The first step of every single dog breeding program, ambitious or not, is the list all the health conditions that commonly appear in your breed. These can be inherited genetic illnesses (e.g. Von Willebrand disease) or conjunctural health problems due to the breed’s size, activity levels, or physique (e.g. hip dysplasia.One of the easiest ways to list them all is to simply ask all of the below — not just one, all of them:
- The good ol’ vet — they have the experience of seeing dogs all day but their knowledge may be outdated
- Local and national breed clubs — they know the breed inside and out and monitor the breed’s health data
- Online databases — search the web for lists of conditions per dog breed, Dog Breed Health is our favorite
Prepare an excel spreadsheet and list all of the received health conditions along with the screening method to get clearance if there is any.
This is the necessary first step, don’t even think about anything else until you know what health conditions to be aware of!
