PHPV in puppy

No expert on this one so wondering if anyone can give me some information ...

A friend was due to pick up her puppies (boy and girl) from their breeder shortly and has been advised today that the little girl will need to be put to sleep due to an eye condition (PHPV)

The breeder is well known, registered and states that all of their dogs/bitches are health tested ..... should she be concerned about the other puppy?

No experience here, I'm afraid but sure someone will be along shortly with advice. What an unfortunate situation

I have no experience with this, can't help, sorry, but that's so sad

Ohh No It is one of those awful things that Staffies and Dobermans are prone to having.. It is a devolpment abnormality brfore the pups are born,, Sorry to say but yes all puppies in the litter should be tested asap and any reputable breeder would have had the parents tested for this disease

Thanks for your reply Kylie.

The puppies had all been in for a check up, so I assume that the little boy will have been checked as well. If he is not showing signs (is that how they know they have it?) now is it likely he will be clear of it?

In regards to the testing ... if the parents are tested and clear is it still possible for the puppies to get it or is it passed on like HC?

No it isn't contagious or anything like that it is a deformity of the embryo that is hereditary though but if the other pups were tested (it is just an eye test similar to what we would get at the optometrist) and they were ok then thats good news As long as your friend has NO intention of breeding from him

Aww how unfortunate xxx

Why is the other pup being pts? If its eyes aren't too bad now, they won't get any worse!

PHPV – PERSITENT HYPERPLASTIC PRIMARY VITREOUS

The mode of inheritance of PHPV is not so clear, but it is known that it is a congenital condition (present at birth) and that it is not progressive. This means that if a puppy is born with PHPV it can be detected by ophthalmic screening from 6 weeks of age and if it is affected, whatever the condition of the problem at that stage it will not change throughout the dogs life.

Either of the above conditions can be operated on, but it is a serious operation and can be traumatic and very expensive. It is not always covered by insurance due to the hereditary nature.

I also would ask why it was being put to sleep.

But i would also also ask why they are giving siblings of a boy and girl to someone?

as Hayley says , the reputation of the breeder is somewhat in question just by the fact of letting someone take siblings, but what a shame for the pup , why PTS

Ah so sad

Kylie wrote:No it isn't contagious or anything like that it is a deformity of the embryo that is hereditary though but if the other pups were tested (it is just an eye test similar to what we would get at the optometrist) and they were ok then thats good news As long as your friend has NO intention of breeding from him

Thanks Kylie

I wasn't thinking contagious but rather wondering if both parents had to have the condition for it to be passed along to the puppy, or if it is possible to have it occur from two clear parents?

Caryll wrote:Why is the other pup being pts? If its eyes aren't too bad now, they won't get any worse!

PHPV – PERSITENT HYPERPLASTIC PRIMARY VITREOUS

The mode of inheritance of PHPV is not so clear, but it is known that it is a congenital condition (present at birth) and that it is not progressive. This means that if a puppy is born with PHPV it can be detected by ophthalmic screening from 6 weeks of age and if it is affected, whatever the condition of the problem at that stage it will not change throughout the dogs life.

Either of the above conditions can be operated on, but it is a serious operation and can be traumatic and very expensive. It is not always covered by insurance due to the hereditary nature.

Thanks for the information Caryll.

My understanding is that the eyes are quite bad and that surgery was not offered as an option.

Would it be worthwhile having the little boy checked out by her own vet? Or should they be able to get some confirmation from the other vet who has checked them?

Why pts, Kennys Phpv affected, and he's 2. The condition will not get any worse. Is the pup totally blind?

Personally, I'd get another vet to check this poor pup.

Kell wrote:

Kylie wrote:No it isn't contagious or anything like that it is a deformity of the embryo that is hereditary though but if the other pups were tested (it is just an eye test similar to what we would get at the optometrist) and they were ok then thats good news As long as your friend has NO intention of breeding from him

Thanks Kylie

I wasn't thinking contagious but rather wondering if both parents had to have the condition for it to be passed along to the puppy, or if it is possible to have it occur from two clear parents?

Both parents can be "unaffected" and produce an "affected". There's no such thing as "clear" with PHPV. All puppys have this vessel whilst in the worm, it should disapear at birth, if it doesnt that when PHPV is diagnosed xx

Just found this
This condition is not readily treatable. If the vision impairment is mild, the dog may live a good quality lifestyle by compensating with its acute sense of hearing and smell. Severely affected dogs can undergo specialist ophthalmological surgery but this is extremely delicate (and expensive) surgery with no guarantees of full recovery of vision. It is generally recommended by veterinarians and breeders, that puppies born blind from PHPV are best euthanased

http://www.bva.co.uk/public/documents/Eye_Leaflet.pdf

kenny d wrote:Why pts, Kennys Phpv affected, and he's 2. The condition will not get any worse. Is the pup totally blind?

As I said in a previous post, my understanding is that the eyes are quite bad and that surgery was not offered as an option - though I do not believe the puppy is completely blind.

While I am sorry to hear that he is affected, I am glad to hear that Kenny is doing well regardless

kenny d wrote:Personally, I'd get another vet to check this poor pup.

Thank you - will pass that along

kenny d wrote:

Kell wrote:

Kylie wrote:No it isn't contagious or anything like that it is a deformity of the embryo that is hereditary though but if the other pups were tested (it is just an eye test similar to what we would get at the optometrist) and they were ok then thats good news As long as your friend has NO intention of breeding from him

Thanks Kylie

I wasn't thinking contagious but rather wondering if both parents had to have the condition for it to be passed along to the puppy, or if it is possible to have it occur from two clear parents?

Both parents can be "unaffected" and produce an "affected". There's no such thing as "clear" with PHPV. All puppys have this vessel whilst in the worm, it should disapear at birth, if it doesnt that when PHPV is diagnosed xx

Thank you Kelly

As I said, no expert on this ... I had thought that if parents were tested and the condition not present in them that pups would not be affected - interesting to note that this is not the case with this condition. Thank you for the information and the link.

Kell wrote:

kenny d wrote:

Kell wrote:

Kylie wrote:No it isn't contagious or anything like that it is a deformity of the embryo that is hereditary though but if the other pups were tested (it is just an eye test similar to what we would get at the optometrist) and they were ok then thats good news As long as your friend has NO intention of breeding from him

Thanks Kylie

I wasn't thinking contagious but rather wondering if both parents had to have the condition for it to be passed along to the puppy, or if it is possible to have it occur from two clear parents?

Both parents can be "unaffected" and produce an "affected". There's no such thing as "clear" with PHPV. All puppys have this vessel whilst in the worm, it should disapear at birth, if it doesnt that when PHPV is diagnosed xx

Thank you Kelly



As I said, no expert on this ... I had thought that if parents were tested and the condition not present in them that pups would not be affected - interesting to note that this is not the case with this condition. Thank you for the information and the link.

No problem. I feel for your friend. Maybe they could also ring the Aht, they were very helpful when kenny got diagnosed. Good luck x

Kell, could you maybe ask your friend's breeder if they'd be prepared to help the AHT? I don't know if it's possible to send swabs from Australia, but it's worth a a try!

http://www.staffords.co.uk/sbtbc/ahtstudyphpv.htm

Has been emailed through Caryll - hopefully they will be able to help out.

Thanks again for the information.

Sorry Kell, I forgot to mention. Its possible that only 1 pup be affected and not the rest, they could all be affected but all at different degrees x

Any news

She had the puppies checked by her vet as well and the little girls eyes were quite badly affected. The surgery option was discussed but according to both vets highly unlikely to be of much help - so the little girl was pts

Sadly one of the other puppies in the litter also has the condition, however it is only mild and he will not be pts which is good.

On a positive note her little boy (Mataya) has perfect little eyes and he is all healthy and well

Poor little mite.

Shows how important the health testing is before you breed!

I take it she isn't planning to breed from her pup?

No Caryll, breeding was never part of the plan - however even if she was, it is in the contract for the puppy that it must be neutered and he will only have a limited registration.

At least the other pups are all ok, even if one of them is affected.

poor baby . How old was she x