# PRA Carrier and also hip questions



## Lovedogs (Mar 8, 2013)

Hi,
I was just looking at a planned breeding on a website for a reputable breeder and noticed that the intended sire's health history noted the following:

GENOTYPIC CARRIER FOR prcd-PRA

Is it considered acceptable practice to breed a PRA carrier? I noticed that the dam is free of any genetic health issues she was tested for so she is not a carrier.

Also, I have been wondering about OFA good vs excellent hips, having had a lab who suffered from dysplasia. I know "good" is considered an acceptable rating for breeding, but if I am really concerned about this issue, would it make a difference to look for "excellent" rated parents?

Thanks


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

Regarding prcd-PRA, is the sire that was found to be a carrier a standard poodle? If so that would be very surprising. prcd-PRA is common in toys and minis, but not in standards. (I see under "poodle type" that you are looking for a standard.)

As I understand it, prcd-PRA is caused by a recessive gene. That means that the puppies will not inherit the disease unless BOTH parents are carriers. If the dam tested clear for prcd-PRA, you should be OK. For more information, see the following pages:

http://www.vipoodle.org/PDF_Files/FactSheetRetinal.pdf
OptiGen - prcd-PRA Test - canine genetic testing

Regarding hips, approximately 12% of standard poodles that are tested by OFA have excellent OFA ratings. Hips are important, but lots of other things are important too. It would be extremely difficult to find a litter that had 2 excellent parents, and if you did find one, would the litter have everything else that you want? I would definitely accept a "good" rating, and depending on pedigree analysis, I might accept a "fair" rating.

Unlike prcd-PRA, inheritance of hip dysplasia is polygenic, meaning that more than one gene is involved. Polygenic conditions are much more difficult for breeders to control, and the breadth of the pedigree (brothers and sisters) should be considered as well as parent, grandparents, etc. Here's a very informative web page:

Polygenic Disease - Tufts Breeding & Genetics 2003

Hope this helps.


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## Lovedogs (Mar 8, 2013)

Thank you for such an informative response. Really helps! The sire in question is, I think, a moyen standard. So maybe has miniature lines in him.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

If he is a moyen standard and has a mini line, it sounds like the breeder is being careful testing for things in both standard and mini lines. Is he a moyen from a country that has medium poodles as an accepted size? How big is the sire? (just curious)


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## Lovedogs (Mar 8, 2013)

I am PM'ing you!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

ok.


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