BAER TESTING
For years I had known that Cresteds with the occasional closed ear canal could very likely be deaf. But, when I discovered myself to be the proud new owner of a totally deaf Crested with normal appearing ears, I was in shock.Coming from a background of 30 years in Dalmatians, it was not hard to pick out this particular dog and his "problem". BAER testing is the only absolute way to determine deafness - either unilateral or bilateral. Deafness DOES exist in Chinese Cresteds and we have decided that ALL of our litters in the future will be tested for this potentially serious problem. We have now tested two litters - with a friend testing a third. In addition we know of four adults that have been done. There were a total of 14 puppies in the three litters, for a grand total of 18 Cresteds. Of these 18, two dogs have unilateral hearing and another was totally deaf. That is 3 affected animals from a small sampling of 18...........Surely, with 16% of the Cresteds thus far tested having a hearing problem, it is time for breeders to at least admit that the problem exists!
The above was written in January, 2000. Since then we have had several litters of puppies tested and all have been bilateral normal. However........in this same time period we have found out about three more adults belonging to others that are totally deaf - all three of whom were used for breeding purposes. 10/12/00
We have now found a totally deaf puppy of our own breeding, plus the two with unilateral hearing that had closed ear canals. In addition we have heard of yet another totally deaf adult..........
Obviously there is a great NEED for breeders to BAER test, yet there are only a very few that bother. There are some who simply clap their hands and if the puppies react - well then they can hear!! Doesn't matter if they hear normally out of both ears...........as long as they can hear they are OK for breeding and showing! This type of attitude is going to cause major problems in the years to come. I repeat again - there is only ONE WAY to determine if your dog hears normally in both ears, and that is the BAER test. Its fast, simple and painless and IT IS available all over the country. Sure - you may have to go out of your way to find a clinic, but they ARE there if you want to make the effort. 1/25/01
The photos below are of a ten week old litter of puppies and their dam. The test can be done as early as 6 weeks on puppies. Some of the puppies struggled a bit - mad at being restrained, but overall the testing is quick, easy and doesn't hurt the dogs in the least. What might hurt is your checkbook!!
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Waiting our turns...........
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Jazzy is first.......the pins are sharp but don't seem to bother anyone
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Burbee and Dixie......not happy with being held!!
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PJ and Rags.......and all their wires!!
This is a computer readout of a normal hearing response
For more information on BAER Testing, Locations, Deafness - the following links have a wealth of information. Do check them out.
Deafness in Dogs and Cats
DCA Hearing Info
BAER in the U.K.
Deafness and a Blue Eye Connection??
Where would you like to go now?
