Health and Temperament

Health problems and Genetic Testing in American Staffordshire Terriers

Parastone’S American Staffordshire Terriers wishes to thank our vet, Dr. Dre Koolen  of Animal Hospital Ell for all his help and support through the years. Dr. Koolen  is an innovative diagnostician and a skilled surgeon. His expertise and common sense has brought us through some tough situations with seeming ease. Dre is a wonderful, compassionate vet and all the AmStaff’s love him. We do, too. Many thanks to Dre and his terrific staff. Many people who call us looking for a puppy are concerned with how long the dogs live. We tell them that there is no way to know ahead of time, but that by doing a comprehensive battery of tests for genetically linked health problems we can hedge our bets and hopefully help our dogs live longer and happier lives.

Here at Parastone’S we test for a number of items:

Temperament:

Before mating a bitch we off course temperament test both the dame and the sire. Not only because Dutch breeders have to (because of government rules), but mainly because we want to know the temperament of this particular individual. This temperament test is according the rules of the Dutch Kennel Club (Raad van Beheer) and the National Breed Club (A.S.T.C.H.). The test is called M.A.G.-test and the results will be registered and certificated.

At three, five and seven weeks of age, we temperament our babies, using a mix of numerous methods. This involves putting the puppies through a series of exercises to determine their reaction to various stimuli. The exercises are done in a certain order and are performed in a strange place by a person never before encountered by the puppies. A second person records and grades the puppies' reactions to the stimuli. By the time our puppies reach seven weeks old, we are very familiar with their temperaments, but we are always interested to see how they do with the temperament testing. You can always catch a tendency that you might not have picked up before because of the puppy's mental development. We use these results when matching our puppies to their prospective homes.

After all you have read on this site already, we're sure you're more than aware of how important we believe temperament is. We just thought we'd say - one more time - that a dog who cannot live loose in the house and socialize with the family is of no use to anyone.

Our goal is to breed a sweet, happy temperament - one without aggressive tendencies - so that our dogs can be loose with children, cats, other dogs and the odd ferret that might come along. A stable temperament is one that will stand a dog in good stead through any situation, be it a child screaming and running by or a broken leg with the accompanying pain.

Stable temperaments come from breeding for them. They do not come from environment, although certainly we recognize that the way in which an animal is raised plays a large part in the way they are conditioned to react to certain stimuli. We strive to achieve a lovely, sweet temperament in every puppy we breed. No exceptions. A dog with a great head that wins in the show ring, but is miserable to live with is not something with which we want to be involved.

Heart Defects:

We test all our breeding animals for heart defects by echocardiogram. This is costly and time consuming, as echoes are not readily available from most veterinary facilities. We have been fortunate to find a Board Certified Cardiologist who we can work with. The "accepted standard" of testing is that listening (auscultation) to the heart is enough. We go one step further and do echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound of the heart. This way, we can be absolutely certain that there are no defects of the heart chambers, valves, vessels, etc.

Kidney Function Defects:

Our dogs have a urine protein/creatinine ratio done every year. This shows whether or not their kidneys are functioning properly. 

Patella Luxation & Hip-Dysplasia:

Our regular veterinarian checks all the dog's patella’s and hips once a year when they have their check-ups. However, we have started using a Board Certified Orthopedic Veterinarian to palpate our patella’s and hips. There seem to be a wide range of techniques employed by the various vets we have seen check patella’s and hips, so since we would rather be safe than sorry, we are using an orthopedic vet. This affords a consistent testing program and a uniformity of data.

Cerebellar Ataxia:

Cerebellar Ataxia is a neurological disorder. This disease is also called Cerebellar Cortical Degeneration or Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (NCL). The first signs of the disease usually appear between 3 and 5 years of age in affected dogs. More rarely, early or late-onset symptoms can appear between 1.5-3 years or after 5 years. Symptoms are loss of balance, difficulty cornering, and falling when shaking their head. When they become unable to walk without falling repeatedly, owners usually make the difficult choice to euthanize. The clinical diagnosis is realized by excluding others diseases and confirmed by a MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). We do a DNA test which is reliable, easy to do from a cheek swab (cytobrush) that can be done at any age as soon as the animal is identified (by tattoo or chip). Once validated by the test, the genetic status of the dog will not change throughout his/her life. Here at Parastone'S we only breed with dogs, who are tested and proven Ataxia clear (normal homozygous). This guarantees that the disease will not develop and there will be no transmission of the genetic anamoly.

For further information: Antagene France.

Paul Marks.