Health

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver” – Gandhi

The greatest hope for us all is health.  A whole life spent in perfect health cannot be promised for anyone, but there are a few conditions which we can try to avoid.

When selecting a breeder or rescue, choose one who is open about health challenges and who uses the tests which are available to steer around them. A person who has puppies or re-homes dogs assuming that they do not have any health problems, or without using any health testing is ‘driving blindfolded’ and will not be able to avoid any of the problems which do arise.

When you buy or re-home a dog it is within your power to influence the future health of all dogs, pedigree or non-pedigree.  You can choose to support responsible breeders and rescues.  Find out what health tests are appropriate, and ask to see the results of those tests before you buy.

Here at Appletor we are committed to the promotion of health in dogs. English Toy Terriers are an athletic breed of dog with very few inherited health conditions, but there are some routine tests which can and should be done on all dogs before breeding, whether they are pedigree or not.

Be an Informed Buyer               Choose an informed Breeder

The Kennel Club now register both pedigree and non-pedigree dogs and have good health information for all breeds and cross-breeds on their website, together with advice on how to find a puppy or rescue dog with contact details for breeders and re-homing organisations.

As enthusiasts of a wonderful native breed, we would encourage anyone who is looking for a dog to visit the KC website, and to consider choosing one of our native breeds to share your life.  They come in all shapes and sizes with variety enough to suit every taste.  Like many of our traditional breeds of farm animal and heritage plant varieties, without the support of new owners and breeders, we stand to lose some of our oldest native breeds of dog completely.

Our own dogs have regular eye tests, have their hips and patellas tested manually and by x-ray and have been DNA tested against vWD type IJDCM, and Xanthinuria.  They have also been DNA profiled, so they and their offspring can be positively identified from their unique genetic signature should they ever be lost or stolen.

We cannot promise that all of our puppies will always be healthy and happy, but we try to give them a good start in life.