Hi We are just about to get a labrador puppy from a registered breeder in Australia (we live in Australia). While the dam has been cleared of any disease the sire has been found to be a PRA carrier in the DNA report. DNA report also states that the sire being a carrier, will not develop the disease nor pass on to it puppies as long as he is not mated with another carrier. Both parents have great pedigrees and their hip and elbow testing have excellent scoring. All at home love the puppy and do want to buy this puppy. However, the only dilemma is this finding in the DNA report. Even though it says everything is fine with the puppies, a bit concern as this is our first dog. Does anyone wish to share any thoughts? Any advice is appreciated..
Hi @Labilan Welcome to the forum! It's great to hear you're taking such care to find a healthy puppy with the best possible prospects There's no reason you shouldn't bring home a puppy from a litter if just one parent is a carrier for PRA. As the DNA report says, carriers do not develop the disease, and your puppy won't develop it either, although they might also be a carrier. And this will only have any implications if you want to breed from them as well in the future (you'll have to make sure the dog they mate with is clear, like your puppy's dam). In fact, it's quite important that breeders go on using PRA carriers in their breeding programs, because to exclude them all would have a significant knock-on effect on the overall genetic diversity of the Labrador breed. It's simply a case of using genetic testing to make sure carriers aren't mated together, so that no dogs actually develop the disease. I hope that helps - you can read more about PRA and PRA testing here if you'd like.
