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General

Featured Entries

General

Marc’s 6th IDHW Reflections, Part Two

Previous Entry: Part One of 6th IDHW Reflections...continued Genetic Diversity Is Not a Side Conversation At the International Dog Health Workshop in Bologna, one message came through clearly in almost every discussion: We cannot improve dog health without talking about genetic diversity. For too long, genetic diversity has been treated as something technical. Something for geneticists, population scientists, or people who enjoy complicated charts and long discussions about allele frequencies.
Guest Posts

Healthier Conversations for Healthier Dogs at the 6th International Dog Health Workshop - By Lauren Bennett

Lauren Bennett Clip 6th IDHW.mp4 Editor's Note: Lauren Bennett was among our panel of distinguished speakers at the 6th International Dog Health Workshop in Bologna, Italy (30 May - 1 June 2026). Her presentation was entitled, 'Influencing Choice: Marketing's Impact on Pet Welfare and Breeding Practices'. View a brief clip from Lauren's presentation here > Working in animal welfare can sometimes feel like fighting an uphill battle. But coming together with other professionals, all with o
Health strategies

Norway dog breeding bans – what can you do to save your own breed?

Oslo district court in Norway ruled that breeding of English Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels is against the Norwegian Animal Welfare Act. However, breeding is allowed to be continued in a form of planned, organized breed crosses bringing new genetic variation and healthy alleles into these populations. We have seen this coming. We have talked about this for a few decades. “If we don’t improve the situation, someone from outside is going to intervene.” The English Bulldog, t
Brenda's blog

Norwegian Lawsuit on Dog Breeding - A Step Back or Can it be a Step Forward?

Norwegian Lawsuit on Dog Breeding - A Step Back or Can it be a Step Forward?   We wrote an artilce last year - Norwegian Lawsuit on Dog Breeds and Breeding - The "First" But Not the Last? .  In that article we describe that "The Norwegian Society for Protection of Animals (NSPA) is suing selected breeders, clubs, and the Norwegian Kennel Club for not following the country's animal welfare law; the Norwegian court has agreed to hear the case. " The NSPA  issued an update to this is
Brenda's blog

Veterinary Cancer Glossary - Help for Tough Discussions

Veterinary Cancer Glossary - Help for Tough Discussions   Veterinary-client communication is key to good care for our pets, and a new resource to support owners and vets is now available from IPFD partner World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA).  Let's face it - cancer/neoplasia can be a complex subject to discuss and even harder to comprehend when one is faced with the emotional aspects of a challenging diagnosis. The Veterinary Oncology Glossary provides an understand
Brenda's blog

Animals are Sentient Beings - But Still Property - Spain

Animals are Sentient Beings - But Still Property - Spain   Yesterday I published a blog entitled: Why do legislators address the supply side and not demand? where I discussed the supply:demand cycle for dogs (as commodities).  Today I received this paper on Animal Sentience: Moving Forward from WellBeing International.  Both of these make me ponder the actual outcome of legislation on animal welfare - including - can they it be effectively enforced, is there any real intention to do so
Research Blog

"Genetic Rescue of the Highly Inbred Norwegian Lundehund" - New Research

Genetic Rescue of the Highly Inbred Norwegian Lundehund   ... is a new paper about attempts to 'save' the Lundehund breed and is a good reference for anyone working with a rare breed.  This Lundehund was reduced from a relatively rare one to one with such low genetic diversity that its survival was doubtful.  Under these conditions, outcrossing to other breeds offered the one possibility.  This paper shows some success, but, not surprisingly, researchers found that crossing the fi
Brenda's blog

Why do legislators address the supply side and not demand?

Why do legislators address the supply side and not demand? There continue to be reports of legislative and legal approaches and other actions related to the issue of brachycephalic (short-nosed) dogs.  The international dog community is closely following the Norwegian legal action against kennel and breed clubs, and individual breeders.  A ruling is expected by the end of the month.  Issues in the Netherlands are ongoing. [links below].  As I work closely with various groups on the is
Brenda's blog

Trends in the Pet Industry - Interesting or Troubling?

Trends in the Pet Industry - Interesting or Troubling? As the New Year begins, I am pondering several topics that have been raised through various channels. This morning I received this (link below):  7 Pet Industry Trends To Know (2021-2025).  Essentially this is about where people are spending their money on pets - and just how much money that is.  It would confirm what we know about people treating their pets more and more like humans, for better or for worse!  This includes toys an
Brenda's blog

We Need to Focus on Breeding Healthy Dogs While We Await Technological Advances

We Need to Focus on Breeding Healthy Dogs While We Await Technological Advances   This blog is stimulated by, but is not really a review of this paper:  Advancing Genetic Selection and Behavioral Genomics of Working Dogs Through Collaborative Science, Frances L. Chen,  Madeline Zimmermann, Elinor K. Karlsson, et.al.  Front. Vet. Sci., 06 September 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2021.662429. The authors make it clear that their focus is on working dogs, and the need to i
Research Blog

Inbreeding has proven negative effects for health, says a new study in dogs

Inbreeding has proven negative effects for health, says a new study in dogs by Katariina Mäki A recent study by an international team led by veterinary geneticist Danika Bannasch is a welcome wake-up call for all of us in the world of pedigree dogs. While it has been well established that closed studbooks cause inbreeding to accumulate, the special importance of the study lies in the bond between inbreeding and health: the results in 162 breeds show that inbreeding contributes
Health strategies

Reducing epilepsy in the Finnish Spitz

(Above photo by Kaisa Huttunen) We published a Get a GRIHP! article on the Finnish Spitz in August 2020. While gathering information for the article, we got to know the work being done in the Finnish breed association Suomen Pystykorvajärjestö - Finska Spetsklubben ry (SPJ). SPJ, together with the other Nordic breed clubs of the breed, has worked very hard to maintain and improve health and genetic diversity in the breed. A very good example of this is the successful work in reducing the fr
HGTD This Week

HGTD This Week: BRR updates on SOD 1 testing for Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)

A recent research commentary paper, DEGENERATIVE MYELOPATHY-DIAGNOSIS AND INHERITANCE - Dr. Jerold Bell, from a lecture presented at the World Small Animal Veterinary Association 2021 Virtual World Congress 13 Nov. 2021 has summarized and clarified information on the clinical diagnosis and use of genetic testing for degenerative myelopathy (DM). Please see linked references below for more details.  Due to this new information, we have taken the decision to update the breed relevance ratings
HGTD This week

HGTD This Week: What is a SNP-chip? FCI Podcast talks about genomic chip technology

The 9 November FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale) podcast, hosted by Attila Márton, featured Dr Sára Sándor, who gave an excellent description of what a genomic chip is and how it assesses a dog's DNA to identify genetic variants (mutations) - taking some of the mystery out of a technology that many may know the name of, but few could describe!   Canine genetic testing technology has changed rapidly since the first DNA tests were offered to dog breeders and owners in the late 1
Brenda's blog

End Pet Homelessness - Mars Petcare

End Pet Homelessness - Mars Petcare   One of the projects I have been working on over the last year is with our Partner Mars Petcare.  Their ambition to "End Pet Homelessness" is a bold and innovative attempt to address the troubling problem of unwanted, uncared for, and stray pets.  I have been serving on their Advisory Panel for the State of Pet Homelessness Index with an international group of stellar individuals with varied areas of expertise ranging across dogs and cats, epidemiol
Brenda's blog

Vet Information Network (VIN) Article: Banning brachycephalic breeds is unrealistic

On September 16, 2021 this article of mine was published on the Veterinary Information Network (V.I.N.):   Veterinary Information Network (VIN) Article: Banning brachycephalic breeds is unrealistic   It was written in response to a previous article on V.I.N. about veterinarians signing a breed banning petition and legislative actions against breeders in Norway. In my article, I discuss the complex nature of challenges around dogs with extreme conformation and stress the indiv
Brenda's blog

FECAVA video: Please don't buy flat-faced animals

FECAVA video: Please don't buy flat-faced animals The Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations (an IPFD Collaborating Partner) has come out with a powerful new video bringing the voices of veterinary practitioners together in a plea for people not to buy brachycephalic - flat-faced - animals. As we have been discussing and blogging (see links below) - the incredible popularity of these animals has led to increased stress and anguish for veterinarians throughout t
Brenda's blog

The Great Divide -  Responses to Challenges in Extreme Breeds

The Great Divide - Responses to Challenges in Extreme Breeds Last week (Oct 2021) saw postings of two initiatives related to brachycephalic (flat-faced) and other extreme breeds.  One was information on legal questions being put forward to demand that the UK Kennel Club not register ‘non-standard colours’ of certain breeds. The second was posters erected in, I believe, subway stations warning people of the problems of various breeds. The first is essentially a complaint about colours t
Brenda's blog

Good Breeders follow ALL their puppies! And share the data.

We are always struggling with defining good breeders, and it is a true challenge.  But I have been talking about this topic lately, so thought I would blog on: Good Breeders follow ALL their puppies! And share the data. This is one thing that there is really no good excuse for not doing, so kennel and breed club breeders - anyone who considers themselves a 'good breeder' should do their best in this regard.  This was one topic I discussed in a recent talk to the Rhodesian Ridgeback Clu
Brenda's blog

The Relatedness of Breeds - A fun, interactive resource with some cautions

The Relatedness of Breeds - A fun, interactive resource with some cautions ...see references below... The Guardian has come out with an interactive tool for looking a the relatedness between breeds.  Based on 'clades' (genetic groupings) research and genomic work by by Heidi Parker and Elaine Ostrander's team, it is an interesting resource.  Click on your breed - see what others breeds it is related to.  Fun! But there are a couple of cautions that apply: This is great wor
HGTD This week

HGTD This week: Guess my dog! Are breed/type genetic tests right for you?

"Guess my dog's breed"... Maybe? The popularity of breed identification tests has been increasing in parallel with the interest in human “ancestry” genetic tests. The technology is similar, as are the sometimes surprising results. We recently had contact from a friend of IPFD who put their dog Olive through three different breed identification tests – with some expected, and unexpected (and perhaps concerning) results. This blog explores some of the reasons for variation in results, as well
Research Blog

The epidemiology of stifle joint disease in an insured Swedish dog population

Engdahl K, Hanson J, Bergström A, Bonnett B, Höglund O, Emanuelson U. Epidemiology of stifle joint disease in an insured Swedish dog population. Vet Rec. 2021;e197. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.197 https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/vetr.197     Abstract Background: Stifle joint diseases (SJD) are common in dogs and include a variety of diagnoses. The objective of the study was to provide an overview of the epidemiology of S
Brenda's blog

Veterinarians and Brachycephalic Dogs - Ethics and Reality

Veterinarians and Brachycephalic Dogs - Ethics and Reality   I have been starting to read the new textbook, Health and Welfare of Brachycephalic (Flat-faced) Companion Animals - A Complete Guide for Veterinary and Animal Professionals, Edited By Rowena Packer, Dan O'Neill; Copyright Year 2021 (ref below). This book has two parts.  The first part offers a group of articles on the backgrounds, history, ethics, international developments, and other aspects that define and impinge on the heal
Brenda's blog

4th International Dog Health Workshop - 2 Years On

4th International Dog Health Workshop - 2 Years On   Facebook reminded me that two years ago today we had just wrapped up the 4th IDHW in Windsor, UK - co-hosted by the Kennel Club. It was a great event, in beautiful surroundings.                 Our catchphrase for the IDHWs is captured in the workshop logo - and as described in our publications on the workshop, e.g. Moving from Information and Collaboration to Action:  Report f
Brenda's blog

Artificial Insemination in Dogs - Recent Information and Misinformation

Artificial Insemination in Dogs - Recent Information and Misinformation   A recent post(s) on CRUFFA re: "Good news! Another step in law enforcement in the Netherlands. Standard artificial insemination is forbidden in the Netherlands for dogbreeding." is an inaccurate or, at best, incomplete description of the situation. Even if if were true, celebrating a total elimination of artificial insemination (A.I.) in dogs would be ill-advised and inappropriate.  CRUFFA moderator Jemima H

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The contents of these blogs are for informational purposes only and represent the opinion of the author(s), and not that of the International Partnership for Dogs (IPFD). This is not intended to be a substitute for professional, expert or veterinarian advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We do not recommend or endorse any specific tests, providers, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on, or linked to from these blogs.

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