Question
I have a six-year-old chocolate Lab male who came from a local breeder and has nothing special about his pedigree. He is an outside dog during the day and a house dog at night. I would like to breed him with my female "high end" yellow Lab this fall and am considering getting him OFA tested and an eye certification.

Dogs with predominantly white coats may be at higher risk for hereditary deafness, especially if they also have blue eyes. The majority of pointers are free from this affliction, however.

The problem is that I have witnessed him experience two seizures. From what I have read, the seizures I witnessed were mild, with stiff muscles, mild to moderate trembling, and one scared dog. They lasted less than three minutes and were mild enough that he could have one beside my bed during the night and I might not even wake up.

I have talked to my vet and she recommended caution and monitoring the number and severity of seizures. If anything changes, I am to bring him in for testing and treatment. I have not witnessed an occurrence in 13 months.

The only reason I am considering him for breeding is because of his abilities in the field, blind, and home.

With the availability of outstanding stud dogs in the Lab market should I eliminate him from contention because of his condition? Save my money on the OFA and eye cert testing? Possibly neuter him?

If he is bred do I, as an ethical breeder, release the seizure information to potential puppy buyers?
--JB

Answer
I would eliminate him from breeding consideration. One thing the Lab breed has going for it is a lot of dogs to choose from and a lot of progeny history. It is difficult to get a diagnosis of the cause of a seizure problem in dogs but most are idiopathic epilepsy, and in the Lab and several other breeds this should be considered as hereditary.

Other causes are head trauma, viral diseases, hypoglycemia, other metabolic diseases and brain tumors. I feel there is no need to take a chance of passing on a seizure problem when there are many other studs to choose from.

Do keep as accurate a record of your dog's seizures as you can. This will help your veterinarian establish a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan if seizures become more frequent or more severe.

Question
About two weeks ago, I noticed my nine-year-old Brittany, Cleo, was having trouble defecating at times. She would arch her back and strain and trot off with her back arched, having produced little if any feces. Shortly thereafter, she started to excessively lick her anal area. I took a look at it and saw that the area was quite inflamed, so I took her to the vet.