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Should I Do PK Test?

Basenji Health Issues & Questions
  • I had never really heard much about this before, but we're just sorting out the Paperwork for PRA testing two of our labs and the company who do the test list a PK Deficiency test for Basenjis.

    It is only $80 so not expensive, but just wanted some ideas from other owners as to whether it is a good thing to have done? Generally i think if there is a health test available you should do it, but it would involve a blood test which is more invasive and painful than a fanconi cheek swab so wanted some more input please :)

  • It never hurts to do testing… this is a recessive gene and this is a direct test, so offspring can be called "clear" by parents. So really if you know that parents or grandparents have been tested clear, your girl will be clear. You would just need to research and verify that she comes from clear.

  • I have the same idea Maya.

    I have heard that there are very few carriers left in the world, and that the disease appears to have nearly been erradicated, BUT, to my way of thinking, if there are even a few carriers left in the world, then Im sure I would be the "lucky" one who would put carrier to carrier, so testing for me was VERY important…

    Im actually a bit anal about testing anyway :D

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    BettawhippetB
    That is a huge relief about the cheek swab…She absolutely HATED having her blood drawn and has been mistrustful of the vet and vet techs ever since. I didn't not realize that there were many errors in the original test. I stopped frequenting this forum shortly after I had her test done and haven't really heard anything from the basenji world until I got the e-mail. I will definitely get this re-test done as soon as possible and will pick up some strips tomorrow so I can start testing her urine. Thankfully she has not been showing any signs of poor health and has always done well on checkups.
  • How to test, exactly…

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    D
    You do not need the full strips unless you are checking for other things. Just make sure you get the strips that test for glucose not ketones! You can buy Bayer Diastix or Bayer Clinistix for strictly glucose urine testing. Jennifer
  • When to test

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    khanisK
    And chances are that your vet will tell you that there is no test. Just because it has been available for nearly two years does not mean that they know it is now here. You can do the fanconi tests without seeing a vet at all. Finger's crossed both your Bs come back NOT affected.
  • Fanconi Test

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    QuercusQ
    @etzbseder: Thanks, I've seen that before, but forgot about it. After looking at that, it shows that my answer would be: Clear pups ONLY means that neither parent is affected, and that does not change with multiple clear pups. The only thing that shows any determination of the parents is a test of the parent themselves (or if their grandparents are clear). correct. The more clear pups (with no affecteds or carriers) you had from the breeding of the same two animals, the more LIKELY it is that the parents are clear…but it certainly would not be a for sure.
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  • Testing Strips

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    And remember everyone, they really do go bad, so please do not use them past the date….. if there are some of you that live close or even you could do it by mail, you might think about sharing the strips instead of just tossing them