Merle Gene Complications
The Catahoulas' flashy coloring doubles as it's curse.
The solid puppies can be harder to place in homes, because most people looking to live with a Catahoula are looking for the pretty coloring. Some breeders will even cull solid pups at birth, or lower the cost on solid colored pups in hopes to place them. Super flashy pups with lots of white can come with health problems, such as
unilateral or bilateral deafness, blindness, or in some cases, cause puppies to be born with extreme defects.
Pigment must exist in the inner ear in order for hearing to develop properly, some pigment would allow partial hearing, where a lack of pigment would result in a complete lack of hearing ability.
If hearing problems are suspected, testing is possible through a BAER test, which stands for brainstem auditory evoked response or brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP). It detects electrical activity in the cochlea and auditory pathways in the brain in much the same way that an antenna detects radio or TV signals or an EKG detects electrical activity of the heart. The response waveform consists of a series of peaks numbered with Roman numerals: peak I is produced by the cochlear nerve and later peaks are produced within the brain. The response from an ear that is deaf is an essentially flat line.
The response is collected with a special computer through extremely small electrodes placed under the skin of the scalp: one in front of each ear, one at the top of the head, and one between the shoulders. It is rare for a dog to show any evidence of pain from the placement of the electrodes - if anything the dog objects to the gentle restraint and the irritation of wires hanging in front of its face. The stimulus click produced by the computer is directed into the ear with a foam insert earphone. Each ear is tested individually, and the test usually is complete in 10-15 minutes. Sedation or anesthesia are usually not necessary unless the dog becomes extremely agitated, which can usually be avoided with patient and gentle handling. A printout of the test results, showing the actual recorded waveform, is provided at the end of the procedure. Test results are confidential.
Here are a list of places that perform BAER Testing, courtesy of the Louisiana State University:
BAER Testing Sites (document)
We do not test the hearing of our pups unless we have a reason to believe that there may be a problem.
We also cannot guarantee the hearing of a pup over it's lifetime, as hearing ability may decline over time.
We will not sell a deaf pup without first informing the prospective owner
At Flatland Cathoulas, we test our dogs in order to determine their merle genetics to avoid defects in our litters..
The solid puppies can be harder to place in homes, because most people looking to live with a Catahoula are looking for the pretty coloring. Some breeders will even cull solid pups at birth, or lower the cost on solid colored pups in hopes to place them. Super flashy pups with lots of white can come with health problems, such as
unilateral or bilateral deafness, blindness, or in some cases, cause puppies to be born with extreme defects.
Pigment must exist in the inner ear in order for hearing to develop properly, some pigment would allow partial hearing, where a lack of pigment would result in a complete lack of hearing ability.
If hearing problems are suspected, testing is possible through a BAER test, which stands for brainstem auditory evoked response or brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP). It detects electrical activity in the cochlea and auditory pathways in the brain in much the same way that an antenna detects radio or TV signals or an EKG detects electrical activity of the heart. The response waveform consists of a series of peaks numbered with Roman numerals: peak I is produced by the cochlear nerve and later peaks are produced within the brain. The response from an ear that is deaf is an essentially flat line.
The response is collected with a special computer through extremely small electrodes placed under the skin of the scalp: one in front of each ear, one at the top of the head, and one between the shoulders. It is rare for a dog to show any evidence of pain from the placement of the electrodes - if anything the dog objects to the gentle restraint and the irritation of wires hanging in front of its face. The stimulus click produced by the computer is directed into the ear with a foam insert earphone. Each ear is tested individually, and the test usually is complete in 10-15 minutes. Sedation or anesthesia are usually not necessary unless the dog becomes extremely agitated, which can usually be avoided with patient and gentle handling. A printout of the test results, showing the actual recorded waveform, is provided at the end of the procedure. Test results are confidential.
Here are a list of places that perform BAER Testing, courtesy of the Louisiana State University:
BAER Testing Sites (document)
We do not test the hearing of our pups unless we have a reason to believe that there may be a problem.
We also cannot guarantee the hearing of a pup over it's lifetime, as hearing ability may decline over time.
We will not sell a deaf pup without first informing the prospective owner
At Flatland Cathoulas, we test our dogs in order to determine their merle genetics to avoid defects in our litters..