BREED HEALTH
Ruby's Health page
Our Russian Toy dogs are now a part of CHIC, and RTDCA, Inc. is a proud Member of the AKC Canine Health Foundation.
RTDCA, Inc is now a part of CHIC as of early September 2010 !!
What is CHIC ?
The Canine Health Information Center, CHIC, is a centralized canine health database jointly sponsored by the AKC/Canine Health Foundation, AKC/CHF and the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, OFA. The CHIC, working with participating parent clubs, provides a resource for breeders and owners of purebred dogs to research and maintain information on the health issues prevalent in specific breeds.
The CHIC also maintains a DNA Bank, co-sponsored by the OFA and the AKC/CHF, collects and stores canine DNA samples along with corresponding genealogic and phenotypic information to facilitate future research and testing aimed at reducing the incidence of inherited disease in dogs.
This is a way for breeders to work towards breeding the healthiest dogs possible. The Russian Toy Dog Club of America, Inc. (RTDCA) initiated conversation with the OFA about this as we feel we should strive to breed healthy RTDs. We compiled the tests that we felt should be done for this breed (which are similar to many other Toy breeds) during our first annual meeting. We chose to check for patella (knee) issues, eye issues and cardiac (heart) issues. The tests to check for these are an OFA Patella screen, CERF evaluation, and OFA Cardiac screen respectively.
It is important to note that Russian Toy Dogs have a very small gene pool in North America and while all dogs may not pass these exams, it does behoove us to perform them to get an idea of what we have to work with and towards. For instance, bad patellas are not uncommon in toy dogs, but when breeding this individual you must be aware of this information and breed to a dog with good patellas. You can’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. In other words, knowing the health issues in each dog arms us with the ammunition to make our dogs the best they can be in looks and in health.
Testing is voluntary – nobody is going to force you to do this. However, just performing these three exams will earn your dog a CHIC number and Certificate whether they pass or fail the exams provided the reports are sent to the OFA to be recorded. This will be invaluable information to breeders in 5, 10 etc. years down the road. Breeders must be honest with buyers in all aspects when selling dogs.
Additionally, future purchasers should not take it for granted that if the dog is CHIC’d that it passed the health tests. They must review the test results at OFA online to verify.
First you should have your dog micro chipped or tattooed so that the number can be marked as your dogs permanent ID.
Now what is your part?
If you have a dog you wish to breed, check out the OFA page at www.offa.org This page will lead you to the CHIC site (http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/) and you can choose ‘CHIC Breeds’ and pick Russian Toy Dog or just go straight to http://www.caninehealthinfo.org/brdreqs.html?breed=RT where you will see what exams we chose for our breed. The Patella and Heart exam can be performed at or after 1 year of age at your regular vet’s office. You will need to bring these forms to your vet.
FOR CARDIAC http://www.offa.org/cardappbw.pdf
FOR PATELLAS (Knees) http://www.offa.org/plappbw.pdf
Your vet can do this for a nominal fee or even as part of a normal office visit and fill out the papers. You must supply the dog’s pertinent data – registered name, sex, color, registry number, microchip/tattoo number, etc. The vet will fill out and sign the remainder. You then send the forms to OFA with a $15 recording fee for each test. A cardiologist and/or specialist may do these exams as well. This is two of the three legs.
The third leg is a bit more complex and a bit more costly, but not hard at all. You will first have to seek out a veterinary ophthalmologist. You can find them through the CERF website at this link http://www.vmdb.org/cerf.html Further review of this site will lead you to eye vets by clicking on “ACVO Clinic List” and you can even find clinics (this is usually the cheapest route) by clicking on Upcoming CERF Clinics from the home page. The vet will perform the exam after placing drops in the dogs’ eyes. Then a series of tests will be done and this is very quick and a three-tiered application will be filled out.
Upon completion, they will give you one of the copies and you mail this to AVCO/CERF with a small recording fee of $12. Your dog must be 1 year old or over. At certain times CERF and OFA combine their records and everything is recorded for your dog under their Registration number. Once the three tests are recorded you will receive a CHIC certificate in the mail from OFA. Meanwhile you will also get an individual certificate for each test you pass.
Also note that the eye exam is only good for 1 year so it may be ideal to repeat periodically.
For those of you living in larger communities, you may be able to find an All-Breed Health Clinic in your area which you can get all the tests done at one time for a reduced fee. See this link http://www.offa.org/calendar.html
Copy all paperwork before mailing out the originals - just in case they get lost in the mail.
Please contact me if you have any questions or need help understanding all this.
Thank you,
Helayne Parker, RTDCA, Inc., Health Chair
417-230-4065 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Socialization - What to Do
Practical Socialization – What to do
Keep the environment friendly and safe, but not unnaturally quiet
Keep the mother present during socialization, if she is friendly and confident
Weeks 1 – 3
Pick up and hold each puppy gently every day
Stroke and examine all over
Week 4
Handle each puppy individually every day
Novel object placed in with puppies daily
Cloths with different smells
Provide obvious sleeping place with easy access to toilet area
What’s new in weeks 4-5
Arrange for new adults and children to visit
Teach puppies to play with toys
Familiarize with handling and gentle restraint until accepted
Familiarize with collars and leads
Provide items to chew
Meet cats and other animals on property
Carry individually to road to see traffic
Opportunity for exploration of new surfaces
Individual isolation in view of others for few minutes
What’s new in week 5 onwards
Take out to meet other animals and people
Simple training using reward-based methods should begin
Lead training should begin
Short car journeys
More individual outings as they get older
Short periods of isolation for each puppy
Tasting different foods, dried and wet
Take out at appropriate time for toilet training
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