Copyright © Lotta Söderberg, Kennel Sweetax, All rights reserved.
* In Denmark, Norway and Finland, there has been a spinal x-ray program for many years with the intent of minimizing the high proportion of disc herniation in dachshunds. Before a dog is used in breeding, it should have its spinal column x-rayed. This is done once in a dog's life at the age of 2 - 4 years to determine the number of calcifications in the spine. Research has proven that the number of calcifications is very hereditary. A large number of calcifications gives a higher risk of disc herniation than few calcifications; therefore should breeding be focused on using dogs with few or no calcifications. This is substantiated by several major research projects in this area. Even if a dog does not himself become affected by disc herniation, he may still be an inappropriate breeding dog because of numerous calcifications. A dog with disc herniation may still have offspring that are worth using for breeding purposes if they themselves have few calcifications.