DBRG Health Symposium 22nd October 2017 – Surrey

Two of our favourite veterinary specialists are speaking at the DBRG Symposium to be held in Surrey on 22nd October 2017.

Dr Clare Rusbridge has worked closely with us on Lafora Disease and Professor Sheila Crispin has supported our research into Distichiasis in Mini Long Dachshunds.

Date of Event 22nd October 2017 Description When bad becomes normal – Welfare problems related to conformation With an emphasis on neurological problems such as Chiari-like malformation, brachycephaly, syringomyelia, vertebral malformations in screw tailed breeds, and Wobbler’s syndrome, Clare discusses how selection for certain conformation may increase risk of disease and opens discussion on how they could be addressed.   Ocular problems related to poor head conformation: the wrong kind o f skin and excessive amounts of skin With the exception of known inherited diseases such as hereditary cutaneous hyaluronosis (HCH), the reasons for poor head conformation are complex and do not follow patterns of Mendelian inheritance.  Sheila will argue that breed-specific standards are fine, provided that those standards are not causing, or perpetuating, conformational abnormalities that have health and welfare implications.   Ocular problems related to poor head conformation: skull shape, does it matter? What happens when we select for characteristics that change the shape of the dog’s skull? There are more than 400 documented breeds worldwide and their craniofacial morphological diversity is astounding, but not necessarily synonymous with good health. Sheila discusses the adverse impact that skull shape can have on a dog’s quality of life, with particular emphasis on the ocular problems associated with brachycephaly.   When bad becomes normal:  Inherited disease With an emphasis on neurological problems such as Lafora’s disease, degenerative myelopathy, epilepsy, and inherited susceptibility to immune-mediated disease and cancer, Clare Rusbridge discusses how challenging it can be to avoid genetic disease or disease susceptibility and opens discussion on how to tackle inherited disorders in a breed.

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“Little Legs” fundraising to support IVDD Screening

A message from Carley Denton and Lisa Roylance:

Little Legs Fundraising has been born from a passion for the health and welfare of our beloved breed.

Why?
There are some amazing initiatives ongoing for dogs who are suffering from IVDD and because this can be as many as 1 in 4, we are trying to tackle the root cause.

Objective:
The hope is that we can raise £15,000 so breeders can undertake screening at a reduced cost and make informed decisions about their breeding programmes to reduce the number of IVDD cases causing devastation on a daily basis. Prevention is always better than cure and we would wholeheartedly appreciate any support.

How can you help?
Donate, even a small amount at: https://www.gofundme.com/little-legs-fundraising-for-ivdd
Like our Facebook page to keep updated with our progress. We also have many products and raffles with all proceeds to our target. https://www.facebook.com/LittleLegsFundraising/
Message us through our Facebook page if you would like to do some fundraising. We have people doing a range of activities to help us achieve our target so anyone who wishes to support is welcome to arrange something of their choosing and will be gratefully welcomed.
We are also hosting a Dachshund Day in August where there will be a range of stalls, a dog show, children’s entertainment and a pet photographer to name a few! Announcements will be made on our Facebook page in June so pop over and give us a like.
Thanks.
Carley & Lisa

Editor’s note: Thank you, Carley and Lisa, for the £300 you raised in your first week.

More support announced for the UK Dachshund IVDD Screening Programme

Last year, when we launched our IVDD Screening programme, we applied to the Kennel Club Charitable Trust for a grant to support the programme over the next 3 years. We have been notified that our application has been successful and we are incredibly grateful to the KCCT for their generosity and support for our work.

At the Breed Council meeting held today (14/5/17) it was agreed that, in light of the KCCT grant and other fundraising, the Council would now be able to increase its subsidy of the Screening Programme.

The Council will now be able to offer a £100 subsidy on X-ray screening as well as paying for the scoring of the x-rays.

Depending on the level of uptake of the screening programme, we hope to be able to offer this support for at least 3 years, which should give us a strong base for reducing the risk of IVDD in the breed.

Breeders who have participated in the Screening Programme since its launch will also be able to reclaim £100 from our Health Fund. They are the true pioneers of this programme in the UK and we want to ensure their support is also recognised.

The cost of participating in the Screening Programme, if breeders use our CVS partner vets, will now be just £200. Breeders will still need to pay £300 to the CVS practice carrying out the screening but can reclaim the £100 subsidy from the Breed Council once their screening results have been confirmed.

A condition of participating in the Breed Council’s scheme is that the owner agrees that their dog’s X-ray results may be published in an online registry of screening results and they participate in a regular survey of their dog’s health.

For more information on how to have your dog screened, please visit our IVDD website.

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Dachshund Breed Council AGM 2017

The Dachshund Breed Council held its AGM and a Council meeting today (Sunday 14th May 2017).

Ian Seath was re-elected as Chairman to serve for a term of 3 years. He presented his report for 2016 which will be published separately. Anne Moore was re-elected as Vice -chair to serve a further 1-year term.

The Treasurer presented the Council’s accounts and it was agreed, at the Council meeting, that the Midland Dachshund Club would present a proposal for investing in new educational materials to be used at the Discover Dogs and other Pet Show events for Dachshund buyer education.

In light of the continuing importance of investment into breed health improvement projects, it was agreed at the AGM that the Breed Council should set up a charity for the management of future fundraising and expenditure. This will ensure we have effective governance in place and enable us to reclaim Gift Aid on donations. The Health Fund has a current balance of £27,000 with funds ring-fenced for “Give a dog a genome”, IVDD and Lafora projects.

Further investment in the IVDD Screening Programme was also approved by the Council and this will enable us to provide additional subsidies to breeders.

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Dachshund Breed Council Health Improvement Strategy 2017 – video

Ian Seath’s presentation at the IPFD International Dog Health Workshop 2017 on the UK Dachshund Breed Council’s Health Improvement Strategy:

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Give a Dachshund a Genome – project update from the AHT

We have received this update from the Animal Health Trust on the GDG project which we are participating in. The focus for our breed is Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD).

Dachshund IVDD Screening and Coat/Colour Genetics presentations

The links below are to Ian Seath’s presentation on the UK IVDD Screening programme and Helen Geeson’s presentation on the genetics of Dachshund coat and colour.

Both presentations were made at the 2nd April 2017 seminar run by ECDA and the Miniature DC.

Seminar IVDD 020417 v1

Dachshund Coat Colours and their inheritance

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