03/12/2025
What is LUA and what is HUA? Why is it so important in Dalmatians?
HUA stands for "high uric acid." Many purebred, AKC registered, health tested Dalmatians have 2 copies (1 from each parent) of a gene labeled, "Hu." They have to be a homozygous HUA (Hu/Hu) in order to be a HUA dalmatian. A HUA dalmatian will typically have more spots, bigger spots, and even blacker (or more saturated in livers) spots. The problem with HUA is that they are much more prone to kidney and bladder issues such as kidney/bladder stones, bladder blockages, and even kidney/bladder infections, such as UTIs. The reason why they are so much more prone to these issues is because they are unable to break down this thing called purines. Purines are in MANY dog foods, and typically a HUA dalmatian owner will need to find a food that specifically made with little to no purines to minimize the risk of these kidney/bladder issues.
LUA stands for "low uric acid," and is a dominant trait. That means that Dalmatians only need one copy (1 copy from one parent) in order to be considered a LUA dalmatian. Both of our dogs are LUA. There are two types of LUAs. There is the homozygous LUA (N/N) and the heterozygous LUA (N/Hu). With LUAs, typically, the Dalmatian would have fewer spots, smaller spots, and slightly less saturated spots. Most dalmatian breeders will breed heterozygous LUAs to attempt to get better and bigger spots. LUA dalmatians do NOT need a special diet, as they are able to break down the purines.
Hiccup is a homozygous LUA, which means he has 2 copies of the LUA gene (N/N). The amount of spots he has along with their size and saturation is VERY atypical and we are very lucky to have him as our stud. Since LUA is a dominant gene, he will only produce LUA puppies.
Ember is a heterozygous LUA, which means she only has one copy of the LUA gene (N/Hu). She has more of the "typical" LUA spotting. She will still have beautiful spotting once she's a adult, but she has much less than Hiccup.
When Ember and Hiccup breed, their litter will consist of about 50% homozygous LUA (N/N) and 50% heterozygous LUA (N/Hu). This means that all of the puppies will be LUAs, and will be able to break down purines.
I believe that their puppies will have more spots than typical LUAs due to how well spotted Hiccup is. I am grateful that we have such a gorgeous stud with a beautiful coat. I'm also glad to have Ember, even though she has less spots. I believe that together, they will make perfectly spotted puppies!
We aspire to breed AKC registered LUA dalmatians who are behaviorally sound, genetically healthy, and beautifully splattered.
