Amalie is a member of the Australian Labradoodle Association (ALA), and is both committed to and bound by the association's Code of Ethics. Our program aims to contribute to the development of the breed. You can check out the breed standard which describes what sort of consistent attributes the international labradoodle breeders are aiming to breed into our puppies. At Amalie we work to the following:

• Amalie dogs will be cared for in a loving home environment which provides all necessary care and socialisation
• Our breeding stock will be healthy, show desirable physical attributes for the breed and have sociable temperament
• All dogs used in our breeding program will be health tested (hips, elbows and eyes) or be cleared of prcd-PRA by DNA verification of parentage
• All companion puppies will be desexed and micro-chipped before leaving our care
• Amalie will keep appropriate records of all dogs in our program and continue to act as a resource to its companion puppy owners

 

Health Testing

Dogs are susceptible to a variety of health concerns. One of these is prcd-PRA (progressive, rod cone degeneration – Progressive Retinal Atrophy). This is a genetically inherited eye disease that leads to blindness by causing cells in the retina at the back of the eye to degenerate and die. This hereditary disease can be carried by Labradors, Poodles and at least 28 other dog breeds.

The Australian Labradoodle Association is the first dog breed association worldwide requiring compulsory DNA testing. As there is no cure for PRA, the only strategy available to eliminate the disease from the breed is ensuring a mating will not result in an affected puppy.

Through health testing, ALA accredited breeders know each dog's genetic status and responsible breeding can be planned. Please note though, there are 450+ hereditary diseases affecting dogs and so far the development of screening tests only enables us to test for a limited number of conditions. Screening is not an exact science (screening tests are not 100% specific or 100% sensitive) but it does help decision making in our breeding program. More information about our health guarantee here

More can be read on the Optigen site:
- PRA Test for Labradoodles
- Selective breeding for exclusion of hereditary eye disease