Understanding Manchester Terrier health is an important part of our commitment to being responsible breeders. As an AKC Breeder of Merit, we test our dogs extensively before breeding, and we’re writing to share an update: we are now BAER hearing testing our dogs, and we want you to know why.
Deafness has been quietly present in Manchester Terriers for decades, but it was never widely reported. Recently, a number of breeders came forward and had their dogs tested, and the rate of deafness detected in the Standard variety has been enough to get our community’s attention. As Chair of the American Manchester Terrier Club (AMTC) Health Committee, Michelle helped lead the response to this discovery, but we want our puppy families to hear about it directly from us, too.
Here’s the good news: this is exactly the kind of issue a responsible breeding program is built to catch. At the most recent AMTC Board meeting, the Health Committee recommended that BAER testing be added to the required tests for Standards to earn their OFA CHIC certification, and added as a recommended test for Toys. The Board approved this unanimously, and it has been accepted by OFA.
What is BAER testing, and why does it matter to you?
BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) testing is the only reliable way to confirm whether a dog can hear normally in both ears. It’s especially important because it’s the only way to detect unilateral deafness — deafness in just one ear — which a puppy can otherwise appear to hide completely, since a dog with one working ear behaves almost exactly like a fully hearing dog. This type of deafness present from birth is called congenital deafness, and BAER testing only needs to be done once in a dog’s life to confirm its hearing.
What we’re doing at Maximal
We’ve actually BAER tested our dogs in the past. Because we never found a hearing problem, we didn’t continue testing every dog — but in light of what the breed community is now seeing, we’ve resumed BAER testing as a standard part of our health program. Specifically:
- We are BAER testing our dogs as part of our pre-breeding health screening.
- We report our results to the public OFA database, so anyone can verify our dogs’ health testing.
- Helping to set the standard for how our breed responds to this issue. As a member of the AMTC Board and Chair of the Health Committee, Michelle is working with like-minded breeders and experts in the field to pursue research in deafness in Manchester Terriers, working to understand where it comes from, how it’s inherited, and ultimately how to breed away from it.
This is one part of a comprehensive Manchester Terrier health program
BAER hearing testing joins the already extensive list of breed-specific and recommended genetic tests and health exams we complete on our dogs before breeding:
- von Willebrand’s Disease
- Juvenile Dilated Cardiomyopathy
- Xanthinuria type 2A
- Autoimmune thyroiditis
- Legg-Calvé-Perthes
- Patellar Luxation
- Progressive Retinal Atrophy – Progressive Rod Cone Degeneration (PRA-PRCD)
- Eye Examination by a boarded ACVO Ophthalmologist
- Cardiac Evaluation by a Veterinary Cardiologist
- NEW BAER Hearing Test
When you choose a Maximal Manchester Terrier, you’re choosing a puppy backed by one of the most thorough health guarantees and health testing programs in the breed, and a breeder actively working to protect its future.
If you have any questions about health testing or what it means for your future puppy, please reach out. We’re always happy to talk.
