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Looking at breeders - questions about OFA results

Severn

Member
Hi all - I'm looking at a breeder/litter and visited the OFA results of the sire and dam. All the testing results look great and very thorough BUT... the sire shows Carrier for DEGENERATIVE MYELOPATHY and the dam shows Carrier for CANINE MULTIFOCAL RETINOPATHY. Can anyone please explain what these results actually mean? I get the concept of being a 'carrier' of something. Just hoping to get some feedback please and maybe a deeper understanding of these results.
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I can't comment on the retinopathy, but I do know a little bit about DM. The dna test gives three results. A/A (affected/at risk), A/G (carrier), and G/G (normal). My understanding is that A/A dogs have two mutated copies of the gene that causes DM and are likely to develop the disease. Dogs with A/G have one mutated copy and one normal copy. Dogs that test A/G and G/G are unlikely to develop the disease. However, if you plan to breed then you would have to be very cautious if your dog is a carrier of the gene. A/A dogs, in my opinion, should not be bred. Degenerative Myelopathy is a devastating disease and it's good to see more breeders doing the genetic testing for carriers.

Here is a page that explains the test results. Hope it helps. Welcome, btw.
http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/dm/testDM.htm
 

Severn

Member
Thank you for the explanation. We do not plan to breed. Just looking for a little sister for our 3 year old male EM. He's basically an only child now and needs a partner in crime.

If anyone knows of any litters/pups available from reputable breeders now that info would be great. I've spent so many hours pouring through website and test results. My brain hurts.