• I have heard there are puppies from a breeder with CLEAR parents, who did DNA to PROVE the sire/dam, with Fanconi. Plus others who tested CLEAR, but now have Fanconi.

    Even if your dogs are clear please keep doing occasional testing!


  • No, the ones that have Fanconi have come from recorded Carrier DNA tested, there have so far to date, no Clear to Clear and tested Clear being now a Fanconi affected. Bottom line is this is a linkage test and still strip testing is needed. And yes, even clears should be strip tested.


  • Thanks for clearing that up…also, any b who has not had it done, needs to have a cheek swab. Your vet will not do it.
    YOU need to do it.
    $65 is cheap to know what the future holds for your beloved dog. IMO


  • @tanza:

    No, the ones that have Fanconi have come from recorded Carrier DNA tested, there have so far to date, no Clear to Clear and tested Clear being now a Fanconi affected. Bottom line is this is a linkage test and still strip testing is needed. And yes, even clears should be strip tested.

    Not what I heard at all. But since posting posts from other places truly isn't appropriate, obviously it's a he said/she said. I note you didn't address the 2 clears having Fanconi carrier pups… are you also disputing that?


  • Remember all, this is still only a linkage test.. it is NOT fool proof. It is certainly better then what we have had in the past, but we should NOT rest on these results. There is still margin for error, both human and the dogs themselves (genes). But it is what we have.. that and remember still need to strip test is what is best for the breed until we have a direct genetic test. Remember too, clear by Parents is NOT an accepted practice, so even if you get a pup from P.Clear to P.Clear, you should still DNA test your pup and remember by age 3 to strip test.


  • @DebraDownSouth:

    Not what I heard at all. But since posting posts from other places truly isn't appropriate, obviously it's a he said/she said. I note you didn't address the 2 clears having Fanconi carrier pups… are you also disputing that?

    Depends on who you are talking about… while you say that posts from other places are not appropriate, without knowing what dogs you are referring to, hard to make a response.

    And what 2 clears having Fanconi carrer pups? Again unless this has been tested and retested, hard to say. Again, this is a LINKAGE Test, not a direct test. There will be errors, both in the test and the people that handle the samples. I know of one that came back P.Affected from a Carrier to Clear, turns out that parentage of the pups was questionable... But then we have had Affected's that came from Carrier to Clear, pup being tested as Carrier and then turned out to be affected. Again, this is a Linkage test, not a direct test. So not sure that I understand your point?


  • The bottom line is that you strip test your dogs and you get a cheek swab for your dogs.
    When something new comes along, YOU do that.
    Because it gives you inforamtion on how to help your dog live as long as they can.
    We all want that yes???


  • @sharronhurlbut:

    The bottom line is that you strip test your dogs and you get a cheek swab for your dogs.
    When something new comes along, YOU do that.
    Because it gives you inforamtion on how to help your dog live as long as they can.
    We all want that yes???

    Exactly… but we must not forget that this is a linkage test.. so not only will there be errors that are human.. but errors from the markers themselves depending on the dog. Best we have is to test with DNA and then to continue to test with strip testing and MOST important report the findings if you find that your Basenji is spilling.


  • BCOA says: http://www.basenji.org/PUBLIC/BasenjiHealthPages.pdf
    Pets can be DNA tested to verify a Fanconi diagnosis or to help assess their likelihood of coming down with Fanconi. However, even if your dog is DNA tested clear or carrier, you should still strip-test, as there is a small risk of error with the linkage DNA test and a small number of false positives and false negatives have occurred.

    I think that we must imprint Pat's and Sharon's words into our brains… which really was my whole point. I don't want people to assume the linkage test is foolproof, not test and then end up with a dog dying young that simple strip testing would have found and gotten on protocol. I am sending in both Cara and Arwen (who at almost 9 still is clear so should be fine but I'd like to know anyway!) this month. And I'll keep strip testing til they get a direct test. Heck, I'm so paranoid I'll probably still test.

  • Houston

    just out of curiosity..when should the strip testing begin…I mean at what age?


  • I would say that depends on test results. If results are affected, I would start at 2, carrier and clear probably at 3. I would also recommend more consistent testing with an affected than a clear/carrier. I personally don’t think you need to be constantly strip testing a dog with a fanconi test of clear/carrier, but it should be done periodically.


  • Before the cheek swabs came out, I used to strip test the first of every month.
    Made it easy for me to remember to do it.


  • @etzbseder:

    I would say that depends on test results. If results are affected, I would start at 2, carrier and clear probably at 3. I would also recommend more consistent testing with an affected than a clear/carrier. I personally don?t think you need to be constantly strip testing a dog with a fanconi test of clear/carrier, but it should be done periodically.

    http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=10971&highlight=fanconi

    I think the need to strip testing routinely, especially for carriers, is pretty clearly shown necessary by this recent thread. Sorry, I'd rather test than have a dog go months sick. I don't think 3 mins to strip once a month constitutes as "constantly."


  • When you test, it should be several days in a row, so when you have a case like mine. Carrier from a clear and a child of two clears, I don’t think testing every month is necessary, every 3 months should be sufficient. If you know about the disease you know what to look for more than just a color change on a strip of paper.


  • @etzbseder:

    When you test, it should be several days in a row, so when you have a case like mine. Carrier from a clear and a child of two clears, I don?t think testing every month is necessary, every 3 months should be sufficient. If you know about the disease you know what to look for more than just a color change on a strip of paper.

    I agree it never hurts to strip several days in a row….. But I totally disagree with your statement that it isn't necessary to strip test every month. There is such a variety of presentation among dogs that you should at the very least strip test once a month. Besides doing it on a set time table helps to engrave the habit into your daily life.


  • First, the strip testing should catch things BEFORE any symptoms appear! That is the point of doing it… to catch it early.

    Second, while I guess testing several days is okay, when I read your statement I thought... wow, 10 yrs of doing it wrong. So I went to look, and not ONE mentioned doing even 2 days in a row. It might not hurt to do it 2 days or 3 or 10, but if a dog has Fanconi, it is not that likely to change from day one to day 2 or day 3.

    http://www.basenjifanciers.com/Basenji-Health.html

    http://www.basenjirescue.org/Fanconi/fanconi.htm

    http://www.basenjihealth.org/health-content.html

    http://www.basenji-freunde.com/1_letter_dr_gonto_fanconi_syndrome.htm


  • Debra, Amen and Amen!!! When I received the result my boy was prob affected I have to admit though as far to the left as it was I without fail for over 2 years stripped him every single day. It was my way of getting through the day with some sort of peace of mind. I am now on a far more reasonable schedule 🙂 I hate to hear anyone promote skipping a month here and there. Pick a day of the month and engrave it in your schedule.


  • If I had an affected dog, I probably wold test at least twice a month, again, caught as early as possible has better outcomes in most diseases. If clear or carrier, monthly is enough.


  • I test Presley at least once a week and any day I just need a little extra confidence he is ok. I live with the hope that he will never spill a drop of sugar, but heaven forbid it ever happens I want to catch it right early.


  • Actually I was told several years ago by Parry Tallmadge that he caught his dog early by testing for a full week each month. He was testing monthly but was concerned because of other dogs having become ill. He tested several days in a row and did get differing results from day to day.
    Debra is right the key is catching it early and it would seem to me in this particular case strip testing a couple days in a row each month might not hurt.
    Just a thought.
    Therese

Suggested Topics

  • 6
  • 56
  • 16
  • 13
  • 7
  • 3