Your Trusted Expert in Breeding and Maintaining Healthy Airedale Terriers

What to Ask the Breeder if You are Considering Bringing an Airedale into Your Home:

Breed Health Certifications:

Responsible breeders go to great effort and expense to ensure that the puppies they produce are as healthy as possible. They know that the puppies they produce reflect back on them; their kennel’s reputation among their peers means more than the fast buck they can get selling puppies produced by cutting corners. Responsible breeders first and foremost love their breed and their goal is to improve the health of the breed through responsible decisions on who and how they breed. A large part of this effort is done by conducting health testing on potential breeding dogs and bitches and then using that information, along with considerations of conformation, temperament, genetic relatedness, and other factors in choosing the best matches for breeding. The following is a list of health testing that can or should be done in Airedales prior to making a breeding decision:

Breed Health Certifications:

• Hip and elbow dysplasia are orthopedic conditions that can be debilitating for dogs by making every step they take painful and difficult. The conditions are caused because the bones of the hip or elbow joints are not formed and seated appropriately. Eventually they wear away at the cartilage and bone will rub on bone, which is painful. Signs that a dog will eventually become dysplastic can be detected early in life through radiographs (x-rays). Two testing options exist for hip dysplasia for Airedales: Hip dysplasia OFA, and PennHIP, both of which are available by appointment at Kokopelli Veterinary Center. Elbow dysplasia OFA testing is also by radiographs and also available by appointment at Kokopelli Veterinary Center. Since the predilection for these conditions is genetic, breeding affected dogs together increases the risk that the resultant puppies will have bad hips or elbows, often necessitating expensive and difficult surgical corrections at some point in their lives. It is recommended that dogs with poor conformation not be bred and dogs with moderate changes be bred to dogs with excellent joints. OFA testing for hips and elbows can be done in dogs that are 24 months of age. PennHip can be performed in dogs as young as 16 weeks. Sedation is strongly recommended for all OFA testing and required for PennHIP. The Airedale Terrier Club of America (ATCA) strongly recommends all breeding dogs have hip clearances; elbow clearances are recommended, but optional. Please call our front desk to schedule an appointment.
• Cardiac OFA evaluation: This exam must be performed on dogs at least 12 months of age by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist. Auscultation (listening with a stethoscope) is performed first, and if this is normal then the exam can stop and is accepted as normal by the ATCA. If any abnormalities are heard, then a full exam must include ultrasound. Using doppler ultrasound, the cardiologist thoroughly evaluates the anatomy and function of the heart. Two basic tiers of heart disease clearance are evaluated: congenital and adult-onset diseases. Congenital disorders are present at birth and are detectable anytime the dog is examined. Once a dog has been cleared for congenital disorders, that clearance is good forever. The Airedale Terrier Club of America strongly recommends all breeding dogs have cardiac clearances. Cardiac OFA examinations are performed at Kokopelli Veterinary Center a few times every year. Please contact our front desk to make an appointment for your dog.
• Renal disease: Protein-losing nephropathy (PLN) is an inherited disorder of the kidneys affecting Airedale Terriers. The kidneys normally function to retain protein when filtering the blood. With PLN the kidneys malfunction and protein is lost in the urine. Affected dogs present in middle-age and lose weight, vomit, have diarrhea, and begin to drink excessively and urinate more than normal, including incontinence in the house. Edema (fluid) will accumulate in the abdomen and lungs. There is no good cure and affected dogs are usually euthanized within a few months of diagnosis. The test for PLN in Airedales is a DNA test looking for mutations in the KIRREL2 and NPHS1 genes. If a dog has two mutated copies of both genes, they are considered affected and are highly likely to develop PLN. Any other combination of mutations are considered carriers and presents an unknown risk of developing PLN. Breeders should NOT breed affected dogs and it is recommended that breeders only breed carrier dogs to clear dogs. We can help you submit and interpret tests for Airedale PLN at Kokopelli Veterinary Center.
• Companion Animal Eye Registry (CAER): Eye diseases are often progressive and some are not detectable until a dog ages. It is recommended that breeding dogs have annual CAER examinations, which must be performed by a board-certified ophthalmologist. Eye disease OFA clinics are held a few times a year at Kokopelli Veterinary Center. Please call our front desk to schedule your dogs for our next clinic.
• Progressive retinal atrophy, progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRA-prcd): This condition causes the degeneration of the rods and cones of the retina. Night blindness and loss of peripheral vision happens first, but the disease eventually progresses to full blindness in most cases. Onset is usually later in life, between 3 and 5 years of age. Because of the later onset, it is possible that untested parents with the genetic condition could be bred before they themselves show any signs of disease, and pass it on to puppies. Because of this potentiality, it is of paramount important that all dogs are tested prior to breeding. DNA tests for both types of PRA are available and are both autosomal recessive traits. This means that at least one parent must be clear of the mutated alleles in order for all puppies to be unaffected. In other words, it is OK if one parent is a carrier (has only one copy of a mutated allele), so long as the other parent is completely clear. If one parent is a carrier, then it is likely that some of the puppies will also be carriers. Single-allele carriers of autosomal recessive diseases do not exhibit signs of the disease, and this is the case with both early and late-onset PRA.
• Thyroid OFA: Hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland does not produce enough of the hormone thyroxine. This has negative effects on the metabolism and dogs tend to gain weight, even if food intake does not increase. They may also suffer from hair loss and skin conditions. The condition is easy to diagnose with a blood panel and is easily treated with thyroid supplements. The condition usually manifests later in life, but can start at any time. General recommendations are to test annually until 4 years of age, and then every 2 years after that. At Kokopelli Veterinary Center, for medical cases, we generally recommend screening for free T4 hormone first. If that is low, then we recommend a full thyroid panel sent to Michigan State University. For the thyroid OFA certification, a full panel must be submitted to MSU.