Medical Problems with Labradors

All of the information listed on this website is entirely my own opinion
according to my own research.

Posting the information on this page is strictly in my own opinion to educate and inform the buyer of a new puppy of circumstances that can arise and questions that can be asked before making a valuable decision to include a new puppy in their home. I get a lot of questions in regards to the labrador breed, but I have to let everyone know that I am not a licensed veterinarian, so please discuss these issues over with your own licensed vet.

"MAJOR MEDICAL PROBLEMS" include hip & elbow dysplasia and eye disorders. You can have your dog certified clear of hip dysplasia by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). Eye disorders can be determined by having your vet examine your dog yearly. Progressive Retinal Atrophy, cataracts, and retinal dysplasia are eye disorders.

Hip dysplasia (HD) is common in many large breed dogs. Hip dysplasia (HD) can be caused by genetics, diet & over feeding, too much excercise, trauma and the environment in which you live.

After doing some research on the internet about HD, I believe that environmental & nutritional factors play a definite role in whether your dog can develop hip dysplasia. Just as in humans, accidents, weather, diet and excercise will all affect a dog's health and well-being. I have not been able to find any proof or documentation in regards to hip dysplasia being 100% genetic. In fact, what I have read seems to lean more towards diet, excercise, the environment the dog lives in and daily activities the dog is or is not involved in. There are many disagreements about this disease as to the cause and issues. Some say it is caused by normal wear and tear and break down of cartilidge, which then seems to me, to lean more towards age being a factor and a lifetime of issues leading up to the disease, including arthritis. However, with that said, some puppies have been diagnosed with HD and I am not sure if this is due to a lack of minerals, supplements or nutrients in the mother's diet to cause puppies to be born with HD or not. I would like to find a list of labradors diagnosed with HD to see the pedigree info so I can research this further but I would bet that breeders and owners would not give me full trustworthy details about the pups with HD, such as diet, vaccinations and excercise routines. Muscles also play a role. If your dog is overworked or underworked and lazy, it could affect it's health.

At this time I do not offer a hip/elbow guarantee on our puppies. You can view our hip x-rays on our dams page. Just as other breeders include, the stipulations below would need to be followed and documented in order to receive any hip/elbow guarantee. If you purchase one of our pups, you get a 72 hour health guarantee only. I feel it isn't fair to the buyer to expect a replacement puppy and possibly not get it if they are not able to meet the conditions listed below by most breeders in their hip/elbow guarantees. I also cannot control the environment in which the puppy is in once you leave my home with the puppy. I cannot monitor how you care for the pup as he/she grows, what you feed the pup, or how you excercise the pup. In addition, most breeders only give "replacement puppies" as a guarantee. Why would you want another puppy from the same breeder if you already got one that has hip dysplasia? Can you guarantee this new pup will not also have HD? Also, you cannot get OFA clearances on your puppy/dog until he/she is at least 24 months old to determine if the dog has HD. So this means you would not get a "replacement" puppy until your dog is 24 months of age. Would you be willing to give your HD dog back to the breeder as some breeders require this? Could you care for 2 dogs then? Could you emotionally, physically and financially care for an additional puppy in the house with a dog who has HD? An informed, educated puppy owner will be happier in the end knowing they asked all the questions they could before buying their puppy. And an informed breeder will give the new puppy owner all the necessary information they can to make an informed decision on purchasing a puppy.

So, why all the stipulations? Because these stipulations are what breeders believe are the best measures of caring for your dog and breeders have to protect themselves against scams too. Having two labradors myself, I can tell you that circumstances change, life changes and accidents happen and sometimes you cannot always provide for or protect your dog from life changes or accidents even though you try your very best and love them dearly. Jobs may be lost leaving you to not be able to afford to adequately care for your beloved dog or your dog may jump from the bed of a truck and injure himself in some way.

"Do OFA clearances guarantee a dog to be free of Hip Dysplasia?" This is a very common question I get asked. No, OFA clearances do not guarantee that the parents are genetic free of the disease. Buying a puppy from a breeder who's sire and dam has OFA clearances does not guarantee that the puppy you purchase will not have the disease or other health issues either. With this said, however, clearances are a good measurement of assuring that a breeder's dogs have sound hips and elbows. It is one more assuring step beyond an x-ray at that age. Here is a very valuable link on the internet about hips and hip x-rays: Leerburg. These x-rays are so informational.

Dogs that have OFA clearances done at 26 months of age does NOT guarantee that the SAME dog couldn't develop HD later in life. In my opinion, the best protection against HD would be to get regular yearly or bi-yearly x-rays (and yearly OFA submissions done on the yearly x-rays). This would then keep records current of healthy hips and elbows for dogs, but this would also get very costly for breeders causing the price of pups to rise dramatically. Here is what I mean... If I purchase a puppy that was conceived by a 4 year old dam and a 4 year old sire who had their x-rays and clearances done at 24 months of age, it is very much possible that the dam or sire could have contracted HD in that 2 year period since their OFA clearances were done. This is only a clearance for those specific dogs at the age of 24 months, not at the age of 4 years. Just as with people, dogs can develop arthritis and hips problems due to weather, diet, accidents, age and excercise too. Age is a factor as well. As time goes by, a dog's hips and elbows can become arthritic

I just don't want people to believe that clearances are guarantees of HD free puppies and dogs. I believe quality x-rays that show well positioned hips are at that time much better than getting certified clearances. Clearances are based on the x-rays and give you a rating of "how good" or "how bad" the hips are. The OFA uses a panel of board certified radiologists who grade the hips based on the x-rays taken at your veterinarian. These radiologists then assign a rating of excellent, good, fair, borderline, or mildly, moderately, or severely dysplastic. Ratings of excellent, good and fair are the only ones that are eligible for OFA certification. I don't yet understand why it is necessary to know "how good" or "how bad", just whether they are good or bad is important in my opinion because breeders only use dogs for breeding that have good or excellent hips, or at least they should be. Your veterinarian should have been educated to read and evaluate these x-rays and diagnose the results to let owners know if the joints look "good".....or not or they wouldn't be in this line of work. It is important for a DVM to be able to evaluate xrays in order to identify individual dogs that will be used as breeding stock or dogs with signs of HD. Because a DVM is not a board certified radiologist, he/she cannot "officially certify" a dog's joint status. What if surgery was necessary due to an accident to the hip by a car accident? Wouldn't it be your vet that has to do the surgery to repair the hip? Due to environmental factors, diet and excercise contributing to HD, it's not always possible for a dog owner to meet some or all of these conditiions that most breeders include in their guarantees for new puppy owners to meet before a replacement pup is given as a guarantee.

Before buying a puppy, ask the breeder if their clearances will assure you that your puppy will not get hip dysplasia. I would tell you no. Ask to see the sire & dam's most current x-rays and read the dates. Get all of the stipulations in writing. Ask the breeder to send the X-rays to your vet for approval.

Here is just one link (there are many pages) to the OFA's list of labradors with SEVERE hip dysplasia. Notice some very prominent kennels who have done OFA clearances on their dogs for generations and even still have HD within their pedigrees. In my opinion, there is no way to guarantee against a dog developing hip dysplasia. OFA certification of hip conformation is an "official" declaration by a panel of board certified radiologists that no evidence of hip dysplasia is seen on hip radiographs AT THE TIME AND DATE THE X-RAY WAS DONE ON YOUR DOG. OFFA REGISTERED SEVERE HIPS LABRADOR RETRIEVER.

With all this said, I am looking into sending the x-rays off to the OFA for a rating as an extra measure of assurance against HD. The OFA requires a dog to be microchipped or tattooed (a form of ID) before getting clearances. Microchipping does not settle well with me for various reasons so I have tattooed my dogs. I wouldn't feel comfortable with something under my skin, so why would my dog? This may be the reason for many dogs digging the chip out. There are many times when a chip can become lost in the pup/dog as well and unable to be found using a scanner because the chip has moved as the puppy grew or for some other reason. This probably results from a pup growing or the chip not being secure. This worries me.

I do offer a "72 hour health guarantee" (see below) on my puppies and my puppies get very thorough vet checks before going home with their new families. I do NOT administer shots to my puppies as I believe I am not educated enough to do so and this should be left to my licensed veterinarian who has the education. Some breeders choose to give their pups shots themselves in order to save money as the vaccinations and health checkups are expensive, but I appreciate my vet's expertise on giving vaccinations and bills of health. All of this information is entirely my own opinion according to my own research.

***In order to inform the buyer, here are some of the stipulations in most hip guarantees (so read these guarantees carefully, ask the breeder questions and get it all in writing):

• All costs and treatments are the sole responsibility of the buyer, including shipping the diseased dog back to breeder and including shipment of new pup to buyer.
• Some breeders won't even consider accepting x-rays prior to 2 years of age on hips or elbows even if you or your vet believe your puppy has HD at 6 months. First you are required to go thru costly x-rays and clearances at 24 months old before returning the pup for a replacement puppy. (This means 2 years of devotion and love before you can get your guarantee)
• Some breeders will require that hip dysplasia be SEVERELY DYSPLASTIC in order to get your guarantee. If it is considered a mild form, you will not get a replacement puppy.
• The puppy/dog must remain on NuVet Plus® for it's first 26 months of life.
• No over feeding
• Not over excercising
• No jogging the dog until after the pup/dog is 1 year old
• You must show proper receipts for purchasing an all natural food and showing proof of feeding your puppy this for the first 2 years of life
• If your x-rays by your vet are incorrectly performed on your dog, we will not honor any hip/elbow or health guarantee
• If your x-rays by your vet are incorrectly performed on your dog or the OFA doesn't accept the x-rays we will not honor any hip/elbow or health guarantee
• If you fail to provide all documetation as for hip & health records to the breeder within the time stated in the contract
• No breeding the pup/dog before the age of 2 years
• Allowing the puppy/dog to do an excessive amount of jumping up or down
• The puppy/dog is not owned by the original buyer
• The dog must not be over 24 (commonly 24-30 months) months old in age
• Hip evaluation must come from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and must show that the hips are moderately to severely dysplastic
• If you leave your dog outside too often (whose the one to determine this in order to be eligible for the guarantee?)
• The environment in which you live (some breeders told me that the weather is a reason for lameness in dogs, which I agree with, so they won't cover the guarantee if your dog has been left outside too often)
• Provide proof of caring for your dog exactly according to your breeder's guidelines stated in the contract
• The pup/dog must be permanently ID'd (Microchip/Tattoo) to verify it is breeder's pup.
• Provide a "second" set of x-rays to the breeder before replacement of pup, for the breeder to keep on file as proof of bad hips/elbows.
• Replacement puppy only, no funds returned to buyer.
• Some breeders require you to return your 1st puppy in order to get the replacement pup.
• Some breeders require you to pay shipping cost to send your 1st pup back to them and pay for new shipping charges to send your new replacement pup to you.
• When getting a puppy replacement or monetary refund "GUARANTEE" - You, the owner, are usually required to invest MORE money into a dog/puppy that your vet diagnoses to be dysplastic by getting additional x-rays and OFA submissions as well as nuetering/spaying the puppy before a year old. This requirement by most breeders does not guarantee you a dog of EQUAL VALUE because your financial investment in the puppy diagnosed with dysplasia does NOT raise the value of your puppy. It would lower it because of the disease. So, when getting a "replacement or monetary" refund for your puppy with dysplasia, you may want to be sure your replacement is of sincere "VALUE" to YOU, the buyer, after all the money you have spent on this puppy you have chosen in the first place. For examples of guarantees that have such stipulations, you can email me. You are the one who has to "INVEST" more money into the dysplastic dog, not the breeder, before getting your replacement or refund. Will the refund or replacement be worth it?
• Also be aware of scams where breeders offer a 100% health guarantee for the life of your dog and claim to be TOP BREEDERS or claim to do business for the top breeders in the country, but do not allow you to see the facilities in which they breed or do not allow you to see the dam and sire. You should always be offered the opportunity to see the sire and dam and get to know their temperament before choosing your pup. These scams may be ran by puppy mills where they are concerned more about money than the dogs & puppies being family and children socialized and loved. I personally would not purchase a puppy from someone that would not allow me to view the parents and possibly play with them for a while to get to know their temperaments and personalities.
• Breeders must also protect themselves from scams, so you may see more and more breeders not offering health clearances or guarantees.

These dogs love to jump, swim and run. These actions alone can cause problems with joints, tendons and muscles, just as it does in humans. Some studies showed that dogs who were overworked developed HD problems. With that said, a labrador can also develop hip problems if it does not get enough excercise daily and puts on too much weight. Laying around and lack of movement is not good for muscles or bones either. I've read about studies done on "house dogs" and "kenneled dogs" where the outcome was very different. Some studies showed proof that the kenneled dogs who had daily outside activities and room to run about as needed were better fit and had no HD problems. We can only do our best as new puppy owners to follow all the stipulations above to help our dogs live long, healthy, happy lives with proper nutrition, excercise and veterinary care.

If you fail to do any of the above you may void your HIP (and/or Health) guarantee for your puppy.

If hip dysplasia was 100% genetic, we wouldn't need these stipulations in the contracts because we wouldn't have breeders producing pups if their sires and dams carried the genes for HD. Every potential sire and dam to be bred would be tested (before breeding) to see if they were a carrier of the gene and if they were, then they wouldn't be bred. I do believe that getting clearances may reduce the risk of HD, but again, it is not a 100% guarantee that your puppy will not get or have HD.

Health Guarantee

We do offer a HEALTH Guarantee on all of our puppies.

(This online guarantee is only a sample that is designed for our website and may not be updated as frequently as the written guarantee we use. Should there be any differences between this online version of our guarantee and the actual written contract provided to puppy purchasers, the written and signed contract will prevail in all circumstances).

Your puppy is guaranteed to be in good health upon pickup, having all vaccinations and worming treatments as suggested by our veterinarian that are necessary for his/her age. Breeder agrees this dog is in good health at the time of purchase and will furnish buyer with the puppy’s immunization records by our veterinarian. Breeder agrees a licensed veterinarian examined the puppy prior to sale of puppy. Buyer agrees to have the puppy examined by a licensed veterinarian, within 72 hours of the effective date of this contract. The licensed veterinarian must check for congenital defects as well as the puppy’s overall health. A health certificate, on company letterhead that is signed by the licensed veterinarian is required and must be returned to the breeder within 7 days of purchase. Buyer shall assume full responsibility for the above described puppy during the 72 hour period from time of purchase. If the puppy is found to be unhealthy with a congenital defect during said 72 hours, then the buyer must return the puppy and all related health paperwork within 5 days of purchase, including the examining veterinarian’s written statement of diagnosis, including a detailed description of all symptoms supporting that diagnosis, results of any tests performed, and the reason why the vet feels the dog is a poor health risk, to Breeder for a replacement puppy of equal value. In addition, Breeder reserves the right to have puppy checked by a vet of Breeder's choice for a second opinion to any related argument of puppy's health and/or behavior. Furthermore, this health guarantee becomes null and void to the Buyer should the vet check be waived or not administered within the said 72 hour time or the paperwork not returned within the time specified in this contract. Breeder guarantees a replacement puppy upon availability. There will be NO refunds on purchase price, replacement of puppy only. Breeder and Buyer must agree upon replacement puppy as soon as such a puppy is available.

Buyer agrees they were informed and fully aware that the litter's parents have not yet had hips and elbows certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) nor had the eyes certified by the Canine Eye Research Foundation (CERF). Research has shown that hip dysplasia can be caused by genetics, environment, diet, over feeding, premature breeding and over exercising. Buyer agrees they have been given the opportunity to see both parents visibly before purchasing puppy.

Any and all health costs are the sole responsibility of the Buyer once the purchase is made.

Breeder recommends the following steps be taken for the health, training and safety of the said puppy/dog described herein:

• Properly maintain the health of the dog, for the life of the dog, which includes regular exercise & proper nutrition.
• To have the dog examined by a licensed veterinarian and to be annually vaccinated and maintained on a heartworm preventative.
• Provide a FENCED yard (underground fencing is sufficient), proper shelter, adequate feeding and exercise.
• The animal should be properly socialized to people outside the family, children, other dogs, strange places, sights and sounds, beginning immediately after vaccinations.
• Buyer (or anyone living in the same household with puppy) agrees to never neglect or abuse the puppy/dog at any time.
• Attend obedience classes with puppy and provide proper socialization opportunities for the puppy.

Furthermore, buyer assumes full liability for any damages or injuries, whether physical, mental, emotional or economic, caused by the Labrador retriever dog to any person or animal, or to any property, whether real or personal, after receiving possession of said puppy (dog).

Buyer agrees to notify Breeder if at any time in the future Buyer is unable or unwilling to keep this puppy/dog for any reason. Buyer agrees to first contact Breeder, who will either accept the dog on a return basis or assist the buyer in finding a suitable alternative home for the dog. This does not imply a financial commitment on the part of the breeder. Buyer agrees to first inform Breeder of any transfer in ownership of dog. Breeder does NOT guarantee reselling the dog.

Should the Buyer of the above described animal not meet the conditions described in this puppy sales contract/health guarantee, Buyer agrees to release and hold harmless Breeder for any and all liability in regards to any health and/or behavioral problems whether it be mental or physical with the puppy/dog.

A spay/neuter clause will accompany AKC Limited Registration.

I've removed our HEALTH GUARANTEE document due to other websites stealing my guarantee information. I can email you a copy if you are on our waiting list.

Our labradors' bloodlines stem from Bradking, Inselheim and Sandylands kennels. CH Hilltop Countryside Barn Burner and his father, ENG/AM CH Bradking Rangeways Mr Chips are just a couple.

*EXTENDED PEDIGREES*

Please keep in mind that all comments on this site are my own opinion and are based on my own experience with this breed of dog.