A pedigree is an official document of the KKUSH with information about the parents of the puppy. This is important to know because a lot of the characteristics of your dog are given from the parents. A Border collie with a pedigree and a Border collie without pedigree can look the same. Pedigree dogs have advantages that dogs without a pedigree don’t have, and there are also some things to keep in mind. Pedigree dogs are often bred with parents selected for certain properties, so you know beforehand what characteristics you might expect, such as job satisfaction, appearance, etc. Breeders take care of the health, character and appearance of the parent animals. Certain health surveys are mandatory and breeders must comply with a number of rules to protect the welfare of the maternal dog. You also know that your dog’s breeder has a passion for his / her dogs, the puppy grows almost certainly in a home environment, where you can always see the mother of the pup. Keep in mind, however, that a breeded dog with pedigree is often more expensive than a dog without pedigree, the cost for all health studies, the welfare of the maternal dog, accompaniment during and after birth, socialization of the puppy, vaccinations, deworming, animal passport with accompanying chip are all included in the price. Usually there is a waiting time for a puppy with a pedigree, and the breeder often asks critical questions before handing over a puppy to you.
A dog costs money. The purchase price is just the beginning. You should always take into account other costs, some once, others return regularly. For example, you must buy a basket or bench, necklace and strap, food bowl, etc. Then there are of course costs for nutrition, external care, deworming, annual vaccination and possible vet cost. A membership of a dog club and the costs for any matches or exhibitions are also available depending on how active you are with your dog. However, the love you get from your dog in good care is unprofitable!
Looking for a holiday? Remember in advance what you will do with your dog. Will he or she go to boarding kennel? Or does anyone come home to take care of your dog? If you take your dog on holiday, please take into account the standard rules in Europe (European Passport, rabies vaccine, ….) and inform yourself of any additional requirements that may be made by country. Do not feel guilty if your dog goes to boarding kennel, this is also a kind of vacation for your dog. In addition, the people who work in boarding kennel know what they need to do with their experience and training and how to take care of your loved one. Be sure to take a look at the boarding kennel of your choice. Check out the hygiene, accommodation spaces inside and outside, the possibility for your dog to go outside. If necessary, inform you whether you take into account the details of your dog, such as special dietary or veterinary regulations. We do not recommend boarding kennel where “strange” dogs can physically gather together. They can not be with your dog 24 hours a day and it is obviously better to be safe than sorry. Please note that a boarding kennel can be fully booked in holiday periods so book well in advance. Also make sure all your vaccinations (also for kennel cough) are in order.
Dogs and children are often big friends. Children often give a dog a lot of attention and play with them. But despite being well-meaning, children are often unpredictable and sometimes threatening to a dog. It is therefore important that there are clear rules. The food bowl, water bowl and basket / bench are only for your dog. Teach your child that it does not disturb a sleeping or eating dog. A wagging tail or flapping ears are always interesting to (small) children, however teach them not to pull. Teach your child how to gently touch a dog without hurting it. Never leave your child alone with your dog, make sure there is always an adult. But:… Also teach your dog that he / she may not beg if your child has something to eat. Take care with wrestling or boisterous playing with your child, a dog might think that someone is threatened and will want to defend that person, which often leads to snarling or biting. The responsibility of this is always with the parents (owner of the dog) so make sure they know what to look for.
Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA) ~ Methode: DNA test
Heupdysplasie ~ Methode: Xray
Cataract ~ Methode: Eye examination by ecvo specialist
Epilepsie ~ Methode: Examination by vet
Glaucoma ~ Methode: Eye examination by ecvo specialist
Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (CL) ~ Methode: DNA test
Persistent Pupillary Membranes (PPM) ~ Methode: Eye examination by ecvo specialist
Progressieve Retine Atrofie (PRA) ~ Methode: Eye examination by ecvo specialist
Trapped Neutrophil Syndrome (TNS) ~ Methode: DNA test
Through this link you will find the health surveys that the bitch and dog must have, with good results, to get puppies with KKUSH / LOSH pedigree category 1.
Health surveys
With a titre count we can identify if there are enough antibodies in the blood to protect your dog from certain diseases. If there are enough antibodies, your dog does not have to be vaccinated (yet). You can test your dog for Canine Parvovirus, Canine Distemper Virus and Infectious Canine Hepatitis (liver disease). VacciCheck cannot be test for Weil’s disease, kennel cough or rabies.
In the past, dogs were vaccinated annually with a “large cocktail” vaccination. Some dogs were even vaccinated against leptospirosis twice a year. Improvements in vaccines and a wider understanding of serology testing have happily reduced the need to do so. Nowadays most dogs are vaccinated once every 3 years against Canine Parvovirus, Canine Distemper Virus and Infectious Canine Hepatitis and annually against Leptospirosis. But Serology testing shows that this schedule is often not really necessary. The vaccination against Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvo (DHP) often gives a much longer protection if given at the right time.
What is VacciCheck? VacciCheck is a reliable and easy-to-carry out serological titre test (blood test) for dogs with a good predictive value for protection. VacciCheck measures both maternal antibodies and antibodies created after a previous vaccination, so you know whether or not your dog is protected. Depending on the result, a tailored vaccination can be made or a need to avoid a vaccine. Unfortunately, testing on leptospirosis is not possible with the VacciCheck. But even if it was possible, this vaccination unfortunately only protects relatively briefly: 12-15 months. You need to vaccinate every year against leptospirosis for adequate protection.
Interpreting the test is different for puppies than for adult animals. Adult animals may be immune to Distemper, Hepatitis or Parvo by component:
0-1 = Insufficient protection. Advice: Vaccination
2 = protected, vaccination not necessary. Repeat test over 1 or 2 years
3 -6 = (very) well protected. Repeat test over 3 years
On the basis of this result you can tailor the vaccinate programme for the individual animal. Titres count testing does not stop vaccination but builds good protection with as few vaccinations as possible.
The titres of puppies is a very different story than that of adult dogs. The aim is to get a good protection against the diseases of Canine Hepatitis, Canine Parvovirus and Canine Distemper with as few vaccinations as possible.
When the pups are born, they take the first Milk (the colostrum) and from this they get antibodies from their mother. Antibodies are proteins that provide protection against viruses, bacteria and other parasites.
How many antibodies they get take in depends on how many antibodies the mother has and how much milk the puppies drink the first 4 hours after birth. These maternal antibodies remain present in the blood of the pups approximately between 6 and 12 weeks, but longer is also certainly possible. During this period, this protection of the puppies against major viral diseases such as Hepatitis, Parvo and distemper (canine disease) will decrease and cease. As long as these antibodies are in the blood, the puppies are not only protected, but a vaccination will not be used either.
In the so far usual immunisation programme puppies are vaccinated at 6, 9 and 12 weeks. This is because one does not know when the maternal antibodies are gone. A vaccination does not take effect until these antibodies have disappeared. In fact, we repeat the vaccinations a number of times and gamble that one of these vaccinations will “take”.
With the VacciCheck, one drop of blood can be used to show how many antibodies the puppy still has and whether a vaccination is really necessary. If the values are 1 or 0, vaccination will only be necessary and meaningful. If vaccinated at the right time, your dog may be able to go a number of years with a single vaccination. However, because we are actually dealing with three different tests, the interpretation of the test can sometimes be quite complicated. If all three are at 0 at the same time it is simple but if for example Parvo-antibodies remain in the blood for a long time we will have to make concessions as to vaccination. In the simplest case, you can vaccinate the puppy immediately after the test and in the most unfavorable case you are working on a tailor-made vaccination up to half a year. Consequently, costs can vary considerably.
It is very important that both the breeder and the new boss are on the same page. If the puppy has already had a DP vaccination at 6 weeks of age, the interpretation of the test is very different from vaccinations. The veterinarian will not know whether a positive test is the result of maternal antibodies or vaccination. This often means an additional test to see if the values are decreasing or rising. If the breeder follows the route of titre counting and the new owner negates this with a return to the old “heath programme”.
The initial titre testing is carried out on the puppy usually at around 6 weeks of age, while the puppy is still with the breeder. Then the second test is 2 -4 weeks later. This can already be with the new owner.
In a litter, every puppy is an individual and it cannot be assumed that what applies to one puppy applies to the whole litter.
The best thing is to check whether the vaccination has had a positive effect by carrying out a titre test, about 4 weeks after the DHP vaccination. In The first year, the amount of antibodies can fluctuate, so after a titre determination at the age of 1, a statement can be made about the long-term expectation. If the values are still high then it will be marked for several years and the dog has only had one vaccination as a puppy.
If you have a puppy that has already been vaccinated according to the schedule 6, 9 and 12 weeks then chances are that your dog is well protected. However, studies have shown that 10% of puppies are not properly protected for 1 or more of the parts DHP. These dogs therefore run around unprotected until the next vaccination (usually at the age of 12-15 months). This is called security of appearance. To make sure that your dog is well protected, it is recommended that you test with VacciCheck from a month after the DHP vaccination. The result of this test applied until the dog is 1 year old are valid for a maximum of one year. Tests that are done after 1 year of age can be denoted up to three years if it appears that the protection is sufficient.
