# Health Testing Requirements of the Parent Club



## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

A while back there was a thread on here asking about what Maltese breeders are actually doing with health testing and it seemed not many were doing very much. I was thinking it would be really nice if the AMA took more leadership in this regard. I found the following quote on the Havanese Club of America website: 

_"You may be able to find available puppies from Breeders listed on the internet. Please make sure they do the same health testing as a breeder on the HCA Breeders List. You must receive documentation of all health testing done. To be on the HCA Breeders List, a breeder must meet strict health testing requirements: BAER-hearing, CERF-eyes, OFA- Hips and Patella’s. Many breeders on the list do additional testing such as SA320-Liver Shunt and Heart."_









I was very impressed to see how the parent club of the Hav's is trying to ensure the health of the breed. In order to be on the breeder referal list they "have" to do all that testing. Even if the AMA didn't require all of that, it would be nice if they at least had information about health testing on the website. There is very little information about health issues on there at all currently. I know that papillions and cavaliers have some great information about the health issues of their breeds as well. Our precious Maltese should not be so far behind the curve on this.


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## CathyB (Mar 10, 2007)

Fantastic idea







My Briard club requires all the appropriate testing in order to be on the referal list. I have a maltese I am not a breeder but if I were I would sure want to know that my dogs were healthy..







Testing is good


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## my baby (Aug 22, 2006)

I completely agree with the concept of testing dogs to ensure the health of pups and for the long term health of the breed. But was wondering what that means would happen to the odd pup that is born with a luxating patella etc.. Do reputable breeders put dogs down that are born with health problems like that? Or are they still sold but at a reduced price? Or do they end up in rescue centers? 
I am not trying to start a big hoo haa but am curious about what goes on in the dog breeding world.


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## Furbaby's Mommie (Jul 10, 2004)

I'm not a breeder either, I just want the Maltese breed to be a healthy one, so I've been harping on this for a long time. I've mentioned the same breed clubs as example before--Havanese and Papillon. They are two of the ones I've visited and been so impressed with the health information and testing that they require to be clear before breeding.

The answer I usually get is "the Maltese club can't afford"---blah-blah. They don't need to "afford" anything. They need to write these requirements into their constitution and by laws, add it to the website and thus make potential owners aware they should not buy from breeders who do not have certified breeding dogs. It's the breeders expense, not the club. There are a lot of wonderful Malts born every day that have problems that are passed down from ancestors, and if we can stop even 50% of that by insisting the breeding stock is tested--it would be a great thing. After all, the breeders say they aren't selling pups for the $$$, they are doing it for the love of, and the good of, the breed. So O.K., as time goes by there are changes to be made as new advances in genetics and health testing acure. All businesses change and here's a change that needs to be made.


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## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

> I completely agree with the concept of testing dogs to ensure the health of pups and for the long term health of the breed. But was wondering what that means would happen to the odd pup that is born with a luxating patella etc.. Do reputable breeders put dogs down that are born with health problems like that? Or are they still sold but at a reduced price? Or do they end up in rescue centers?
> I am not trying to start a big hoo haa but am curious about what goes on in the dog breeding world.[/B]


Actually, it is my understanding that most of these tests should be done on the sire and dam. The pups should be tested for some things as well, but the primary concern is making sure the the parents are healthy. If a breeding pair produces a dog that has one of these problems they should no longer be bred and they should then be retired. If the breeder does not keep them as pets they should go to a loving home. 



> The answer I usually get is "the Maltese club can't afford"---blah-blah. They don't need to "afford" anything. They need to write these requirements into their constitution and by laws, add it to the website and thus make potential owners aware they should not buy from breeders who do not have certified breeding dogs. It's the breeders expense, not the club. There are a lot of wonderful Malts born every day that have problems that are passed down from ancestors, and if we can stop even 50% of that by insisting the breeding stock is tested--it would be a great thing. After all, the breeders say they aren't selling pups for the $$$, they are doing it for the love of, and the good of, the breed. So O.K., as time goes by there are changes to be made as new advances in genetics and health testing acure. All businesses change and here's a change that needs to be made.
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One of the things I noticed on the Havanese club website was the price of the pups. It used to be that Havanese (a more rare breed) seemed to be much more expensive than Maltese. It doesn't seem to be true any longer. On the Havanese club website they have the following question: 

_“Why would I pay $1800-$2500 for a puppy from a breeder that does not take the time or money to health test the parents prior to breeding them?" _









Many maltese breeders are asking much, much more for the puppies they breed and they are not doing anywhere near the level of testing. 








Forgive me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that some of these Maltese breeders are charging premium prices for our beautiful dogs because they see that other breeds are getting prices in similar ranges and yet they are not living up to the standard these other breeders are in terms of health testing. Ethically, I think it is wrong for breeders to charge these prices and send a new Maltese parent home with a beautiful little dog that will soon need thousands of dollars of medical care in the treatment of knee problems, eye problems or _God forbid _ liver problems.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

> I'm not a breeder either, I just want the Maltese breed to be a healthy one, so I've been harping on this for a long time. I've mentioned the same breed clubs as example before--Havanese and Papillon. They are two of the ones I've visited and been so impressed with the health information and testing that they require to be clear before breeding.
> 
> The answer I usually get is "the Maltese club can't afford"---blah-blah. They don't need to "afford" anything. They need to write these requirements into their constitution and by laws, add it to the website and thus make potential owners aware they should not buy from breeders who do not have certified breeding dogs. It's the breeders expense, not the club. There are a lot of wonderful Malts born every day that have problems that are passed down from ancestors, and if we can stop even 50% of that by insisting the breeding stock is tested--it would be a great thing. After all, the breeders say they aren't selling pups for the $$$, they are doing it for the love of, and the good of, the breed. So O.K., as time goes by there are changes to be made as new advances in genetics and health testing acure. All businesses change and here's a change that needs to be made.
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Well said!

The honor system currently used in the Maltese community simply isn't working. Too many of these precious dogs are born with luxating patellas, liver disease, GME, Legg-Perthes, the list goes on. 

In all fairness, though, we can't place all the responsibilty on the AMA and the breeders. There's no real incentive now to motivate breeders to voluntarily do health screening as long as we continue to pay these high prices for potentially genetically flawed dogs. 

We, as the "consumer", must stop mindlessly plunking down thousands of dollars for a Maltese puppy with no real predictor of its future health except a breeder's verbal reassurance that her lines are free from genetic defects.


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## HappyB (Feb 28, 2005)

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Don't know what happened, but my post got in the middle of another. 

I wrote: 

It is rare to get an inquiry from a prospective puppy buyer who even asks about health issues. The most important thing to most is small size, cheap price, and female.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

My point exactly.


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## CloudClan (Jan 31, 2007)

> The honor system currently used in the Maltese community simply isn't working. Too many of these precious dogs are born with luxating patellas, liver disease, GME, Legg-Perthes, the list goes on.
> 
> In all fairness, though, we can't place all the responsibilty on the AMA and the breeders. There's no real incentive now to motivate breeders to voluntarily do health screening as long as we continue to pay these high prices for potentially genetically flawed dogs.
> 
> We, as the "consumer", must stop mindlessly plunking down thousands of dollars for a Maltese puppy with no real predictor of its future health except a breeder's verbal reassurance that her lines are free from genetic defects.[/B]


Marj,

I so agree with you that we as the "consumer" need to be more proactive in this, especially those of us who know better. It is part of our responsibility to our dogs. 

Still there is a dilemma in this. So few Maltese breeders are doing the testing that our choices are extremely limited as consumers. To find more than a handful of breeders doing testing you have to look outside the breed. 

Also, I know some breeders do look at this as a business, but I am constantly told that the best breeders are hobby breeders who are out to better the breed. If this is the case the breeders and the AMA have more ethical responsibility than the average corporation. It seems that the mission of both the breeders and the AMA is to protect Maltese from these issues. Otherwise, if they continue to ignore the growing evidence of the need for this, they begin to have more in common with those corporate puppymills who only care about profit. 

I also think about what Faye says. Very few of the inquiries she gets are about the health of the dogs. I believe I am familiar with a the type of inquiries she gets as we had similar ones when I fostered for rescue. It will not be the average consumer that makes this change. There has to be leadership. IMHO that leadership should best come from a group like the AMA. 

Or maybe, we at SM can all band together and do something?


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

I would think that the biggest hurdle would be getting all the current members up to the "requirement' of having testing done, since this isn't something where the long standing members on the referral list can be really be grandfathered in, and then everyone who joins afterward has to be tested. 

People probably don't ask about health issues because they go on blind faith that someone they feel is a reputable breeder isn't breeding dogs with documented patella problems, etc. Also, it's something that can put a breeder on the defensive, right from the start. I know I would feel weird about asking 'are your puppies healthy?' in an initial email inquiry, since if I had doubts about the breeder, I probably shouldn't be emailing them to ask about a puppy to begin with. It's not as black and white of a question as age, price, predicted weight, etc.


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## msmagnolia (Sep 8, 2004)

I got Jolie 12 years ago from one of the top Bichon breeders in the country. She did all of the certifications and testings. I didn't really appreciate it at the time, but the Bichon community does a pretty good job too. All I knew was that the price was really high and we wanted a healthy dog. Other than some minor skin problems Jolie has been extremely healthy.....no knee problems, no heart problems. 

I feel like I was fat, dumb, and happy when it came to Maltese.....right up till Sassy got GME/NME. I don't know what we can do, but I can attest to the fact that NO ONE wants to ever have to deal with this stuff. The thing is that there aren't tests for some of the problems that maltese are seeing. Buyers have to communicate with the breeders about problems that occur and then the breeders have to be willing to pull their sires and dams from breeding........

If anyone knows of an effort by the AMA to begin a program.....please report this. I would be happy to make a contribution to any effort to improve the health in the maltese community.


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## CathyB (Mar 10, 2007)

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very well said


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## ice princess (Mar 6, 2007)

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