, NIf you’re looking at getting a Golden puppy you need to be aware of the possible health problems they can develop. Also, you should know when you’re “shopping” for a pup that you are comparing apples to apples among breeders. I’ve tried to make this an easy to understand non drowsy explanation but it is long!! You will get much better bang for your buck if you are know what to look for and why in your Golden puppy.
Best place to start is with what you commonly see in “puppy for sale” advertisements. What is all the acronyms…AKC, UKC, OFA, GRCA etc and more importantly why you should care about it!!!
AKC is the American Kennel Club. AKC registers purebred dogs and tracks lineage (pedigrees). When a litter is born the breeder sends paperwork in to register the pups. Each pup has its own registration number. When a puppy is “AKC registerable” it means it has an application that can be completed by the new owner and AKC registered dogs can compete in AKC events. Although its not an absolute guarantee that your pup is purebred it’s more likely. AKC leaves it to parent breed clubs to set guidelines for health screening for specific breeds. AKC events are hunt tests, agility, conformation, etc. Dogs can earn “titles” in these events and upon completion of certain levels is when you will see the abbreviations used before and/or after a dogs registered name. For example our Violet has earned a Junior Hunt title so she has the honorifics JH behind her registered name. A puppy being sold on “limited” registration means no breeding rights. A breeder that “lost AKC papers” or claims adults are AKC registered but pups are not register-able is a red flag. In that scenario its very likely the “breeder” did not have breeding rights to the dog and was not supposed to breed it or there’s the possibility the pups are not purebred as advertised. A lot of breeders have strict contracts regarding breeding rights and might not give you AKC papers until proof of spay/neuter. “Full” Registration means you will have breeding rights but again a lot of breeders will have a contract outlining stipulations for that. We want to encourage responsible breeding and genetic diversity within the breed so our contract does allow for full registration if your pup is clear for the required health clearances.
The United Kennel Club (UKC) and Continental Kennel Club (CKC) are also dog registries and they have their own events and titles. Each club has its own set of “rules” on what dogs can be registered and how they can earn titles. So if “championship” or “hunt title” bloodlines are important to you than do the research to see exactly what title was given by whom and how it is earned.
GRCA is Golden Retriever Club of America. They promote themselves as the primary guardian of Golden Retrievers, part of their statement reads “our responsibility is to promote the temperament, appearance, soundness natural retrieving and hunting abilities of the Golden Retriever. Our members are dedicated to the responsible breeding and ownership of the Golden Retriever”. They also have their own events that Goldens can compete and earn titles, awards and distinctions in. We are a member of GRCA !
OFA is Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. They are a database of health screening tests for all breeds. They also evaluate x-rays for hips, elbows, patellas and other diseases. They will register genetic test results, eye and cardiac exams too (among other things). OFA’s website could be one stop shopping to check the parents health screening results. However, not all breeders register every test with OFA’s database so they might have a more current cardiac or eye exam but it might not be on OFA’s site. If you cannot find the information on OFA then ask the breeder for the documents. Breeders that are members of the GRCA are required to register their health screening information with OFA.
So with that said, GRCA has set guidelines for responsible breeders to have health screenings done on the parents of a litter for:
Hips
Elbows
Eyes
Heart
Other tests available:
Thyroid screen
Genetic testing – PRA/PRCD, GRPRA1, GRPRA2, degenerative myelopathy, ichthyosis, sensory ataxic neuropathy, NCL.
Genetic diversity test
So your “puppy for sale” ad lists the health clearances have been done on the parents but you need to do the legwork and check out what clearances were done, the results and check if tests are current. I cant stress this enough!! Start with going to OFA website and you can search for clearances by the parent's registration number or registered name. If that dog does not have a number under the particular health screen it either has not had it done or if it was done it did not have a normal/clear result so an OFA number was not issued. Any health screens submitted that are clear/normal will be posted publicly. Owners can choose NOT to have abnormal health screens posted publicly. Some do choose to post abnormal results and you will see the result instead of an OFA number. For example for eye clearance it might read "ineligible abnormal" with the disease.
OFA Elbows - At 24 months of age a dog can have elbows evaluated and be given an OFA registration number. Dogs under 2 years can have a preliminary evaluation but will not get an OFA number.. Preliminary evaluations are often used as an early assessment of potential breeding stock but they should be reevaluated when the dog reaches 2 years of age or older. The accuracy of prelim elbows vs adult elbows has not been researched like it has in hips. Normal elbows are listed as “Normal”. Abnormal elbows will have a Grade 1-3 depending upon severity. This is considered permanent registration and is usually done once.
OFA Hips - At 24 months of age a dog can have hips evaluated and be given an OFA registration number. Dogs under 2 years can have a preliminary evaluation but will not get an OFA number. Hip ratings that are excellent, good, fair are within normal limits. Borderline, mild dysplasia, moderate dysplasia and severe hip dysplasia are not normal. This is usually considered permanent registration and is usually done once. Pennhip is also used to evaluate and some breeders will have those results put into OFA’s database. Dogs with abnormal hip ratings should not be used for breeding. More info on Pennhip HERE
OFA Eyes – Normal eyes will be listed as “Normal”. There are 10 disorders that prevent a dog from getting an eye certification number. That means those disorders have a significant effect on vision and or likelihood of it being hereditary. A lot of dogs will have a “breeders option code” listed with the particular issue. What this means is that dog has something abnormal but it does not represent potential compromise of vision or other ocular function. It doesn’t mean this dog shouldn’t be bred just that the breeder should be aware and use caution in picking out a mate (don’t breed with a dog with the same issue or history of it). There are lots of breeder option codes, OFA has a listing of those HERE.
OFA Heart – OFA has 2 cardiac databases. One is the Congenital database which is for defects present at birth, a registry number is given to dogs with Normal results when they are at least 12 months old. The congenital clearance is considered permanent. The other database is Advanced Cardiac and is adult onset, these clearances are valid for 1 year from exam date and can only be performed by a veterinary cardiologist. GRCA recommends exam by cardiologist. Results will be listed as normal if normal.
OFA Thyroid – To get clearance for thyroid a blood sample is sent to an OFA approved laboratory where they test for hormones and antibodies. They will issue an OFA number to dogs with normal results at 12 months of age then its recommended to test again at 2, 3, 4, 6 & 8 years of age.
Genetic Testing – Results from genetic testing for tests such as PRCA/PRCD and Itchythosis can be sent to OFA and entered into the database. Normal results are listed as Normal or Clear for most these tests. These tests are done once. More about these tests below!
Genetic Diversity Test – Done by UC Davis and other laboratories like Wisdom Panel-Optimal Selection, there's no database for genetic diversity with OFA. The best explanation of what this is about and how its a valuable tool for breeders is found at US Davis Genetics Laboratory site and Optimal Selection's web site. We hope more breeders will opt do this test and use it along with health clearances to select better breeding pairs and improve the diversity and health of Golden Retrievers. Our results for Etta can be viewed HERE and for Violet HERE There are other laboratories that do diversity testing as well like Wisdom Health's Optimal Selection.
Whoa nelly, lots of potential problems?? Every breed of dog is going to have health problems there’s just no way around that. A common misconception is that mixed breeds or so called designer breeds (ie. Labradoodle, cavapoo, etc) are healthier and have less issues, they are not! No matter what breed you’re looking at there are health concerns that are associated with them. Golden Retrievers are no exception so be aware but don’t be discouraged from getting a Golden. Despite these issues they are still a wonderful breed.
It helps to understand that all Goldens come from the same founding dogs (like most purebred dogs). Every Golden can be traced back to the original 4 dogs used to create the breed. When we breed for specific qualities like hair coat & color and things like retrieve ability we end up shrinking the genetic pool. Dogs that don’t have the desirable characteristics get removed from the breeding pool but sometimes that means also removing other characteristics that are desirable that we might not necessarily see. A dog that has a beautiful coat color might also be a dog that carries a gene mutation for an eye disorder while the other dog with the less desirable coat color does not. Genetic diversity and heritable diseases are related. Line breeding, inbreeding and use of popular studs adds to the problems of low genetic diversity. The UC Davis Diversity test or Optimal Selection/Genoscoper is great information to have on parents and is more accurate and detailed but if thats not available you can look to the site K9data.com. This site is a database of pedigrees and a lot of Golden breeders use it. It is based on the honor system that what they are putting in is correct. When you search for a dog and find its pedigree page, at the bottom you will see additional viewing options. When you click on the "view genetic information" you will get a COI number. This database calculates a COI number (coefficient of inbreeding) based on the pedigree provided. This number can give you an idea of how inbred that dog is however there are limitations to how accurate this number is (a dog with a limited pedigree of only a few generations will likely have a lower number and they only go back to the year 2000). Some breeders will enter a test breeding when they have a litter and you will be able to check that COI for the puppy which could be far different than the parents alone depending on their combined pedigree. There is a good article explaining COI HERE. A higher COI number does not mean that your puppy (or parent dogs) are destined to have problems, its about increased risk.
While many good breeders will try to breed with and for healthy Golden Retrievers the odds of them producing one with some sort of problem is unfortunately still high. No breeder can promise their pups will be perfectly healthy their entire lives. The best option for breeders and prospective buyers is to look at both the genetic diversity of the parents AND their health clearances (of siblings and any off springs if possible too). Unfortunately, because of the lack of known genetic markers and limitations on health testing that’s not to say that breeding 2 dogs cleared by OFA with "Good" rated hips won’t ever produce a dog with hip dysplasia. However, breeding two dog with bad hips is more likely to produce a dog with bad hips. Same with Elbows and so on.
So, the most common health problems associated with Golden Retrievers:
Cancer -Hemangiosarcoma followed by lymphosarcoma, mast cell tumor and osteosarcoma is the cause of death for 61.4% of goldens in study done by the Golden Retriever Club of America in 1998. Cancer deaths in both sexes occurred beginning at 3 years of age. The highest proportion of cancer deaths were in 8-12.9 year old Goldens. Link to GRCA Study HERE. This study is a great read!! Goldens have a much higher rate of cancer compared to other breeds. There is a study currently underway (Morris Animal Foundation) to hopefully identify potentially modifiable risk factors that may account for the high incidence of cancer and other diseases.
Hip & Elbow dysplasia -Dysplasia is abnormal development of the joint. Hip & Elbow dysplasia in dogs is a polygenic, multifactorial disease meaning many genes are thought to play a role in its development along with significant influences from environmental factors. OFA clearance is used to evaluate dogs for hip/elbow dysplasia. This is a Phenotype evaluation, meaning we are looking at the physical characteristic not the genetic mutations that cause it. There aren’t any genetic markers associated with dysplasia so while parent dogs may have good rated hips or elbows that doesn’t mean they wont pass genes to produce a pup with bad hips or elbows. The GRCA study also found a “significant association between being overweight as either a puppy or an adult, and the occurrence of any musculoskeletal condition. being overweight is a risk factor for musculoskeletal disease and being overweight as a puppy has a stronger effect than being overweight as an adult. Findings strongly suggest that keeping a puppy from becoming overweight will result in a significant reduction in the incidence and or severity of musculoskeletal disease in general and hip dysplasia specifically, as an adult. This is a particularly important finding in larger breeds that have a high risk of these conditions”
We find it best to treat your Golden like it is prone to developing elbow & hip dysplasia. Having a fat rolly polly puppy might seem cute but is likely to be extremely detrimental to its health. We strongly advise against repetitive hard exercise with your growing puppy (such as running on pavement, repetitive retrieving with balls or frisbees, etc). Dysplasia can be mild to severe. Although in most cases its not life threatening it can be severely debilitating. Medications and supplements can be used for pain/arthritis management, they are usually given constantly, lifelong and can be costly. There are specialized surgeries that can be performed like total hip replacement or correction/alternation of the elbow joint.
Eye Diseases
PRA/PRCD - PRA refers to a group of diseases that causes cells in the retina of the eye to degenerate (die) slowly over time. The result is declining vision and eventual blindness. PRCD (Progressive Retinal Atrophy/Progressive rod cone Degeneration) is a form of PRA. There are 2 types of cells in the retina that take light into the eyes and send it back to the brain as electrical impulses. The “rod” cells operate in low light levels and are the first to lose normal function with PRCD causing night blindness. Then the “cone” cells gradually lose their normal function in full light situations. Most affected dogs will eventually be blind.
The mutations GR_PRA1 and GR_PRA2 cause Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) in the Golden Retriever
Genetic testing enables breeders identify nearly all causes of PRA in the breed. However, there are still a few cases of PRA in the golden retriever that are caused by mutations that have yet to be identified. So testing is very helpful but not the end all of the problem. PRA/PRCD is inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder so a dog must have 2 copies of the mutated gene to be affected by PRA. Dogs with 1 copy are known as carriers meaning they can pass the mutation to their offspring. Carriers should not be bred with other carriers or with affected dogs.
Pigmentary Uveitis – inflammation of the uveal tract, which includes the iris. Its chronic and can result in vision loss. Its believed to be inherited. It doesn’t tend to show up until the age of 8 so the difficulty in this disease is that its found after the prime breeding years (after a dog has produced offspring). So the best practice is for breeders and pet owners to have their Goldens eyes checked by certified ophthalmologist yearly. Early detection and early treatment has the best outcome. There’s no genetic test available for this condition yet.
Heart Diseases
Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis (SAS) Symptoms of SAS, when they occur, include difficulty breathing, weakness, fainting, and in extreme cases, sudden death. An inherited disease, characterized by a narrowing (stenosis) caused by a ridge or ring of abnormal tissue growth that inhibits blood flow from the heart to the aorta. The narrowing is classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Prospective breeding dogs should be examined over the age of 12 months by a board certified veterinary cardiologist. Researchers are making progress in finding the genetic marker for this disease and hopefully will have a genetic test available someday.
Dialated Cardiomyelopathy (DCM) FDA recently issued an alert about (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods. Researchers are investigating the possible connection between pet foods containing legumes such as peas, lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes as primary ingredients and the occurrence of DCM. High levels of legumes or potatoes appear to be more common in diets labeled as “grain-free,” but may also appear as main ingredients in foods that are not grain-free. Many of the reports of DCM involved Golden Retrievers and some research is leading to believe golden retrievers are more sensitive to taurine deficiency (taurine deficiency being a documented cause of DCM) but other factors are still being investigated. So it might be best to avoid feeding your Golden foods with peas, lentils, potatoes, etc as main ingredients until more research has been done.
Hypothyroidism- Low thyroid hormone which can affect metabolism and temperature control among other things. Not all cases are genetic. Treatment is usually daily supplementation with synthetic thyroid hormone and routine monitoring through blood tests.
Chronic Allergies (Atopic Dermatitis) - Dogs can become allergic to pollens, molds, trees, spores, dust mites and more. Their allergies can be seasonal or year round. Dogs with allergies are usually very itchy, they might lick or chew at their feet or other areas of their body. The itching and scratching or rubbing tends to damage the skin and can lead to infections. Secondary skin infections can be much worse than just the allergies. Allergies can be difficult to control and manage. Medications are used in most dogs and are usually required constantly and lifelong. Goldens are predisposed (meaning they have an increased likelihood of developing this because of their genetic makeup) and its considered a polygenetic condition so multiple genes contribute to produce an affected dog
Ichythyosis- As described by Paw Print Genetics is “an inherited condition of the skin affecting golden retrievers. The age of onset and severity of disease are highly variable, however most affected dogs present before one year of age with flaky skin and dull hair. Over time the skin develops a grayish color and appears thick and scaly, especially over the abdomen. The symptoms may progress to severe scaling all over the body, may improve with age, or may come and go over the dog’s lifetime. While the prognosis is generally good for affected dogs, they are at increased risk for skin infections”. Again with this disorder, 2 copies of the gene are needed to be affected so carriers (who have 1 copy of the gene) shouldn’t be bred with other carriers or affected dogs.
With these problems responsible breeders screen breeding dogs so they have more control over the outcome of health of the offspring. Dogs that are "carriers" for conditions like Itchythyosis don't necessarily need to be removed from the gene pool if they are great dogs, they need to be bred to "clear" dogs.
Health screening will not eliminate all problems but it will lower the risk. Buying a puppy from parents with zero health clearances does not mean its guaranteed to have a problem but it increases the risk! Buying a puppy from a dog with a known issue could increase the risk of the offspring being affected but breeders have to be careful about what traits and genes they remove from the already shallow gene pool. Beware that some breeders are selling their pups with no clearances done on parents for just as much as breeders that do have those health screens done. Not all breeders are equal, some only do hip clearances some do everything. Some breeders will showcase their dogs “champion” pedigree but that dog has never competed or gained any titles itself. Being a responsible breeder costs money and time. Health screens are expensive and ongoing, registering with OFA costs money, registering litters costs money, entering events like hunt tests cost money, training for those events often involves a trainer or handler and that costs money, club membership is an expense, the list goes on and on before pups are even born. Do your homework and you will get the most bang for your buck.
Best place to start is with what you commonly see in “puppy for sale” advertisements. What is all the acronyms…AKC, UKC, OFA, GRCA etc and more importantly why you should care about it!!!
AKC is the American Kennel Club. AKC registers purebred dogs and tracks lineage (pedigrees). When a litter is born the breeder sends paperwork in to register the pups. Each pup has its own registration number. When a puppy is “AKC registerable” it means it has an application that can be completed by the new owner and AKC registered dogs can compete in AKC events. Although its not an absolute guarantee that your pup is purebred it’s more likely. AKC leaves it to parent breed clubs to set guidelines for health screening for specific breeds. AKC events are hunt tests, agility, conformation, etc. Dogs can earn “titles” in these events and upon completion of certain levels is when you will see the abbreviations used before and/or after a dogs registered name. For example our Violet has earned a Junior Hunt title so she has the honorifics JH behind her registered name. A puppy being sold on “limited” registration means no breeding rights. A breeder that “lost AKC papers” or claims adults are AKC registered but pups are not register-able is a red flag. In that scenario its very likely the “breeder” did not have breeding rights to the dog and was not supposed to breed it or there’s the possibility the pups are not purebred as advertised. A lot of breeders have strict contracts regarding breeding rights and might not give you AKC papers until proof of spay/neuter. “Full” Registration means you will have breeding rights but again a lot of breeders will have a contract outlining stipulations for that. We want to encourage responsible breeding and genetic diversity within the breed so our contract does allow for full registration if your pup is clear for the required health clearances.
The United Kennel Club (UKC) and Continental Kennel Club (CKC) are also dog registries and they have their own events and titles. Each club has its own set of “rules” on what dogs can be registered and how they can earn titles. So if “championship” or “hunt title” bloodlines are important to you than do the research to see exactly what title was given by whom and how it is earned.
GRCA is Golden Retriever Club of America. They promote themselves as the primary guardian of Golden Retrievers, part of their statement reads “our responsibility is to promote the temperament, appearance, soundness natural retrieving and hunting abilities of the Golden Retriever. Our members are dedicated to the responsible breeding and ownership of the Golden Retriever”. They also have their own events that Goldens can compete and earn titles, awards and distinctions in. We are a member of GRCA !
OFA is Orthopedic Foundation for Animals. They are a database of health screening tests for all breeds. They also evaluate x-rays for hips, elbows, patellas and other diseases. They will register genetic test results, eye and cardiac exams too (among other things). OFA’s website could be one stop shopping to check the parents health screening results. However, not all breeders register every test with OFA’s database so they might have a more current cardiac or eye exam but it might not be on OFA’s site. If you cannot find the information on OFA then ask the breeder for the documents. Breeders that are members of the GRCA are required to register their health screening information with OFA.
So with that said, GRCA has set guidelines for responsible breeders to have health screenings done on the parents of a litter for:
Hips
Elbows
Eyes
Heart
Other tests available:
Thyroid screen
Genetic testing – PRA/PRCD, GRPRA1, GRPRA2, degenerative myelopathy, ichthyosis, sensory ataxic neuropathy, NCL.
Genetic diversity test
So your “puppy for sale” ad lists the health clearances have been done on the parents but you need to do the legwork and check out what clearances were done, the results and check if tests are current. I cant stress this enough!! Start with going to OFA website and you can search for clearances by the parent's registration number or registered name. If that dog does not have a number under the particular health screen it either has not had it done or if it was done it did not have a normal/clear result so an OFA number was not issued. Any health screens submitted that are clear/normal will be posted publicly. Owners can choose NOT to have abnormal health screens posted publicly. Some do choose to post abnormal results and you will see the result instead of an OFA number. For example for eye clearance it might read "ineligible abnormal" with the disease.
OFA Elbows - At 24 months of age a dog can have elbows evaluated and be given an OFA registration number. Dogs under 2 years can have a preliminary evaluation but will not get an OFA number.. Preliminary evaluations are often used as an early assessment of potential breeding stock but they should be reevaluated when the dog reaches 2 years of age or older. The accuracy of prelim elbows vs adult elbows has not been researched like it has in hips. Normal elbows are listed as “Normal”. Abnormal elbows will have a Grade 1-3 depending upon severity. This is considered permanent registration and is usually done once.
OFA Hips - At 24 months of age a dog can have hips evaluated and be given an OFA registration number. Dogs under 2 years can have a preliminary evaluation but will not get an OFA number. Hip ratings that are excellent, good, fair are within normal limits. Borderline, mild dysplasia, moderate dysplasia and severe hip dysplasia are not normal. This is usually considered permanent registration and is usually done once. Pennhip is also used to evaluate and some breeders will have those results put into OFA’s database. Dogs with abnormal hip ratings should not be used for breeding. More info on Pennhip HERE
OFA Eyes – Normal eyes will be listed as “Normal”. There are 10 disorders that prevent a dog from getting an eye certification number. That means those disorders have a significant effect on vision and or likelihood of it being hereditary. A lot of dogs will have a “breeders option code” listed with the particular issue. What this means is that dog has something abnormal but it does not represent potential compromise of vision or other ocular function. It doesn’t mean this dog shouldn’t be bred just that the breeder should be aware and use caution in picking out a mate (don’t breed with a dog with the same issue or history of it). There are lots of breeder option codes, OFA has a listing of those HERE.
OFA Heart – OFA has 2 cardiac databases. One is the Congenital database which is for defects present at birth, a registry number is given to dogs with Normal results when they are at least 12 months old. The congenital clearance is considered permanent. The other database is Advanced Cardiac and is adult onset, these clearances are valid for 1 year from exam date and can only be performed by a veterinary cardiologist. GRCA recommends exam by cardiologist. Results will be listed as normal if normal.
OFA Thyroid – To get clearance for thyroid a blood sample is sent to an OFA approved laboratory where they test for hormones and antibodies. They will issue an OFA number to dogs with normal results at 12 months of age then its recommended to test again at 2, 3, 4, 6 & 8 years of age.
Genetic Testing – Results from genetic testing for tests such as PRCA/PRCD and Itchythosis can be sent to OFA and entered into the database. Normal results are listed as Normal or Clear for most these tests. These tests are done once. More about these tests below!
Genetic Diversity Test – Done by UC Davis and other laboratories like Wisdom Panel-Optimal Selection, there's no database for genetic diversity with OFA. The best explanation of what this is about and how its a valuable tool for breeders is found at US Davis Genetics Laboratory site and Optimal Selection's web site. We hope more breeders will opt do this test and use it along with health clearances to select better breeding pairs and improve the diversity and health of Golden Retrievers. Our results for Etta can be viewed HERE and for Violet HERE There are other laboratories that do diversity testing as well like Wisdom Health's Optimal Selection.
Whoa nelly, lots of potential problems?? Every breed of dog is going to have health problems there’s just no way around that. A common misconception is that mixed breeds or so called designer breeds (ie. Labradoodle, cavapoo, etc) are healthier and have less issues, they are not! No matter what breed you’re looking at there are health concerns that are associated with them. Golden Retrievers are no exception so be aware but don’t be discouraged from getting a Golden. Despite these issues they are still a wonderful breed.
It helps to understand that all Goldens come from the same founding dogs (like most purebred dogs). Every Golden can be traced back to the original 4 dogs used to create the breed. When we breed for specific qualities like hair coat & color and things like retrieve ability we end up shrinking the genetic pool. Dogs that don’t have the desirable characteristics get removed from the breeding pool but sometimes that means also removing other characteristics that are desirable that we might not necessarily see. A dog that has a beautiful coat color might also be a dog that carries a gene mutation for an eye disorder while the other dog with the less desirable coat color does not. Genetic diversity and heritable diseases are related. Line breeding, inbreeding and use of popular studs adds to the problems of low genetic diversity. The UC Davis Diversity test or Optimal Selection/Genoscoper is great information to have on parents and is more accurate and detailed but if thats not available you can look to the site K9data.com. This site is a database of pedigrees and a lot of Golden breeders use it. It is based on the honor system that what they are putting in is correct. When you search for a dog and find its pedigree page, at the bottom you will see additional viewing options. When you click on the "view genetic information" you will get a COI number. This database calculates a COI number (coefficient of inbreeding) based on the pedigree provided. This number can give you an idea of how inbred that dog is however there are limitations to how accurate this number is (a dog with a limited pedigree of only a few generations will likely have a lower number and they only go back to the year 2000). Some breeders will enter a test breeding when they have a litter and you will be able to check that COI for the puppy which could be far different than the parents alone depending on their combined pedigree. There is a good article explaining COI HERE. A higher COI number does not mean that your puppy (or parent dogs) are destined to have problems, its about increased risk.
While many good breeders will try to breed with and for healthy Golden Retrievers the odds of them producing one with some sort of problem is unfortunately still high. No breeder can promise their pups will be perfectly healthy their entire lives. The best option for breeders and prospective buyers is to look at both the genetic diversity of the parents AND their health clearances (of siblings and any off springs if possible too). Unfortunately, because of the lack of known genetic markers and limitations on health testing that’s not to say that breeding 2 dogs cleared by OFA with "Good" rated hips won’t ever produce a dog with hip dysplasia. However, breeding two dog with bad hips is more likely to produce a dog with bad hips. Same with Elbows and so on.
So, the most common health problems associated with Golden Retrievers:
Cancer -Hemangiosarcoma followed by lymphosarcoma, mast cell tumor and osteosarcoma is the cause of death for 61.4% of goldens in study done by the Golden Retriever Club of America in 1998. Cancer deaths in both sexes occurred beginning at 3 years of age. The highest proportion of cancer deaths were in 8-12.9 year old Goldens. Link to GRCA Study HERE. This study is a great read!! Goldens have a much higher rate of cancer compared to other breeds. There is a study currently underway (Morris Animal Foundation) to hopefully identify potentially modifiable risk factors that may account for the high incidence of cancer and other diseases.
Hip & Elbow dysplasia -Dysplasia is abnormal development of the joint. Hip & Elbow dysplasia in dogs is a polygenic, multifactorial disease meaning many genes are thought to play a role in its development along with significant influences from environmental factors. OFA clearance is used to evaluate dogs for hip/elbow dysplasia. This is a Phenotype evaluation, meaning we are looking at the physical characteristic not the genetic mutations that cause it. There aren’t any genetic markers associated with dysplasia so while parent dogs may have good rated hips or elbows that doesn’t mean they wont pass genes to produce a pup with bad hips or elbows. The GRCA study also found a “significant association between being overweight as either a puppy or an adult, and the occurrence of any musculoskeletal condition. being overweight is a risk factor for musculoskeletal disease and being overweight as a puppy has a stronger effect than being overweight as an adult. Findings strongly suggest that keeping a puppy from becoming overweight will result in a significant reduction in the incidence and or severity of musculoskeletal disease in general and hip dysplasia specifically, as an adult. This is a particularly important finding in larger breeds that have a high risk of these conditions”
We find it best to treat your Golden like it is prone to developing elbow & hip dysplasia. Having a fat rolly polly puppy might seem cute but is likely to be extremely detrimental to its health. We strongly advise against repetitive hard exercise with your growing puppy (such as running on pavement, repetitive retrieving with balls or frisbees, etc). Dysplasia can be mild to severe. Although in most cases its not life threatening it can be severely debilitating. Medications and supplements can be used for pain/arthritis management, they are usually given constantly, lifelong and can be costly. There are specialized surgeries that can be performed like total hip replacement or correction/alternation of the elbow joint.
Eye Diseases
PRA/PRCD - PRA refers to a group of diseases that causes cells in the retina of the eye to degenerate (die) slowly over time. The result is declining vision and eventual blindness. PRCD (Progressive Retinal Atrophy/Progressive rod cone Degeneration) is a form of PRA. There are 2 types of cells in the retina that take light into the eyes and send it back to the brain as electrical impulses. The “rod” cells operate in low light levels and are the first to lose normal function with PRCD causing night blindness. Then the “cone” cells gradually lose their normal function in full light situations. Most affected dogs will eventually be blind.
The mutations GR_PRA1 and GR_PRA2 cause Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) in the Golden Retriever
Genetic testing enables breeders identify nearly all causes of PRA in the breed. However, there are still a few cases of PRA in the golden retriever that are caused by mutations that have yet to be identified. So testing is very helpful but not the end all of the problem. PRA/PRCD is inherited as an autosomal recessive disorder so a dog must have 2 copies of the mutated gene to be affected by PRA. Dogs with 1 copy are known as carriers meaning they can pass the mutation to their offspring. Carriers should not be bred with other carriers or with affected dogs.
Pigmentary Uveitis – inflammation of the uveal tract, which includes the iris. Its chronic and can result in vision loss. Its believed to be inherited. It doesn’t tend to show up until the age of 8 so the difficulty in this disease is that its found after the prime breeding years (after a dog has produced offspring). So the best practice is for breeders and pet owners to have their Goldens eyes checked by certified ophthalmologist yearly. Early detection and early treatment has the best outcome. There’s no genetic test available for this condition yet.
Heart Diseases
Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis (SAS) Symptoms of SAS, when they occur, include difficulty breathing, weakness, fainting, and in extreme cases, sudden death. An inherited disease, characterized by a narrowing (stenosis) caused by a ridge or ring of abnormal tissue growth that inhibits blood flow from the heart to the aorta. The narrowing is classified as mild, moderate, or severe. Prospective breeding dogs should be examined over the age of 12 months by a board certified veterinary cardiologist. Researchers are making progress in finding the genetic marker for this disease and hopefully will have a genetic test available someday.
Dialated Cardiomyelopathy (DCM) FDA recently issued an alert about (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods. Researchers are investigating the possible connection between pet foods containing legumes such as peas, lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes as primary ingredients and the occurrence of DCM. High levels of legumes or potatoes appear to be more common in diets labeled as “grain-free,” but may also appear as main ingredients in foods that are not grain-free. Many of the reports of DCM involved Golden Retrievers and some research is leading to believe golden retrievers are more sensitive to taurine deficiency (taurine deficiency being a documented cause of DCM) but other factors are still being investigated. So it might be best to avoid feeding your Golden foods with peas, lentils, potatoes, etc as main ingredients until more research has been done.
Hypothyroidism- Low thyroid hormone which can affect metabolism and temperature control among other things. Not all cases are genetic. Treatment is usually daily supplementation with synthetic thyroid hormone and routine monitoring through blood tests.
Chronic Allergies (Atopic Dermatitis) - Dogs can become allergic to pollens, molds, trees, spores, dust mites and more. Their allergies can be seasonal or year round. Dogs with allergies are usually very itchy, they might lick or chew at their feet or other areas of their body. The itching and scratching or rubbing tends to damage the skin and can lead to infections. Secondary skin infections can be much worse than just the allergies. Allergies can be difficult to control and manage. Medications are used in most dogs and are usually required constantly and lifelong. Goldens are predisposed (meaning they have an increased likelihood of developing this because of their genetic makeup) and its considered a polygenetic condition so multiple genes contribute to produce an affected dog
Ichythyosis- As described by Paw Print Genetics is “an inherited condition of the skin affecting golden retrievers. The age of onset and severity of disease are highly variable, however most affected dogs present before one year of age with flaky skin and dull hair. Over time the skin develops a grayish color and appears thick and scaly, especially over the abdomen. The symptoms may progress to severe scaling all over the body, may improve with age, or may come and go over the dog’s lifetime. While the prognosis is generally good for affected dogs, they are at increased risk for skin infections”. Again with this disorder, 2 copies of the gene are needed to be affected so carriers (who have 1 copy of the gene) shouldn’t be bred with other carriers or affected dogs.
With these problems responsible breeders screen breeding dogs so they have more control over the outcome of health of the offspring. Dogs that are "carriers" for conditions like Itchythyosis don't necessarily need to be removed from the gene pool if they are great dogs, they need to be bred to "clear" dogs.
Health screening will not eliminate all problems but it will lower the risk. Buying a puppy from parents with zero health clearances does not mean its guaranteed to have a problem but it increases the risk! Buying a puppy from a dog with a known issue could increase the risk of the offspring being affected but breeders have to be careful about what traits and genes they remove from the already shallow gene pool. Beware that some breeders are selling their pups with no clearances done on parents for just as much as breeders that do have those health screens done. Not all breeders are equal, some only do hip clearances some do everything. Some breeders will showcase their dogs “champion” pedigree but that dog has never competed or gained any titles itself. Being a responsible breeder costs money and time. Health screens are expensive and ongoing, registering with OFA costs money, registering litters costs money, entering events like hunt tests cost money, training for those events often involves a trainer or handler and that costs money, club membership is an expense, the list goes on and on before pups are even born. Do your homework and you will get the most bang for your buck.