The Dachshund Breed Council UK

Dachshund Breed Conference 2012

Ian J Seath — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:56:29 +0000

When: Sunday April 22nd, 10:00 – 16:30

Where: Acton Trussell, Bednell & Teddesley Community Hall. ST17 0RZ (near Stafford – see map below)

Learn about:

What you can do to help improve Dachshund health
Genetics for Dachshund breeders
Eye diseases and epilepsy

Cost: £20 per person, including refreshments and lunch

The speakers:

Dr. Ron James, Kennel Club
Hannah Stephenson, Liverpool University
Helen Geeson
Philippa Robinson, KarltonIndex
Claudia Busse, Animal Health Trust
Elsa Beltran, Animal Health Trust

Download the Brochure and Booking Form here.

Newsletter: January 2012

Ian J Seath — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:11:44 +0000

The Breed Council’s January 2012 Newsletter is out today (15th January 2012). Download a pdf copy here.

CONTENTS:

Happy New Year
Annual Health Report 2011
Breed Survey 2012
Health Website
Code of Ethics and Breeding
Lafora Disease
CC Allocation
Judging Lists
Breed Conference
Information for Dachshund Buyers

Previous issues of our Newsletter are available on our Newsletters page.

Lafora Test Results: January 2012

Ian J Seath — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:10:59 +0000

The Wirehaired Dachshund Club has published a spreadsheet summarising the Mini Wire Dachshund Lafora test results. This is a combined list of results from 2010′s Canadian tests and 2011′s German tests.

The spreadsheet is colour-coded and identifies:

Those dogs tested as “Affected”
Dogs tested as “Not Affected” but which could possibly be Carriers based on the status of their parents or offspring
Dogs that are at least “Carriers” and maybe “Affected”, by deduction from the test results.
Dogs whose test results have not yet been provided by Centogene (the German test lab)

The Club has also posted a summary of the current status of the Screening Programme on its Lafora News Update page.

Fourteen facts from our 2011 Health Report

Ian J Seath — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:14:56 +0000

One third of the Health Reports submitted on our website are due to back disease
More than 500 people visited our Health website in the week after Crufts 2011
Within 4 days of asking for DNA swab samples from Dachshunds over twelve years old with no history of back disease we had 25 dogs
More than 200 Mini Wire owners signed-up for Lafora DNA testing in 2011
10% of Mini Wires have been tested as Affected for Lafora Disease (using both the Canadian and German tests)
Since 2005, 3504 cord1 PRA DNA tests have been carried out by owners of Miniature Dachshunds
The proportion of Mini Longs tested as cord1 Affected has dropped from 18% to 6% since 2005
The proportion of Mini Smooths tested as cord1 Affected has dropped from 27% to 10% since 2007
1.3% of Wires are estimated to carry the NPHP4 Day Blindness mutation
3% of Mini Wires are estimated to carry the NPHP4 Day Blindness mutation
42% of Mini Longs in a research study were found to have Distichiasis
Over the past 20 years, Smooths had an average of 4.6 puppies in each litter and Mini Smooths had 3.4
Over the past 20 years, Longs had an average of 4.8 puppies in each litter and Mini Longs had 3.2
Over the past 20 years, Wires had an average of 5.3 puppies in each litter and Mini Wires had 3.5

Read the full Report here.

Annual Health Report 2011

Ian J Seath — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:41:49 +0000

The Breed Council’s third Annual Health Report has been published and is available as a download from our Health website. Roger Sainsbury, Chairman of the Health and Welfare Sub-committee introduces the report:

During the short time I have been Chairman of the Health and Welfare Sub-committee of the Dachshund Breed Council I have been particularly interested to see the progress being made in the control of inherited diseases of Dachshunds using genetic testing. Good progress is evident in the reduction of cord1 PRA in Mini Longhaired Dachshunds and progress has also been seen in Mini Smooths. Mini Wires were added to the scheme this year.

A start has also been made in Lafora’s Disease in Mini Wires and work has been carried out on Day Blindness in Wires and Distichiasis in Mini Longs. An investigation into the genetics of Intervertebral Disc Disease has also begun. This back problem is said to affect one in four Dachshunds, so is of great importance, although we don’t really know the actual number of Dachshunds involved.

We all wish to work towards improving further the overall health status of our Dachshunds. To be able to achieve this we really need more information on the incidence of disease conditions in our breed. During 2011 the Dachs-Life 2012 Health Survey was produced and from January 1st all Dachshund owners will be able to complete it for their dogs. I hope that as many as possible do this as the information gathered will supply much of the missing information which will be invaluable in enabling the Breed Council to move forward scientifically with the Breed Health Improvement Strategy.

We look forward to 2012 to see the results of the investigations started in 2011 and the Health Survey, which will put them into perspective and may supply further challenges to tackle.

I hope you find our third annual Health Report useful and informative.

Roger Sainsbury BVM&S MRCVS

January 1st: Dachs-Life 2012 Health Survey launch date

Ian J Seath — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:03:21 +0000

Download a copy of our Health Survey Form

Happy New Year to all our friends and followers. Our Breed Health Survey “Dachs-Life 2012″ starts today. Download a Form for each of your Dachshunds. Record any pre-existing health conditions, then record their health in January, February and March.

2011 in review

Ian J Seath — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 10:03:50 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 16,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Code of Ethics update

Ian J Seath — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:39:54 +0000

From 1st January 2012 the Kennel Club will normally register no more than four litters from any one bitch because of concerns that the current legal limit of six litters, which is enshrined in the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999, can potentially be detrimental to a bitch’s welfare.

Anyone wishing to breed a fifth litter from a bitch will need to present a good and justifiable reason for this which will then be considered by the Kennel Club on a case by case basis.

Our Code of Ethics has been updated accordingly.

Also, from 1st January, the KC will no longer register any puppies born by caesarean section from any bitch which has previously had two such operations, except for scientifically proven welfare reasons and in such cases normally provided that the application has been made prior to mating. This is already one of the clauses in our Code of Ethics.

A-Z of Dachshund Health

Ian J Seath — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 16:14:48 +0000

There’s a new page and free to download A-Z of Dachshund Health on our Health website here.

Download our 44-page e-book – Buying and owning a Dachshund

Ian J Seath — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 22:05:30 +0000

This 2MB pdf e-book has 44 A5 pages of information taken from our website’s advice on Buying and Owning a Dachshund.

Contents include:

What to consider if you’re thinking of buying a Dachshund
How to recognise a reputable breeder
Visiting a breeder – questions to ask
Health advice for puppy buyers
Your new puppy - advice for the early weeks
Training
Welfare