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I have a puppy, labrador retriever. I was told that the sire had english in him and the dame was an american lab. Anyway, all the puppies from that litter have had eye problems and joint problems (dwarfism). I have been told that when you breed an english lab with an american lab, those are the usual problems that occur. My puppy and another puppy have had retinal detachments, and two of the other puppy from the same litter are completely blind. Also another puppy I have heard is not growing, she is 7 months old and she ways around 30 pounds. I have seen the papers on the pedigrees, checked everything out, etc. I was just wondering if anyone has ever heard of this happening, especially in breeding english labs with american labs. Please let me know something. Thanks!

~brenda~

I really can't answer your question, but I don't see how breeding an english lab to an american lab can cause any problems. The only way I would think it is possible is that one or the other is a carrier of whatever defect the puppies are born with.

I wouldn't get a puppy from a breeder that hasn't had all the tests done on the sire and bitch that are required for the breed. Here are 2 testings that MUST be done to both the Dog and Bitch before I'd purchase a lab from a breeder:

Have the parents' hips and elbows been radiographed (X-RAYED)? Hip and elbow dysplasias are potentially crippling abnormalities of joint formation that, unfortunately, do occur in this breed. While there are several factors involved in joint dysplasias, it is well known that these are at least partly inherited. It may take several years for the painful arthritis associated with hip and elbow dysplasia to become apparent, but the joints can be checked by x-ray examination before breeding. Making sure that both parents, and as many of their relatives as possible, are radiographically free of hip and elbow dysplasia will help you to avoid this sad condition.

Have the parents had their eyes examined? Unfortunately again, some Labradors may have inherited eye defects that could lead to vision loss. Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) is a disease in which blindness will gradually develop. Subtle changes in the appearance of the retina (part of the inside of the eye) can indicate that tendency. Retinal Dysplasia is generally a non-progressive eye disease that causes varying degrees of poor eye-sight, but rarely total blindness. Juvenile Cataracts are spots of abnormal coloration deep within the lens. They generally do not affect vision and are non-progressive. Only veterinarians with special training (Ophthalmologists) and special interests in eye diseases may be able to give an authoritative opinion on the health of the eyes of your puppy's parents.

I hope this helps.
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Melody/PHFasDog
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>>I have a puppy, labrador retriever. I was told that the sire had english in him and the dame was an american lab. Anyway, all the puppies from that litter have had eye problems and joint problems (dwarfism). I have been told that when you breed an english lab with an american lab, those are the usual problems that occur. My puppy and another puppy have had retinal detachments, and two of the other puppy from the same litter are completely blind. Also another puppy I have heard is not growing, she is 7 months old and she ways around 30 pounds. I have seen the papers on the pedigrees, checked everything out, etc. I was just wondering if anyone has ever heard of this happening, especially in breeding english labs with american labs. Please let me know something. Thanks!
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>> ~brenda~

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Okay, I see your question now. I didn't answer it before because it will take an expert in Labrador Retriever genetics to figure out what went wrong with this litter. It is not as simple as breeding an American dog to a British one--that is done all the time and has contributed to some outstanding bloodlines. You would NOT usually get these problems from that mating.

When dogs are bred to other dogs who are far outside their bloodline, it brings in genetic diversity with the potential of improving the health and intelligence of the pups. Breeders try to do this every so many generations. I have Belgian Tervuren (I am not a breeder) and three of the four Tervs I've had have been outcrosses. One was American/French from a mating done in France, one was American/Belgian with a dog from Belgium imported to the US, and one was imported from Canada where her parents were of two different varieties.

Along with the potential for improving health and intelligence comes the risk of getting into some genetics in the outcross mating that will mesh wrong between the two mates. It sounds like that happened here. Sometimes there is absolutely no way the breeder could have predicted it. It's also possible something happened to the mother dog or the pups when they were very young, such as an illness like herpes or brucellosis.

The breeder should be willing to arrange for you to have another puppy at some point in the future in compensation for this happening. That is a typical thing that a responsible breeder will do when a puppy turns out with such a serious problem and others in the litter similarly affected.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com