Curly-Coated Retriever: health-screening sources

Key facts

Statement dated

30 March 2019 [source]

DNA topics

GSD IIIa, cord1-PRA and EIC [source]

Elbows in this document

Optional [source]

Clinical assessments and the three genetic topics

The Curly-Coated Retriever Club of America’s statement, dated March 2019 and recording board approval in November 2018, recommends hip evaluation, cardiologist assessment and specialist eye examination. It identifies GSD IIIa, cord1-PRA and EIC as inherited conditions with DNA tests and labels elbow evaluation optional. The cardiac recommendation specifies a board-certified cardiologist and a relevant OFA cardiac database. The eye recommendation specifies an ophthalmologist and CAER recording. These details are more informative than a general claim that parents were checked by a veterinarian.

The EIC discussion is deliberately breed specific

CCRCA’s statement discusses how EIC genetic status and observed clinical expression relate within its breed, and explains its breeding-population priorities. That discussion should remain attributed to this dated club statement. It is not permission to provoke collapse, test an affected dog through strenuous exercise or assume that all genetically similar retrievers have identical outcomes. UC Davis identifies the DNM1 variant tested for EIC, while the club adds its own population-specific context. The safe information to preserve is the test’s identity, actual result and the club’s qualified explanation, with clinical interpretation left to the veterinarian.

The statement also identifies the limits of available screening

The club names concerns including epilepsy, craniomandibular osteopathy and immune-mediated disease for which its statement says screening tests were not available. It recommends discussing the health of relatives and previous offspring as well as the parents. This makes the source unusually useful for understanding what a completed screening list cannot answer. A normal hip report, clear named DNA results and specialist certificates still do not constitute a guarantee against every disease. Record the evidence actually supplied and its dates, and distinguish a direct genetic test from a claim based on tested ancestry when reviewing a litter’s documentation.

Common questions

Sources & further reading

References for this guide. Rules and services can change; check the responsible organisation for current details.

• Curly-Coated Retriever parent-club health statement (opens in a new tab)
• UC Davis VGL: EIC test scope (opens in a new tab)
• OFA: Companion Animal Eye Registry scope (opens in a new tab)

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