Given that carriers have a low risk of developing PLL surely it makes sense to only breed with clear dogs?
A. Unfortunately it doesnt. Our research has shown that for some breeds as many as 45-50% of the dogs are carriers; eliminating all these dogs from the breeding population would reduce the genetic diversity of the breed dramatically and could ultimately be very detrimental. We suggest breeders DNA test all their potential breeding stock and continue to breed with their best dogs, regardless of their PLL genotype. However, carriers and genetically affected dogs should only be mated to clear dogs and all resulting puppies should be tested to identify any carriers which should subsequently be monitored throughout their lives. Q.I always thought that once a DNA test was available for PLL we could avoid producing any more affected dogs now we are being told that carriers, which have a low risk of developing PLL, should be bred with. Surely this will result in more carriers being born, some of which will develop PLL? A. Yes, this is correct. However, by ensuring that carriers are only mated
