Am/JKC CH Quiraing Army Of Me
No dog or breed of dog is immune to health issues, and this includes the Skye Terrier. Some may say the breed is free of health issues, inherited or otherwise, and sadly this is not only a very irresponsible statement, but simply untrue.
Luxating patellas, elbow and hip dysplasia, Craniomandibular Osteopathy, premature closure of the ulna, thyroid disease, and perhaps most ominous: Renal Dysplasia, have all been documented to exist in the Skye Terrier population.
We feel it is our responsibility as guardians of this rare and wonderful breed to do everything possible to ensure that our dogs and the puppies we produce are healthy and free of these issues. We strongly believe that ALL Skye Terriers should be screened at the very minimum for Patellar Luxation, Elbow Dysplasia, and Hip Dysplasia, although we also routinely screen our dogs for CMO and thyroid disease. Additionally, we have recently started doing high sensitivity renal sonograms on our dogs to detect even the slightest renal abnormalities that could be attributed to Renal Dysplasia, until we have a DNA screening test for this condition, the best we can do is rule out affected dogs from our breeding program. Renal Dysplasia in Skye Terriers is currently thought to be a simple autosomal recessive trait, there is no way to screen for carriers at this time. A carrier can only be detected if they produce an affected puppy.
When searching for a puppy of any breed, including the Skye Terrier, we feel it is very important to ask the breeder if they do any health screening on their dogs and breeding stock. If so, the certificates should be made available to any prospective buyer. While health testing is optional to any breeder in the USA, we feel very strongly that ALL breeding stock must be health tested to help ensure healthy puppies and a healthy gene pool.
Luxating patellas, elbow and hip dysplasia, Craniomandibular Osteopathy, premature closure of the ulna, thyroid disease, and perhaps most ominous: Renal Dysplasia, have all been documented to exist in the Skye Terrier population.
We feel it is our responsibility as guardians of this rare and wonderful breed to do everything possible to ensure that our dogs and the puppies we produce are healthy and free of these issues. We strongly believe that ALL Skye Terriers should be screened at the very minimum for Patellar Luxation, Elbow Dysplasia, and Hip Dysplasia, although we also routinely screen our dogs for CMO and thyroid disease. Additionally, we have recently started doing high sensitivity renal sonograms on our dogs to detect even the slightest renal abnormalities that could be attributed to Renal Dysplasia, until we have a DNA screening test for this condition, the best we can do is rule out affected dogs from our breeding program. Renal Dysplasia in Skye Terriers is currently thought to be a simple autosomal recessive trait, there is no way to screen for carriers at this time. A carrier can only be detected if they produce an affected puppy.
When searching for a puppy of any breed, including the Skye Terrier, we feel it is very important to ask the breeder if they do any health screening on their dogs and breeding stock. If so, the certificates should be made available to any prospective buyer. While health testing is optional to any breeder in the USA, we feel very strongly that ALL breeding stock must be health tested to help ensure healthy puppies and a healthy gene pool.