IVDD / CDDY in Cavaliers

Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD), is a condition where the cushioning discs between the vertebrae in a dog’s spine either degenerate or rupture, leading to spinal cord compression and potential nerve damage.

Chondrodystrophy (CDDY) is caused by a specific genetic mutation. Dogs with this mutation often have shorter legsand are more likely to experience early breakdown of the discs in their spine (this is called intervertebral disc disease, or IVDD).
These damaged discs can bulge or rupture (herniate), which can cause pain or nerve problems. Whether a dog actually has a disc herniate depends on several different factors, not just the mutation alone.

DNA testing of the disease can be listed by the company as CDDY or IVDD. 

Cavaliers are “fixed” for 2 copies of IVDD /CDDY, meaning over 99% of Cavaliers have 2 copies according to scientific literature from DNA testing. There is no way to breed away from the disease in a closed population of only Cavaliers.

Having the genes for IVDD / CDDY does not promise the dog will experience pain and degeneration, but the risk of it is greatly increased.

A dog with just 1 copy of IVDD / CDDY is at an increased of clinical Intervertebral Disc Disease. Having 2 copies increses the risk, but having 2 copies of the gene does not mean the dog is clinicaly affected. 

For a deep dive into IVDD / CDDY disese, its prevalence, treatment and DNA testing, check out Cavalier Health 

Cavaliers should be paired with “other breeds” that do not have any IVDD / CDDY genes. This means the half Cavalier puppies can only inherit 1 copy of IVDD/CDDY.

This puts us one step closer to IVDD/CDDY clear dogs. In this type of pairing, subsequent offspring should pair with another half Cavalier with 1 copy of IVDD/CDDY. We can then choose a Clear/Normal offspring by DNA testing and choose the next generations breeding candidate. IVDD/CDDY can easily be eliminated in the 4th generation and beyond.