and “next available” as descriptions of when the new puppy will be given to the buyer.  Not all breeders allow the “bum” puppy to remain with the buyer, instead demanding a return of the puppy prior to either money or a new puppy in exchange.   However, many breeders do allow the buyer to retain their first puppy so long as it is spayed or neutered. 

Some breeders have conditions under which the “guarantee” will not be met.  I have seen breeders specify that the puppy must be fed a “BARF or raw food” diet or define a specific brand of dog food or the hip guarantee won’t be honored.  Some breeders state that the dog must be provided specific vitamin or mineral supplements or the guarantee is voided.  Some require that the puppy’s exercise be limited (including no jumping or excessive running) until it is 12 to 18 months old or the guarantee won’t be honored.  They are all fairly difficult to document.

In essence, most of these arrangements are not a true guarantee, in my opinion, that the puppy one purchases has “good” hips.  To me, it is more like a warrantee that recognizes a defective puppy could be produced but a replacement of some sort will be offered.   That, of course, assumes the buyer wants another puppy from the same breeder!

 Using the word “guarantee” suggests that there is significant assurance of an outcome or condition regarding the quality or durability of a product or service.

The problem I have with a “hip guarantee” in working Border Collies is that I cannot guarantee the condition of any one puppy’s hip conformation because I do not have sufficient data to do so.  Unlike many breeders, however, I do not place responsibility for the final hip outcome on the puppy buyer (and demand they feed a special food to maintain the guarantee).  I agree with the OFA that canine hip dysplasia is a heritable condition.  So, nutritional intervention probably won’t change the puppy’s hip conformation status.  I feel that exercise should be limited in puppies for complete skeletal growth concerns, not to alter the outcome of a hip radiograph.   Excessive exercise can have a negative impact on any joint if it is overused when the pup’s growth plates have not, yet, fused.  But, it won’t cause canine HD in a dog that inherited the condition.  The genes do that.  However, there are a few experts that suggest trauma at or around birth which causes the puppy's hips to be shifted in the socket, may, in fact, be partially to blame for the development of HD - and genetics does not play a role in those cases.  This is true in human infants, as well.

Unfortunately, working Border Collie lines often do not come with generations of hip clearance data.  Although I am not certain why, many Border Collie breeders both in the USA and abroad have not placed a huge emphasis on examining hip conformation and selecting against the condition by eliminating individuals with canine HD from the breeding pool.   In contrast, one can identify hip clearance data back several decades in the working bred German Shepherd Dogs.  Although not as comprehensive as the GSD, one can find pedigrees of other breeds that contain many (and sometimes most) relatives to have hip clearances back a few decades.  In working Border Collie pedigrees, one is lucky to find parents and perhaps one or two grandparents with hip clearances.  Curiously, some breeders of working Border Collies that once did radiograph their breeding stock have begun to abandon the process, stating that they no longer "believe in" the practice because the incidence of HD has not changed.

Because canine HD is not fully understood and because it is a polygenic condition (meaning more than one gene controls the presentation of the disease), even in pedigrees that contain a few generations of dogs with “normal” hip conformation, puppies can present with the disease.  However, with a breed like the working Border Collie, where only a few dogs in a pedigree may have been examined, it’s a significantly higher risk venture.  For that reason, I do not feel that I can provide a guarantee against hip dysplasia in my puppies.  When someone reads that a puppy is “guaranteed”, then there is an assumption that the puppy will not present with the conditions described in the guarantee.  I find it deceptive to provide a “guarantee” on any genetically controlled conditions for which I do not have data that support the guarantee. 

When I sell a puppy out of DNA tested CEA/CH clear parents (or a clear x carrier cross) and I include a clear CERF eye exam on the puppy, the buyer can be assured that the puppy does not, and never will be affected with CEA so long as we can trust the DNA Testing lab and/or the board certified veterinarian we use to provide the CERF results.  But, since my Border Collies come from working lines that do not have hip screen data in prior generations (in fact, for most of my dogs, I am the first person to get OFA certifications on the dogs), I cannot guarantee that a puppy will be clear of canine HD.  I feel it is better to explain that to puppy buyers so that they can make an informed decision and recognize the risk rather than provide a guarantee that I cannot control.

The parents of puppies that I breed have been reviewed and certified as “normal” by the OFA.  In time, if I breed puppies that I have bred myself (from OFA clear parents), I will be able to claim two generations of OFA certification.  But, one can go to the OFA website database and find Border Collies that have OFA Excellent and/or OFA Good parents, siblings and half siblings (sometimes ten or more) that have all been certified as “normal” (Good, Fair or Excellent) and discover a dog that has been determined to have canine HD. 

Here are some examples: 

http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1178325#animal

http://www.offa.org/display.html?appnum=1119042#animal

In these examples, the first dog has an OFA Good sire and dam, two OFA Good full siblings, 27 half siblings (sire), and three half siblings (dam) all with OFA “normal” hips, yet the dog was determined to have moderate HD, and he has one half sibling (listed next) with mild HD.   The second dog has OFA Good sire and OFA Excellent dam, one full sibling with OFA Excellent hips, 28 half siblings (sire) that were OFA “normal”, and three half siblings (dam) with “normal” hips, and the half sibling listed above with moderate HD.

This line of dogs, by the way, has many imported “Show line” Border Collies, many of which probably have hip clearances in their foreign pedigrees that would not show up in the OFA database. 

When one considers that canine HD can crop up in a line of dogs that has so much evidence of individuals that are rated as “normal” by the OFA, the risk may be much higher of producing a puppy with HD in a line where only the parents (and maybe one or two other relatives) have been cleared.  For that reason, I do not “guarantee” my puppies won’t develop canine HD because, truly, it’s impossible for me to make that claim.  I do not know why breeders of working Border Collies actually make the claim when they do not even have OFA clearances on their dogs.  However, I see it all the time.  I prefer to be forthright with the information and allow a buyer to make an informed decision rather than deceive someone into thinking that there is not risk at all that their puppy could develop canine HD.

In fact, the concept of “guaranteeing” a living animal is somewhat confusing, since each animal is so unique and the  nurturing, maintenance and training that a buyer provides the puppy can and does affect the overall health and condition of the animal.  Many diseases are described to have a predisposition to stress, for example.  A puppy that is provided a low stress lifestyle may actually escape its genetic potential to develop a variety of diseases that its sibling, raised in a stressful realm, may not be able to avoid.  This is true in humans, as well as dogs.  However, diseases with genetic markers or those that can be 100% ruled out by a specialist are easy to guarantee against.  That is why I provide a CERF eye exam with each puppy directly from the ophthalmologist.  But, for conditions like canine HD (which are polygenic and not well understood) a guarantee is, in my opinion, deceptive or misleading.

At first glance it may appear that I am not providing the same level of support to a puppy buyer that many other breeders do.  But, in the long run, a guarantee that doesn’t truly guarantee anything, doesn’t provide any assurance, often leads the buyer to a greater heartbreak if or when the puppy presents with a disease.   I feel that a buyer that has made an educated and informed purchase decision will be happier in the end.  If a puppy doesn’t pass an OFA screen at 24 months, getting money back isn’t going to fix anything, getting a new puppy may be a poor option for families that have limited space or who simply always wanted just one dog, and perhaps the buyer would not want a puppy from the same breeder at that time.  And, for some, the thought of giving back their devoted companion and best friend to gain access to the “reimbursement” isn’t an option, nor should it be. 

So, with conditions that one cannot truly guarantee, I feel it is best to provide all of the data I can offer with regards to the parents of the puppies (including the fact that a sire or dam of a litter also has a sibling with OFA cleared hip, for example).  Then, the buyer can decide for herself whether she wants to take the risk and purchase a puppy from me.

It’s important to remember that a puppy is not just its hip and eye clearances.  A puppy is a combination of its parents’ pedigrees that includes temperament, working ability and overall structure.  It is also a result of early upbringing and socialization.  Nature and nurture play a role in the dog that you will call your own.  Quality breeders do what they can to control for natural (genetic) contributions to the dog’s overall health and well being.  Quality breeders also spend dozens of hours with every litter making certain that they are highly socialized and prepared for their lives with their new families.  And, quality breeders know each puppy well enough to help place each puppy with the right individual or family.  There after, the nurturing that is offered by the puppy buyers will continue to influence the puppy’s personality and comfort in its new home and in society.