BAER HEARING TEST  WE HAVE BEEN BAER TESTING OUR LITTERS SINCE WE BEGAN BREEDING ACDs IN 1998

Deafness is a known problem in Cattle Dogs. The BAER hearing test is done on puppies at around 6 weeks of age to determine whether they can hear. Most puppies have NORMAL hearing (hearing in both ears), occasionally pups can be UNI deaf (deaf in one ear but fine in the other), or totally DEAF.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BAER TEST GO TO THE ANIMAL HEALTH TRUST WHERE ALL OUR TESTING IS DONE

OPTIGEN PRA DNA TEST  WE HAVE BEEN DNA TESTING SINCE THE TEST BECAME AVAILABLE IN 2002

PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) is a hereditary defect of the eye which is present in the Cattle Dog. The Optigen DNA test identifies whether a dog is a clear (PATTERN A), carrier (PATTERN B), or affected (PATTERN C). Puppies Patterns can sometimes be worked out by what their parents are, these are obligates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE DNA TEST GO TO THE OPTIGEN SITE

HIP SCORING  WE HAVE BEEN HIP SCORING OUR ACDs SINCE 1998

Hip Scoring is done by the KC/BVA scheme. The hips are x-rayed and each hip is given a score between 0 and 53 (the lower the number the better the hip). The breed mean score for Australian Cattle Dogs is 11.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE KC/BVA HIP SCORING SCHEME CLICK HERE

ELBOW SCORING  WE HAVE BEEN ELBOW SCORING OUR ACDs SINCE 2004

Elbow Scoring is also done by a KC/BVA scheme. The elbows are x-rayed and each elbow is given a score between 0 and 3 (again the lower the better).

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE KC/BVA ELBOW SCORING SCHEME CLICK HERE