The Kennel Club has approved two new official DNA testing schemes - for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a heart condition that results in inefficient pumping of the blood, in Schnauzers, and for juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) in Rhodesian Ridgebacks, following consultation with the breeds’ health co-ordinators on behalf of the breed clubs.
To find out which laboratories the Kennel Club is able to record results from, and which labs will send results direct to the Kennel Club, please refer to our Breeds A to Z.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “These DNA tests will help to enable breeders of Schnauzers and Rhodesian Ridgebacks to eradicate these conditions in their respective breeds, so we would encourage anyone breeding, or thinking of breeding, to utilise the tests now available to protect and improve the health of these breeds.
“The Kennel Club constantly reviews DNA testing schemes in conjunction with breed clubs to ensure that breeders are supported with resources which help them to make responsible breeding decisions. This will also help puppy buyers to know which conditions affect their chosen breeds so that they can ask breeders about them when they are researching getting a dog.”
The Kennel Club works alongside breed clubs and breed health coordinators in a collaborative effort to improve the health of pedigree dogs and is happy to accommodate a club's request to add a new DNA test to its lists. A formal request from the breed's health coordinator or a majority request from the breed clubs is normally required to do this.
Test results will be added to the dog’s registration details which will trigger the publication of the result in the next available Breed Records Supplement. The result will appear on any new registration certificate issued for the dog and on the registration certificates of any future progeny of the dog, and also on the Health Test Results Finder on the Kennel Club website. Results for dogs already tested can also be recorded, but owners will need to submit copies of the DNA certificates themselves.
If the owner includes the original registration certificate for the dog (not a copy) then a new registration certificate will be issued, with the DNA result on it, free of charge. DNA test certificates should be sent to Health and Breeder Services, The Kennel Club, Clarges Street, London, W1J 8AB or scanned and emailed to us.
