Now as you know, Shadow has had three litters and hopes to have another one soon. She has asked if I\u2019d share her frustrations with regards to all the health tests she has to have. She doesn\u2019t mind actually having the tests, she wants her puppies to be as healthy as possible, it\u2019s all the obstacles that are put in the way that she objects to. Her heart test was easy. That\u2019s done by our own vet. The hip test is not too bad either, although it can take a number of weeks for the results to come through. There are three tests that cause us more of a problem. Firstly we have a dna test for an eye condition that we can only use one company for if we want our results recorded by the Kennel Club. The company that is more convenient is not licenced with them, which is a pain, but actually a relatively minor problem when you compare it with the next two.<\/p>\n
We have a cataract test because it is a common condition in the breed. Because there are not many of us in the UK the Kennel Club does not have all the information that tells them it is something we need to have. That\u2019s not a problem in itself, but what is a problem is that they won\u2019t allow the form that the eye-testers fill in to be used for us. All they can do is write in a box in the middle that no one in other countries will understand. It means to have her eye-test poor Shadow and the others of our breed who want to breed, have to travel long distances to find ophthalmologists who are qualified in other parts of Europe and who can use the paperwork used in other countries. It\u2019s all a bit ridiculous. The worst though is the test for a condition called Ectopic Ureter. Our Mistress and other humans have talked to lots of places around the country about whether they can do that test for us and the answer is \u2018Yes, but we will charge no less than \u00a31000.\u2019 That is a lot of money for one test. Particularly when you find that you can have the same test done in Germany for only \u20ac100. Yes, there is no zero missing. It really is less than a tenth of the price there. It is actually cheaper for us to travel abroad to do the test than to have it done here. What is really alarming is that we are not the only breed that can have that problem, but it appears that no one else is doing any testing for it.<\/p>\n
I can see a business opportunity here. If any of our readers are feeling entrepreneurial they could set up a specialist testing centre and do very well out of it! How can the UK justify the high cost of these things? How can we ever convince people that they should do full health testing to ensure healthy puppies when it is so difficult to do it?<\/p>\n
Anyway, that\u2019s Shadow\u2019s rant over. If any of you have any suggestions of solutions to the problems then please do let me know.<\/p>\n
Alfie\u2019s Diary \u2013 the Book as well as our other books are available HERE<\/a><\/p>\n You can find short stories to read at www.alfiedog.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"