The CKCS handbook mentions that the absolute minimum a new puppy owner should look for are the heart and eye certificates for both parents. The info for the stud dog on the KC website was last updated in 2018.

Also the book mentioned, just because a puppy and parents are registered with the Kennel Club in the UK, and have pedigree certificates, it does not necessarily mean that they have passed any health tests. The book mentioned that “all a pedigree certificate guarantees is that the puppy’s parents can be traced back several generations and the ancestors were all purebred Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

How can I find out exactly what health screening the sire and dam for my puppy has undergone? Would the information be available via Champdogs breeders profile?

Thank you

See my earlier reply it is on the kennel.club website under health test finder.

It's there but the kc website is tricky to find your way around ime

Good morning noted. The KC website shows info from 2018 on the dad. I can see the ancestry but not the recent health scans.
The same applies to the mum. Her page shows she has EF and is clear of CC/DE - curly coat syndrome.

The puppy contract does not list what health checks the parents have undergone. The vet is not a cardiologist.

Not all health tests have to be repeated and a general.vet isn't liklely to be able to help you about from doing a general.chexk on your pup and telling you his health status as of now . These are tests that are done in parents before breeding
Hopefully someone with knowledge  of the breed will see your questions and beable to help
It is worth looking at the champdogs info on the breeder as health tests may be shown on there
You  could try  speaking to the breed club for more information but not necessarily about your specific situation

Noted and Thank you : )

Also not all health schemes are recorded. by the Kennel Club, but then I'd expect results to be shown,  and copies to be given to puppy owners.

The breed club should be able to advise.

I hope you mean the mum is clear of EF or at worst a carrier, if she is affected by EF she most certainly should not have been bred from. The KC don't record any results of heart tests or MRI scans, you would have to get those from the breeder if any were done.

Not every test done is accepted by the kc, nor recognised so not all will show. In my breed heart testing isn't recognised so will never show and neither will some of the DNA tests.
The KC don't recognise heart testing schemes in the UK sadly

Hi Sue,

The Kennel Club website does recommend specific tests are carried out for cavaliers, the list includes a scheme for heart health. Please see a copy and pasted version of their guidance:

Priority health schemes and tests
The Kennel Club's Assured Breeders must use the following (or equivalent) schemes, tests and advice. All other breeders are strongly advised to also use these.
* The Kennel Club's heart scheme for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (supported by the Veterinary Cardiovascular Society)
* Eye screening scheme (BVA/KC/ISDS) - Find results for the pre 2020 MRD open register. This only lists dogs that were diagnosed as 'affected by MRD'. MRD results published after 31 Dec 2019 can be found in their Health Test Results Finder entry
* DNA test – EF - part of The Kennel Club's CombiBreed package*
* DNA test – CC/DE - part of The Kennel Club's CombiBreed package*

Hi Lucy- yes the mum of the puppy is listed as a carrier for EF.

I cannot see any health info for the dad.

My concern is that the breeder, that is listed on this website, might not have bred responsibly and that is why there is a lack of transparency.

I read that if one parent is a carrier of EF and the other is not a carrier then the genetic condition cannot be passed down to the puppy.

> I read that if one parent is a carrier of EF and the other is not a carrier then the genetic condition cannot be passed down to the puppy.

Mendels Theory - Clear to Carrier - 50% clear, 50% Carrier.

Clear x Carrier,  all pups UNAFFECTED,  but half may be Carriers and must never be paired with unknown or Carrier as this may produce Affected pups.

This is the case for Autosomal Recessive Inheritance (most problems).

> Clear x Carrier,  all pups UNAFFECTED,  but half may be Carriers and must never be paired with unknown or Carrier as this may produce Affected pups. <br />

Isn't that what I said, without spelling it out?  I don't see carrier as 'unaffected' - to be that, they'd have to be neither affected, nor carrier and to be that, they'd have to be the result of clear to clear.  Once confirmed carrier, they must not be mated to another carrier, let alone affected.

Carrier to Carrier = 25% clear, 50% carrier and 25% affected.

>Isn't that what I said, without spelling it out?  I don't see carrier as 'unaffected'

Actually no, technically carriers are 'unaffected' - that's the technical term for being 'symptomatic' when it comes to hereditary conditions. Carriers could be described as being 'asymptomatic' but it's misleading to describe them as being affected.

> Actually no, technically carriers are 'unaffected'

In most conditions yes, but not all. MDR1 carriers (there are several in my breed) have been affected by certain drugs, it seems to present like a milder form of MDR1 affected. Not sure if there are other conditions that are similar.

I do want to point out that I know of at least one condition where “carriers” can show mild symptoms - vWD1.

It’s the only disease my boy carries, so I looked it up. It’s not guaranteed, but some dogs that are heterozygous for the faulty gene have problems with clotting, but not as severe as if they have two copies. Luckily River is normal, he didn’t bleed much at all when he was attacked by another dog, and there were no issues during his patella luxation surgery. He once sustained a cut on his ear because my cat bit him too hard during play, and that stopped bleeding pretty quickly.

I guess when you have some incomplete dominance it’s not as accurate  to use the term “carrier” as it implies “completely unaffected”. Of course, normal breeding rules still apply - if a dog has one copy of the faulty gene they should only ever be bred to a clear.

I posted at the same time as Chaumsong. So obviously we have at least two conditions that can show incomplete dominance, where carriers can be mildly affected.

>I read that if one parent is a carrier of EF and the other is not a carrier then the genetic condition cannot be passed down to the puppy.

Yes that's correct, if you breed carrier to clear you will get carriers and clears, and it's ok to do that breeding as if we only use clear dogs we are narrowing the gene pool too much, with all the other diseases Cavaliers are prone to that don't have DNA tests.

In my breed with Glaucoma not all dogs that are genetically. affected,  having 2 copies of the faulty gene,  become. clinical/symptomatic.

There appears to be an unknown trigger.  Symptoms generally don't  appear until 6+ years of age,  so determining mode of inheritance was a headache,  and eliminating it virtually impossible until DNA testing came in in 2015.