52 Saber Tails Fall 2017

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

dogs!) from the breeding population, and po-

tentially an even greater percentage of the in-

tact dogs that are capable of breeding. Breed-

ers must determine the POAG status of both 

sire and dam in order to avoid any breeding 

that might produce affected puppies, such as 

a carrier to carrier breeding. It is recommend-

ed to breed any carrier to a known clear dog 

and replace the carrier parent in the breeding 

program with a quality clear offspring. Using 

this strategy, no additional POAG-affected PB-

GVs will be born and the number of POAG carriers in the population will decline. 

If you want to know the POAG status of a specific PBGV, or would like a list of POAG clear, carrier, and affected dogs, you 

have two options for obtaining that information. You can go to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) website 

and search their database. Alternatively, you can examine the PBGVCA pedigree database. See the Boxes for more in-

formation.  You will find there are far more results for POAG published on the PBGVCA pedigree database than the OFA 

database.  This is because the PBGVCA is receiving updated data directly from the AHT and making updates based on 

that information.  OFA must rely on owner submissions of the test results with no other way of collecting the data.  The 

PBGVCA does encourage owners to submit their test results to the OFA database.

How long will we need to continue to test our PBGVs for the POAG mutation? In some cases, a litter can be designated 

‘clear by parentage’. For this to occur, the sire and dam must both be DNA tested and designated as ‘clear’; the sire and 

dam test results must be registered with OFA; and the sire, dam, and offspring must have their DNA identity profiled and 

parentage verified. By OFA policy, only this first generation of offspring can be designated as ‘clear by parentage’. If a sire 

and dam are ‘clear by parentage’, then their offspring must be subjected to DNA testing.

The OFA ‘clear by parentage’ policy may seem excessive. Certainly, in a perfect world in which mistakes are never made, 

all people are honest, and ‘oops’ litters never occur, then a breeding of two ‘clear by parentage’ dogs should produce all 

clear puppies. Unfortunately, the world is not perfect and, at this time, the pups of such a breeding must be tested in 

order to be designated as clear. The expense of testing every other generation must be weighed against the pain, suf-

fering and financial costs of producing a litter with affected puppies. The PBGVCA policy is not as strict as OFA’s; the Club 

designates ‘clear by parentage’ dogs as CBP1, and the offspring of two CBP1 dogs are designated as CBP2 in the Club’s 

pedigree database.

In a relatively short time, we went from being unaware of the glaucoma lurking in our breed to being conscious of the 

problem and proactive about prevention of future affected dogs. Most of us received our dog’s POAG test results and 

breathed a sigh of relief because our beloved hounds were either clear or carriers who will not develop glaucoma. At 

worst, we had to alter a breeding plan based on a dog’s results. The owners of affected dogs around the world, however, 

began a new life of frequent visits to the vet for eye pressure measurements, prophylactic or therapeutic drug treat-

ments, eventual removal of the dog’s eyes, and the complexity of living with a blind dog. We should be thankful that 

actions of health-conscious advocates of our breed, researchers, and veterinarians have stopped the progress of this 
awful disease.

 

The OFA Database of Health Tested PBGVs

The OFA collects data on dogs who have been health tested. To find the 

testing results of a particular PBGV or to learn which PBGVs have had spe-

cific tests,

• 

Go to the OFA website (www.ofa.org).

• 

Look for the blue box on the left and click on Advanced Search.

• 

Choose the breed (PBGV) and click begin search to obtain records of 

all PBGVs tested, or

• 

Choose the breed and report type or rating.

The PBGVCA Pedigree Project

Did you know that the PBGVCA maintains a pedigree database that provides health information? For this, you should thank Jo Quin-

tenz and Veronica Scheer, who have spent many hours entering these data.

• 

Go to the Pedigree Project webpage (https://www.pbgv.org/pedigree/ped-home.shtml)

• 

Click on Search PBGVCA Data.

Now you can search for a specific dog by name and view the dog’s profile, sire, dam, owner, breeder, pedigree, and health info. Or 

you can search for all dogs linked to a specific kennel, owner, or breeder. Or you can select specific health tests and learn which 

dogs have had those tests and their results.  The PBGV pedigree database is a powerful tool for health-conscious PBGV owners and 

breeders.