Belgian Shepherd Dog — questions to ask before paying a deposit
A responsible breeder will have these readily available. Deflection is a red flag.
Hip dysplasiacan shorten life or cause chronic pain
Malformation of the hip joint leading to joint laxity and, over time, arthritis and lameness. It is one of the parent club's four basic CHIC certificate requirements, applied across all four varieties (Groenendael, Laekenois, Malinois, Tervueren).
Ask to see: A hip evaluation via OFA or PennHIP, on both parents.
Belgian Sheepdog Club of America — Health (https://bsca.info/about/health/)
Elbow dysplasiacan shorten life or cause chronic pain
Developmental abnormalities of the elbow joint causing pain and lameness, usually appearing before two years of age.
Ask to see: An OFA elbow evaluation, on both parents.
Belgian Sheepdog Club of America — Health (https://bsca.info/about/health/)
Inherited eye disease, including progressive retinal atrophycan shorten life or cause chronic pain
A group of inherited eye conditions, including progressive retinal atrophy, that can progress from mild changes to impaired vision or blindness.
Ask to see: An annual eye examination by a board-certified ACVO ophthalmologist, registered with CAER, on both parents.
Belgian Sheepdog Club of America — Health (https://bsca.info/about/health/)
Autoimmune (lymphocytic) thyroiditis
Immune-mediated destruction of the thyroid gland leading to hypothyroidism. It is progressive but usually well managed for life with daily medication once diagnosed.
Ask to see: An OFA thyroid panel (autoimmune thyroiditis) from an approved laboratory, on both parents.
Belgian Sheepdog Club of America — Health (https://bsca.info/about/health/)
Idiopathic epilepsycan shorten life or cause chronic pain
Recurrent seizures with no identifiable structural or metabolic cause, well documented in this breed and specifically studied in its Groenendael and Tervueren varieties. Severity ranges from occasional mild seizures to clusters that are a veterinary emergency.
Ask to see: No validated commercial genetic test exists. Research has linked risk to a haplotype on chromosome 14 (near the RAPGEF5 gene) and to the ADAM23 gene, but genetic-testing laboratories state plainly that the condition is too polygenically complex for a marketed DNA test at this time. Diagnosis is by veterinary neurological work-up (MRI and CSF analysis) to rule out other causes of seizures; ask about seizure history in the sire, dam and littermates.
AKC Canine Health Foundation — The Genetics of Idiopathic Epilepsy in the Belgian Sheepdog and Belgian Tervuren (https://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/the-genetics-of-idiopathic.html) · Genome-wide association analysis of idiopathic epilepsy in the Belgian shepherd (PMC) (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7491283/) · Validation of a Chromosome 14 Risk Haplotype for Idiopathic Epilepsy in the Belgian Shepherd Dog, Associated with an Insertion in RAPGEF5 (PMC) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9323784/)