Health test for deafness extended to all breeds
Introduction of the programme follows the success of an official BAER testing programme for dalmations.
A new health testing programme for Brainstern Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) has been approved by the Kennel Club. The programme will be applicable to all pedigree dog breeds which have a known problem with congenital deafness.
Introduction of the programme follows the success of an official BAER testing programme for dalmations, which has been running for almost a year and received over 100 results.
Owners of any pedigree breed may now forward BAER results directly to the Kennel Club for recording on their dog's registration record. There are a number of specialist centres in the UK which offer BAER screening, and each dog screened is issued with a veterinary certificate stating the dogs hearing status.
Aimee Llewellyn, head of health and research at the Kennel Club, said: “It is hoped that centralising the data obtained through BAER testing will provide a clearer picture of the hearing status of breeds which have a higher risk of inherited deafness.
“The results of BAER testing could also be used to help develop tools to enable breeders to make more informed breeding decisions in the future. One of the Kennel Club’s priorities is to the ensure that breeders are as well-equipped as possible to make responsible, informed choices to enable them to improve and maintain breed health, and we hope that expanding the BAER testing programme to all breeds will enable them to do this in the future.”
Congential deafness is usually inherited and linked to defective genes. However, its mode of inheritance is not yet understood. It is thought that inherited deafness may be influenced by more than one gene and there may be additional breed-specific factors. Breeds most at risk include those that carry the extreme piebald gene (demonstrated by a predominantly white coat), or genes associated with merle coat colour.
For further information on BAER testing, including the programme criteria, visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media/579531/baer_test_programme.pdf.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
