Advanced Animal Care of Colorado is proud to be one of the few locations in Colorado offering BAER testing for congenital deafness in dogs. Veterinarian Dr. Heather Steyn has been breeding Australian Shepherd Dogs (a breed that experiences deafness) for the past 15 years. As a veterinarian who has a special interest in breeders and reproduction, she has had the opportunity to work with the majority of breeds that experience congenital deafness first hand!
Congenital deafness has been reported for approximately 80 breeds, with the list growing at a regular rate; breeds with white pigmentation seem especially prone. Here is a link to the breeds that have been reported to have congenital deafness: http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/breeds.htm. Dr George M Strain at Louisiana State University is famous for his work on congenital deafness and here is a copy of the link to his website with a tremendous amount of information on deafness in dogs and cats: http://www.lsu.edu/deafness/deaf.htm. Here is an additional link for information regarding the heritability of deafness: http://www.offa.org/deaf_genetics.html.
Dr. Steyn has been conducting BAER tests since 2003. Her testing unit provides printouts of the BAER tracing for each dog or puppy. You will receive a copy of this official tracing. We recommend sending these results to the OFA so that accurate information regarding the incidence rate of the disease can be tracked. If you wish to send the results to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), please bring your OFA paperwork with you to your session. Here is a link for the OFA Congenital Deafness Application: http://www.offa.org/pdf/deafapp_bw.pdf.
OFA minimum age requirements for deafness testing are 35 days old but we recommend BAER testing between 6-8 weeks of age depending on the breed and size. Sedation for testing is NOT necessary in greater than 99% of cases! Gentle handling and patience goes a long way with puppies as well as bringing them with full bellies and after a long bout of playing! Dr. Steyn also provides counseling on steps to take if any hearing impairment is detected.
Extensive information about deafness in dogs and cats, including how to live with and care for them, is available from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and Louisiana State University at the above links.
