Going above and beyond in Health Testing

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About our health testing

I thought I would explain some of the health testing procedure that we do at Moonlit.

Due to the Pomsky being a mix breed of Siberian Huskies and a Spitz Breed extensive health testing should be carried out.

At Moonlit we take guidance not only from the UK Kennel Club, BVA, and penhipp testing we also do extensive testing for genetic health conditions.

There is potentially four breeds to be added to create a Pomsky and stables the breed. Because of this there needs to be breed specific testing for all four breeds and not just the Siberian Husky and the Pomeranian.

This is why we do genetic health testing to see if any of our dogs are affected or carry any of the genes that can lead to some genetic health conditions.

For example, we carry out BVA eye tests on our foundation stock. This is a visual examination performed by a BVA approved ophthalmic vets. This exam can tell us if the dog is affected by certain conditions known to the specific breed such as Hereditary Cataracts or Primary Glaucoma. Unfortunately it cannot tell us if the dog is carrying the condition or wether the dog could potentially be affected later in life so we have to return to the ophthalmic vets annually for a check up.

So how do we know if the dog will get Cataracts for example, later on in life? This dog could have potentially had 3 or 4 litters and at six or seven years of age they are diagnosed with this condition. Simply we can’t. Not all cataracts are hereditary. They can be caused by injury and old age. However, we do know that hereditary cataracts can be tested for and we can prevent the hereditary type of cataracts. A mutation of one gene is all thats required for the dog to carry or be affected by this condition so if a dog is bred that is carrying this gene to another dog also carrying the gene then it is likely the offspring will also be affected.

Heres where we go above and beyond with genetic health testing.

All our foundation stock are Clear and do not carry the mutated gene that contributes to Hereditary Cataracts. Our dogs are tested for over 175 genetic conditions.

Our F1 and F2 dogs have a mix of Husky, Pomeranian, German Spitz and Eskimo dog. At Moonlit we have to be 100% certain that none of our dogs are affected by any genetic conditions, not just conditions know to their breed but also known to other breeds. By doing this we can guarantee that our multi generation dogs do not carry or are affected by any genetic health conditions.

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