Bernese Health Testing Explained
There are a number of health tests that breeders can do to give them information on their dogs. Responsible breeders will use the results to try and make balanced breeding decisions in order to reduce health problems in their puppies. Whilst having fully tested parents does not give any guarantees it is acknowledged by the Kennel Club and British Veterinary Association (BVA) that it is a positive step to help minimise hereditary health conditions.
In an ideal ‘perfect’ world, breeders would only ever breed a male and female together who both have the best ‘perfect’ health results in every area, the ‘perfect’ temperament, a ‘perfect’ pedigree with lots of longevity and also is a ‘perfect’ example of the breed with no faults or areas to improve. Unfortunately, we do not live in a ‘perfect’ world and there is no ‘perfect’ dog let alone a group of them. Therefore, compromises inevitably have to be made but responsible breeders will make sure that these compromises are well thought out and carefully understood which will allow them to make balanced breeding decisions prioritising particular areas of improvement in their breeding line for the next generation.
There are several key health tests for Bernese, these include; Hips, Elbows, DM Exon 1, DM Exon 2 and HS Pre Test (Histo-Sarcoma Cancer) and the Kennel Club also place great emphasis on the Co-efficient of Inbreeding (CoI). In 2023 the cost to fully health test a Bernese would be approximately £700.
Below we have provided information about each test, which we believe should be done on both parents before breeding.
Hip Scoring
What is Hip Dysplasia?
Hip Dysplasia is a common skeletal condition in Bernese. The hip joint functions as a ball and socket. In dogs with hip dysplasia, the ball and socket do not fit or develop properly, and they rub and grind instead of sliding smoothly. This results in deterioration over time and an eventual loss of function of the joint itself. A dog with serious hip dysplasia can be in considerable pain throughout its life, sometimes an operation to replace the hip joint is possible but in certain circumstances it can result in the dog been prematurely put to sleep.
How does the test work?
In order to score, a vet must take an x-ray, these x-rays are then sent to an officially recognised scoring panel e.g. the British Veterinary Association (BVA), Vet Scoring (Australian Scoring Kennel Council) and Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA, USA), where each hip is reviewed and scored by a panel of experts. On the BVA and Vet Scoring system, each hip is given a score between 0-53 the two scores are then added together to give a total hip score. For example, left hip: 4, right hip: 3 = total hip score: 7 (this would be considered a lower hip score). The lower the score the better the hips. Likewise, left hip: 13, right hip: 22 = 35 total hip score (this would be considered a higher hip score).
Statistics
The UK breed average for Bernese hips is about 11 total score (made up from a rolling 5-year average mean score from all hips tested over that period scored by the BVA).
Don’t get caught out thinking all kennel club registered puppies have tested parents as the recent statistics from the Kennel Club show that about one third of puppies registered were from Bernese parents where one or both had not been scored.
When can this test be done and how much does it cost?
From 12 months old and often done in conjunction with Elbows. For both Hips and Elbows it costs around £450 (2023).
How to find these results?
Refer to other section ‘Databases and Research’ and for hip and elbowing scoring the section in Estimated Breeding Values (EBV’s) is particularly interesting.
Further Information Sources
Elbow Scoring
What is Elbow Dysplasia?
Elbow Dysplasia is a common skeletal condition in Bernese. ED simply means ‘abnormal development of the elbow’ it is an umbrella term for a number of different conditions of this joint. The joint resembles a hinge in which the bones and cartilage forming each side of the joint have complex shapes that fit together closely. Therefore, a small change in the shape of one part of the joint can have major consequences for the joint function and in turn can lead to a number of different problems. However, once abnormal development has started with a primary lesion, further secondary changes follow, in particular, abnormal wear of the joint surfaces and osteoarthritis, these secondary lesions cannot be reversed and remain a potential problem for the rest of the dog’s life.
How does the test work?
In order to score, a vet must take an x-ray, these x-rays are then sent to an officially recognised scoring panel e.g. the British Veterinary Association (BVA), Vet Scoring (Australian Scoring Kennel Council) and Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA, USA), where each elbow is reviewed and scored by a panel of experts. Each elbow is given a score between 0-3 and the overall grade is determined by the higher of the grades. A score of zero is the best score.
0 = Radiographically normal
1 = Mild osteoarthritis
2 = Moderate osteoarthritis or a primary lesion with no osteoarthritis
3 = Severe osteoarthritis or primary lesion with osteoarthritis
Statistics
The BVA advise breeding with dogs who have an elbow score of 0 or 1.
Don’t get caught out thinking all kennel club registered puppies have tested parents as the recent statistics from the Kennel Club show that about one third of puppies registered were from Bernese parents where one or both had not been scored.
When can this test be done and how much does it cost?
From 12 months old often done in conjunction with Hips. For both Hips and Elbows it costs around £450 (2023).
How to find these results (BVA only)?
Refer to other section ‘Databases and Research’ and for hip and elbowing scoring the section in Estimated Breeding Values (EBV’s) is particularly interesting.
Further Information Sources
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)
What is Degenerative Myelopathy?
DM is a disease of the spinal cord where the structure of the nerves in the spine gradually breaks down and basically the dog’s brain does not know where the dogs back legs are or what position they are in so slowly becomes unable to tell the dogs legs what to do next to be able to walk. This typically starts by the dog ‘going over’ on his rear feet, dragging the front of the claws on the ground for example, and develops on over a few months to be an obvious lack of co-ordination at the rear and eventually complete loss of the ability to walk and stand at the rear.
Sadly, this paralysis caused by lack of feedback will spread forwards and gradually affect more and more of the dog’s functionality. As well as the practical aspects of life, management of a dog with DM involves an ongoing consideration of the quality of life of the dog as the dog slowly loses more and more capability. Eventually a DM affected dog would starve or suffocate to death as it will be unable to swallow or breathe. Clearly responsible owners will not let things get anywhere near this stage.
How does the test work?
Bernese must be tested for two types of DM. In different countries the tests have slightly different names, so we have listed these below.
Test 1: DM / DM SODA / DM Exon 1
This type of DM is found in all breeds not just Bernese. This gene type is most commonly seen in older dogs and normally affects dogs in old age.
Test 2: DM SODB / DM Exon 2
This type of DM is only found in Bernese and it is a mutation of the original gene but tends to show itself much earlier in life more commonly 4 years onwards.
For both the above forms of DM the test is either a mouth swab or blood sample.
Test Results
Each test has the same three possible results;
CLEAR:Does not carry any risk of developing or passing on the gene.
CARRIER: Does not carry any risk of developing DM but carries one copy of the gene.
AT RISK /AFFECTED: Has two copies of the gene and is at risk of developing DM. Not all at risk dogs go on the develop the condition and there is still further research to identify why this is.
The good news is producing at risk puppies is totally preventable through selective breeding. However, it is important to remember that the two types of DM are interrelated and breeding dogs should be tested for both types.
Providing one of the parents is clear of both DM SODA and DM SODB then the puppies will only ever be clear and carrier. This is shown in this chart below.
For example: If the mother is clear of DM SODA and carrier of DM SODB, the father is carrier of DM SODA and clear of DM SODB this is still a carrier-to-carrier breeding and can result in producing at risk puppies.
When can this test be done and how much does it cost?
Dogs can have the test done at any age including young puppies (it is advised to do blood test in young puppies who are still nursing on mum as cells can be transferred from mum which may affect a mouth swab test result.) The total cost for both tests is about £90 (in 2022) with Antagene (the company that does the HS test) but they also do a combination blood test which includes DM , HS and some other tests..
How to find these results?
Refer to other section ‘Databases and Research’.
Further Information Sources
BMDC of GB, Fitzpatrick Referrals, Bmdinfo, YouTube video of a dog with DM
Histio Pre-Test
What is Histiocytic sarcoma? (also referred to as Malignant Histiocytosis “MH”, Histiocytic Sarcoma “HS” and Systemic Histiosarcoma “SH”)
This is the most serious health problem we have in the breed and is a type of very aggressive cancer that particularly affects Bernese Mountain Dogs. There has been a lot of research undertaken which has shown this cancer has a significant hereditary element, and usually presents in dogs aged 4-7 years but can be even younger. It is a cancer of the histiocytes, cells responsible for immune function, which are present in the lymph nodes and a number of organs.
However, with HS secondary cancers are often the first to be symptomatic and diagnosed such as skin cancers, bone cancer, shadows on the lungs, lymphoma to name a few. Often the lack of expected response to treatment is and the speed of decline is an indicator that HS may be the primary cancer.
No treatment is effective to date, and the disease is fatal and usually within just a few weeks after symptoms are first noticed.
How does the test work?
There is a genetic DNA predisposition test for HS which has been developed in France and testing is available by Antagene.
There are 2 parts to this test:
1) The Test: Swab or Blood test to assess the predisposition the dog has for developing HS
2) The Tool: Test results can be entered into a database called ‘HSIMS’ which is a tool for breeders to use that allows them to see the likely HS predisposition the puppies will have from any combination of tested dogs (Sire x Dam). It is a simulation based on the genetics from the potential parents not the puppies themselves and should take place before any mating. There is no limit on the number of simulations a breeder can run, and each simulation takes less than 30 seconds to present a result.
The Test
The Antagene HS test looks at DNA markers and their combinations to determine a grade (Index), which gives an indicator of probability.
Index A: The individuals tested have four times the chance of not developing Histiocytic Sarcoma.
Index B: Neutral Index
Index C: The individuals tested have four times the risk of developing Histiocytic Sarcoma.
Up to the launch of the tool the recommendation from Antagene was to still breed from C grades as it is important for genetic diversity but to breed C Grade dogs with a A or B Grade, and not breed sire and dam who are both C grades together.
The Tool
Since February 2019 Antagene launched the ‘HSMIS’ online database which allows people who have HS tested their dogs to the simulation and prediction tool in HSIMS, this is only available to view if you are the dogs owner.
Simply, you select one of your dogs (must be HS tested) and you can then select any dog in the database (no matter what country) to run a simulation report.
There is no limit or costs on the number of reports you can run, this really is a great breeding tool where lots of data can be assess quickly to provide an indication of the potential cancer risk in future litters.
It is worth noting here that lots of C grade dogs live good, long, healthy lives. Being a C grade is not a death sentence and the advice from Antagene is that these dogs should not be discounted from the gene pool based on a C grade. It is thought there are other factors that can also affect HS including external influences and particularly Co-efficient Of Inbreeding (explained below).
Statistics
UK BMD Death Survey show about 68% of deaths are cancer related.
Histio is complex and complicated to even recognise, let alone address, and because of this it is often just accepted in the Bernese community, but testing in the long term will hopefully improve the position.
How to find these results?
Results are not published anywhere in the public domain and the grade doesn’t even show on HSIMS. It is up to owners if they happy to share/publish their dog’s results.
Further Information Sources
Co-efficient of Inbreeding (CoI)
What is the Co-efficient of Inbreeding?
CoI is a calculated % number which refers to how many close relatives there are in a pedigree. When close relatives are bred together this is called Inbreeding.
There is more genetic diversity when there is less inbreeding, and it is felt this can help reduce the risk of health problems. The Kennel Club advice is for the CoI % to be below the breed average which for Bernese is 3.0%.
How does the test work?
You can do the test on the Kennel Club system or Berner-Garde.
The Kennel Club COI System
It is possible to look up the CoI of every dog registered on the KC system, how to access this is explained in the ‘Databases and Research’ section.
A useful starting point is to look up and record the CoI of the sire and dam and their parents (puppies’ grandparents) and grandparents (the puppies’ great grandparents) in that pedigree. This will give you an indication on how much inbreeding there is the puppies pedigree.
After this you can use the ‘mate select’ tool as an indication of the CoI of future puppies from that combination.
Please note that 25% is very inbred and equivalent to a father x daughter breeding.
To put your result into perspective:
0% = a dog with two apparently unrelated parents (based on all available pedigree information)
12.5% = the genetic equivalent of a dog produced from a grandfather to granddaughter mating, or the mating of a half-brother/sister
25% = the genetic equivalent of a dog produced from a father to daughter mating, or the mating of full brother/sister
The Kennel Club states that the lower the result, the lower the risk of this dog having health issues. It's important to remember that these results are a measure of risk, rather than a direct measure of health.
Statistics
The Kennel Club advice is for the CoI % to be below the breed average which for Bernese is 3.4%.
How to find these results?
Refer to other section ‘Databases and Research’.
Further Information Sources
Common reasons why some breeding dogs are not always health tested…
Money: In 2023 to fully health test a breeding dog (including Hips, Elbows, DM SODA, DM SODB and HS Pre Test) the total one-off cost would be no more than £700. It seems hard to justify not testing for financial reasons especially when put into perspective against the sale price of a single puppy. In the case of puppy farmers who are financially driven this is often the real rationale behind the lack of testing, although are unlikely to openly use this as an excuse.
Fear of results: Whilst it can be upsetting to know your dog may have or carry a potential health problem, there is still an opportunity to improve the next generation by using the information from testing to select the most suitable match.
Validity of the results: As some results are not definitive and only an indication of probability or risk the value of them can be questioned. However, if you look are trends for Hip Scores it is clear that the improvement is due to many years of testing and making balanced breeding decisions based on the results. This is just one example of how testing has impacted the breed positively by reducing the average scores.
Lack of knowledge and understanding: Not all breeders keep themselves up to date with current health testing information.
Availability of the tests: From the information provided above you will understand that the tests are readily available and easy to do.
Healthy dogs don’t need testing: Dogs may appear healthly (or even have a vet health certificate) at the time of breeding but health testing forms more of a genetic picture of the dog that is not visible at that given time and can manifest itself in offspring.