What Tests Does My Poodle Need?

In chondrodystrophic breeds such as the dachshund, this retrogene is associated with intervertebral disc disease. In poodles the picture is different, and a positive result is the norm rather than a warning sign.

Do not read a positive CDDY result in a poodle as a disc disease verdict. One copy is not established to raise IVDD risk within the breed, and in most cases two copies are not either. The variant is close to fixed in Miniatures, so nearly every dog would test positive. Treat it as one input to weigh alongside CDPA status, your veterinarian’s assessment, and the judgement of experienced breeders, not as a breeding disqualification on its own.

Affected dogs are blind in bright light from puppyhood, then undergo full retinal degeneration at around four to five years and lose vision in all lighting.

A connective tissue disorder producing fragile, hyperextensible skin.

The name is misleading. The dog in the original study was a mixed breed, not a poodle. One of the two alleles was found at low frequency in poodle and chihuahua populations, and the authors recommended monitoring. There is no published confirmed case in a poodle.

Blood carries oxygen poorly. Affected dogs have blue-tinged gums and tire easily, but are often otherwise well.

Marketed as a poodle type, but the definitive study sequenced pit bull terriers and pomeranians rather than poodles. Older clinical literature does list the Miniature Poodle.

Fewer but larger platelets. Clinically harmless in itself.

Its real value is diagnostic rather than for breeding. Because it looks like a low platelet count, an affected dog can be misdiagnosed with immune-mediated thrombocytopenia and treated for a disease it does not have. Knowing the genotype prevents that.

In affected breeds, causes severe reactions to certain common drugs including some parasiticides and sedatives.

A herding breed variant. Collies, Australian Shepherds, Shetland Sheepdogs and related breeds carry it. No poodle appears in the published breed frequency studies, and the major laboratories do not include it in their poodle panels.

Produces the short-legged conformation of breeds such as the dachshund and corgi.

Where laboratories list it for poodles it sits under traits rather than diseases, and poodles are expected to test clear. Do not confuse it with CDDY above: they are different retrogenes on different chromosomes. CDPA status is, however, worth knowing when interpreting a CDDY result, which is why the two are best read together rather than in isolation.

In the breeds where it is established, copper builds up in the liver because the dog cannot excrete it efficiently, eventually causing liver damage.

These are Labrador Retriever and Doberman Pinscher variants, sold by laboratories under names such as "Labrador Retriever Type." They arrive on a poodle report because the panel screens every dog for everything it offers, not because poodles were studied. A result carries little to no relevance for the breed and is not a diagnosis of liver disease.

Associated with a baseline level of the liver enzyme ALT that sits at the low end of the normal range. It does not cause liver disease and produces no symptoms.

This is not a health test at all, and Embark itself classifies it as a clinical tool rather than a health result. Its only practical use is that a dog with a naturally low baseline may not show an obviously raised ALT if its liver is later damaged, which is context your veterinarian can note. It is not diagnostic, it is not a clearance, and it is not a breeding consideration.

Early-onset cataract formation in the breeds where it is validated.

Established in the Staffordshire bull terrier, Boston terrier, and Australian shepherd. No poodle frequency data or case was found, and it is absent from the major poodle panels. Cataracts do occur in poodles, but this particular variant is not the reason, which is why the annual eye examination matters more here than a DNA test.