In 2003 having spent 8 years volunteering for Animal Welfare and taken in many rescue dogs and cats, I decided to get my very first registered pedigreed dog,an Irish Wolfhound
and Showing him was a requirement. It was at my first dog shows, in the Hound group that I met the Miniature Wire Haired Dachshund. It was love at first sight and the rest as they say is history...
Wire Haired Dachshunds were very difficult to come by, I got my first, a male in 2008 followed by a female in 2010. It was 2 years later that we had our first litter.
With the addition of 2 new girls in 2011, our kennel started to grow, as did the Wildervale family.
As with humans, any dog may have an inherited disorder as a consequence of the genes passed down from its parents. As well as recessive genes which can remain "hidden"
for many generations. A responsible breeder is aware of the inherited disorders that affect the Dachshund breed, and will make use of the recommended DNA or clinical
screening tests, as appropriate.
We do the following tests on our dogs:
cord1 PRA - Progressive Retinal Atrophy - a Carrier dog will remain perfectly healthy and never succumb to the disease, but care has to be taken that only mating to a
Clear dog be done to ensure that only Clear or Carrier pups result and never Affected ones.
IVDD - Inervertebral Disc Disease (this can only be done between 24 and 42 months).
Another problem, not uncommon in the Dachshund is Pes Virus.
A developmental condition resulting in limb deformity. As the inner part of the legs growth plate grows slower than the outer growth plates, causing the leg to bend inwards.
This is considered a mutation of a recessive gene which can occure quite unexpectedly, at this stage there is no available test.
A mutation causing Lafora disease in dogs has been identified and a genetic test is only available overseas to identify dogs at risk (Affected), Carriers or those free of the
mutation. Lafora disease is one of the most severe forms of epilepsy to which the miniature wire haired dachshund could be at risk.
Our dog's are all PRA tested and in 2016 we started back screening. To date 14 dogs have been IVDD Certified, all meeting the standard requirements allowed for breeding.
The first to enter the IVDD program was Evelyn in 2016, then Tyrion 2017, Holly, Faydin & Gabi 2019.
IVDD Programme
IVDD (intervertebral disc disease) is the number one health concern for the Dachshund.
The aim of the IVDD program is to improve the back health of the breed by identifying and using only those dogs certified with 0-3 calcified discs (4-5 very restricted breeding) and removing from
the gene pool those with higher numbers. Dogs are radiographed between the ages of 24 and 42 months for certification.
All research has shown that although a number of factors are at play, there is a very high correlation between the number of calcified discs and the likelihood of a back injury.
The presence of calcification is inherited. Generally dogs with many calcified discs produce offspring with the same, and visa versa... but it is not sufficient to receive one good test result and celebrate.
It is longterm consistent low scores over generations which bring confidence into the back health of one's breeding program.
We are strong supporters of the IVDD program since 2016, having to date certified 14 of our dogs, all of whom qualify and are recommended for Breeding under the Danish program. I am also the SA admin for the Back Talk Face Book group and the health liaison officer serving on the SADC committee.
KUSA Registration
The Kennel Union of Southern Africa is the official kennel club of South Africa. The club was founded as the South African Kennel Club in 1891 when the Southern African Kennel
Club of Port Elizabeth formed an affiliation with the South African Kennel Club of Cape Town. Wildervale has been registered with KUSA since 2011.
Wildervale KUSA Registration Certificate
