The Kennel Club/ Dachshund Health UK IVDD Scheme for Dachshunds

What is the scheme?

The Kennel Club IVDD Scheme for Dachshunds (all varieties) in partnership with Dachshund Health UK uses X-ray to detect the presence and severity of IVDD in all varieties of Dachshunds. The scheme assesses for spine calcifications and gives guidance to breeders on how to reduce the risk of producing puppies affected by intervertebral disc disease.

What is IVDD?

Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) is a condition that is caused by a gradual deterioration of the shock absorbing parts of the spine, known as intervertebral discs. These discs are filled with a jelly-like substance and sit between the bones in the spine. Intervertebral discs help hold the spine together, give the back its flexibility and also protect the spine by cushioning any impact. As dogs get older these discs can degenerate and harden (calcify). In Dachshunds this can happen at a much earlier age compared to other breeds.  The calcification of these discs means they don’t absorb shock as well and can lead to a slipped disc (disc herniation) and spinal cord compression. 

Getting your dog assessed

To have your dog assessed under the scheme you will need to:

1. Contact a participating centre and arrange for your dog to be X-rayed as part of The Kennel Club IVDD Scheme for Dachshunds (all varieties) in partnership with Dachshund Health UK
2. Before your dog’s X-ray appointment you will need to register for the scheme and pay a £20 registration fee. Once you have registered you will be emailed a further information request form that you will need to complete
3. Attend and pay for your radiograph appointment. This can be made through your vet
4. Your dog’s X-ray will be submitted by the participating centre to be reviewed by an expert scrutineer and graded appropriately
5. The result will be returned to you via an email from The Kennel Club, with details of any findings, including the total number of the calcifications and their location on the spine, if applicable. You can find information on what your grade means and breeding advice below.

Find a participating centre

Essentials of the IVDD scheme

What does my dog’s grade mean?

Your dog will receive a grade ranging from 0 to 3, depending on the number of calcifications present in the spine. The higher the grade the higher the number of calcifications found and the more at risk a dog is for developing clinical signs and passing the disease on to any offspring.

• Grade 0: your dog has no calcifications
• Grade 1: one to two calcifications have been observed
• Grade 2: three to four calcifications have been observed
• Grade 3: five or more calcifications have been observed

Breeding advice

The way that IVDD is inherited is not fully understood and is not always entirely predictable but has been shown to be partly influenced by genetics. Using the guidelines below can help you reduce the chances of breeding puppies affected by IVDD. However, even if used responsibly, this guidance cannot guarantee that a puppy from grade 0 parents will be free of IVDD. Breeding appropriately from screened dogs will reduce the risk of producing affected puppies. Please use the following table to note the outcome of mating a male and female with a known IVDD calcification grade.

Making balanced breeding decisions

As well as considering the implications of a dog’s IVDD grade, there are other equally important factors to consider when deciding whether two dogs should be mated together, such as temperament, genetic diversity (avoiding inbreeding), conformation, other available health test results, the general health of the dogs etc. Your breeding decisions should always be well-balanced and take into consideration the qualities and compatibility of both the sire and dam that you are considering.

Participating centres

Could you help us with research?

If you are interested in having your dog assessed under The Kennel Club IVDD scheme for Dachshunds (all varieties), the University of Cambridge would also like to invite you to participate in a research project, which would require you to allow a CT scan (A computerised tomography scan) to be performed on your dog’s spine.

They are hoping to be able to collect CT scan images of as many Dachshunds undergoing X-rays for the scheme as possible. They plan to analyse the CT scans (these will not be used for scoring/grading purposes), in order to assess the increased sensitivity of CT scans for identifying calcified discs. They would also like to follow your dog over its lifetime in order to see if there is a connection between what they see on CT scans and what happens to your dog in terms of IVDD. This way we will be able to build up a better picture of what early disc calcification means for the chances of future IVDD and ultimately may be able to formulate better lifestyle and breeding guidelines to further reduce the incidence of this disease.

• To participate in this research project, you will need to visit the University of Cambridge Veterinary School
• The CT scans will be at no additional cost to you as the cost is being subsidised by the veterinary practices involved and The Kennel Club Charitable Trust
• CT scan images will all be sent to the research team in Cambridge for counting of visibly calcified discs, and the results will be logged on a spreadsheet alongside your dog’s identification, age, sex, body weight and body condition score; only the researchers at Cambridge will have access to this specific information

For more information about participating in this vital research project please contact