Cleft Palate (CP1) in the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (NSDTR)
A cleft palate is a birth defect whereby a hole (cleft) in the roof of the mouth (palate) develops in a puppy during gestation. Puppies born with cleft palate can experience difficulty nursing which will greatly increase their risk of developing aspiration pneumonia - a serious life threatening condition. There are multiple genetic causes of cleft palate within the NSDTR breed; however, the most common form has been identified as CP1.