Your Trusted Expert in Breeding and Maintaining Healthy Manchester Terriers

What to Ask the Breeder if You are Considering Bringing a Manchester Terrier 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 Manchester Terriers prior to making a breeding decision:

• 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. Thyroid clearances are required by the American Manchester Terrier Club (AMTC) for both Standard and Toy Manchester Terriers.
• Von Willebrand disease: An important clotting factor in dog blood is von Willebrand factor (vWf). A genetic mutation causes some dogs to have a reduced amount of vWf, causing a decrease in their blood’s ability to clot. Clinical signs include frequent bruising, nose bleeds, prolonged bleeding from minor injuries or during or after surgical procedures. The disease is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. This means that a dog must have two copies of the mutated gene to be affected and have the disease. Affected dogs should never be bred. The trait shows variable expressivity, which means that each individual has a variable degree of severity of the disease. Some affected dogs have only slightly slower clotting times and other affected dogs have trouble clotting at all. If a dog has only one copy of the mutated gene, it is considered a carrier only and will not express the disease. A carrier dog may still be bred, but only to a mate who is not a carrier, i.e., a dog that is clear of the affected gene. Genetic tests can easily be done at multiple veterinary genetics labs around the country. Von Willebrand clearances are required by the AMTC for both Standard and Toy Manchester Terriers. Clinicians at Kokopelli Veterinary Center can help you understand how to submit genetic samples and interpret results.
• Legg-Calve-Perthes OFA: This disease happens primarily in miniature and toy breeds, occurring usually between 4 and 12 months of age. The hip joint is a ball-and-socket joint. The “ball” is the top of the hindleg bone, called the femoral head. With LCP disease, there is an interruption of the blood supply to the femoral head, causing parts of the bone to die and fracture off. Blood supply is usually reestablished, but the remodeling of the bone is imperfect and further fractures and rough remodeling can occur. This process is painful to the dog while it is happening and results in a stiff, uncomfortable joint. While the mode of inheritance is not fully understood, it is clear that a genetic component exists and it is not recommended that affected dogs should breed. Evaluations for LCP are hip radiographs which can be taken on any dog over 12 months of age. The AMTC requires LCP clearances for Toy dogs and recommends LCP clearances for Standard dogs. Radiographs for OFA submission can be taken at Kokopelli Veterinary Center. Please call us to schedule a convenient time for you.
• Juvenile Dilated Cardiomyopathy (JDCM): The ventricles in the heart are heavily muscled and responsible for pumping blood out to the entire body. Dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy have progressive weakening of these strong heart muscles, eventually causing the ventricles the thin, enlarge, dilate, and lose their ability to deliver blood to the body, leading to heart failure and death. With JDCM, this occurs when the puppies are very young, between 2 weeks and 6 months of age, with an average life expectancy of 12 weeks. A genetic test exists at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Genetics Lab that requires submission of a cheek swab or blood sample. The disease is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. This means that a dog must have two copies of the mutated gene to be affected and have the disease. Affected dogs develop the disease and die as puppies. If a dog has only one copy of the mutated gene, it is considered a carrier only and will not express the disease. A carrier dog may still be bred, but only to a mate who is not a carrier, i.e., a dog that is clear of the affected gene. Breeding two carrier individuals will result in some affected puppies. The AMTC requires JDCM clearances for Toy dogs and recommends JDCM clearances for Standard dogs. Clinicians at Kokopelli Veterinary Center can help you understand how to submit genetic samples and interpret results.
• Xanthinuria, Type IIA: A mutation in a couple of enzymes in the body that help in metabolism causes the accumulation of a protein called xanthine in the urine. Xanthine will form crystals, and eventually stones, in the bladder and kidney. Affected dogs will urinate more frequently, often inappropriately in the house. They may have blood in the urine or may develop life-threatening urinary obstructions. Crystals in the kidneys can lead to kidney disease. A genetic test exists at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Genetics Lab that requires submission of a cheek swab or blood sample. The disease is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. This means that a dog must have two copies of the mutated gene to be affected and have the disease. Affected dogs develop the disease and often require intervention, including sometimes surgery to remove stones and strict dietary management. If a dog has only one copy of the mutated gene, it is considered a carrier only and will not express the disease. A carrier dog may still be bred, but only to a mate who is not a carrier, i.e., a dog that is clear of the affected gene. Breeding two carrier individuals will result in some affected puppies. The AMTC requires xanthinuria clearances for Toy dogs and recommends xanthinuria clearances for Standard dogs. Clinicians at Kokopelli Veterinary Center can help you understand how to submit genetic samples and interpret results.
• Cardiac OFA evaluation: This exam must be performed on dogs at least 12 months of age by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist. 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. Adult-onset disorders might not be obvious when examining younger dogs. As such, clearance for adult-onset conditions is only good for one year from the time of the exam. The AMTC requires cardiac clearances for Standard dogs and recommends cardiac clearances for Toy dogs. 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.
• 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. The AMTC requires eye clearances for Standard dogs and recommends eye clearances for Toy dogs. 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.
• Patella OFA: Medial patellar luxation is a condition more common in small breed dogs. The patella is the knee cap. Luxation means that it pops out of place. Medial means it pops out to the inside of the leg. The condition may be diagnosed by any veterinarian (no specialty certification required). The vet will examine the gait of the dog and palpate both hind legs, extending and bending the stifle (knee) joint, feeling for laxity in the joint. If any luxation is palpated, the severity is graded from 1 to 4. Grades 1 and 2 are less serious and may not show evident clinical signs until the dog is older and usually involves a skipping gait where the hind leg(s) are held up and touch the ground every few steps. Grades 3 and 4 are more serious and usually present with clinical signs at a younger age, which may include a crouching, bow-legged stance. Pain may be associated with the luxation, but not always. This condition is usually heritable and so breeding affected animals is discouraged. The AMTC recommends all breeding dogs have patella clearances. Patella OFAs are offered by Kokopelli Veterinary Center and only require an appointment at the client’s convenience. Dogs should be at least 12 months before being evaluated for OFA certification. Please call our front desk to make an appointment.
• Congenital Deafness OFA: Manchester Terriers (standards) are one of many breeds in which congenital deafness is a concern. Deafness is usually associated with the white color trait and, in Manchester Terriers, with the piebald gene. Heritable deafness almost always manifests in puppies; deafness that is acquired as an adult is rarely, if ever, genetic, but instead due to infections, injury, toxicity, or age-related dysfunction. While congenital deafness is known to be genetic, the specific genetic mode for inheritance has not been determined and a genetic test is not yet available. Deafness, both unilateral and bilateral, can be determined at 35 weeks of age using the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) test and is recommended for Manchester Terriers that are predominantly white and/or known to have deafness in their line. Affected dogs, even unilaterally deaf dogs, should not be bred and the breeding that produced the affected puppies should not be repeated. The AMTC recommends BAER clearances for Standard dogs. BAER testing can be performed by a board-certified veterinary neurologist, audiologist, or a veterinarian experienced with the technique.