Ichthyosis in the Golden Retriever.

Dogs with Ichthyosis may develop white scales on the skin soon after birth. The scales persist through the animal's life and may progressively blacken, becoming dry and rough with age but typically do not cause itching. This condition has been around for years, & is VERY COMMON in Golden Retrievers.

Golden Retriever Ichthyosis is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. A dog must have two defective copies (one from each parent) of the mutated gene to be affected by the disease.) Ichthyosis occurs in many breeds of dogs, including American Bull Terriers, Jack Russell Terriers, West Highland White Terriers, Cairn Terriers, Boxers and Golden Retrievers. It is also a common condition in humans.

This condition is believed to be quite wide spread throughout some European line’s, and in America and yet many breeders take little notice of it.
Statistically in Europe the latest data (over 500 dogs tested) shows 30% clear dogs, 40% of carrier and 30% affected. (data from ANTAGENE). That is a hug 70%.

No specific or efficient treatments for Ichthyosis are currently available. Treatments mainly rely on increased hygiene measures (e.g. frequent brushing, Fish oil supplements, kerato-regulating shampoo, weekly emollients, moisturising spray such as Humilac) and providing a fatty acid-enriched diet. 

In Golden Retrievers, ICH is usually very mild.  Many breeders do not test for ICH as they do not feel that it is necessary as it is cosmetic. At SnowWater we do test for ICH. You will find this in each dogs description. Eliminating a condition that is typically mild and cosmetic  would cancel out a huge gene pool. At SnowWater we continue to work towards producing puppies that are all 100% clear, and we are so close to being there . Almost all of our selected pairings will produce all ICH clear puppies. Most are not concerned as this is cosmetic, but we understand that some may not want to deal with ICH & we completely understand. These buyers should pick a litter that is clear, the majority of our pairs are.