Vets are being asked to ‘do their bit’ for dog health by ensuring they recommend pre-mating health tests to owners and breeders who may be unaware their dogs need them.
The appeal comes as new statistics reveal that 70% of small animal vets very often or always see puppies without the relevant pre-mating screening tests. The Canine Health Schemes enable breeders to screen for inherited diseases, including hip and elbow dysplasia, inherited eye diseases and chiari-malformation/syringomyelia.
Awareness of the tests is particularly low among owners of ‘designer crossbreeds’, such as labradoodles and cockapoos, with 77% of the vets reporting that few or none of their clients with such breeds are even aware of the tests.
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