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 from the 4th International Dog Health Workshop, Windsor in June 2019.

The word cloud image was created in the final session of the 4th IDHW - based on participants' response to a a question about the high points of the event or what were the take home messages.

First and foremost was collaboration and cooperation - at the workshop and taking that forward - individually and among the different stakeholder groups.  The IDHWs are one of the only events that bring together those from the diverse groups who share both goals and responsibility for dog health, well-being and welfare, and supporting the best in human-dog interactions. 

So, how far have we travelled in the last two years?  The workshop had 5 themes and the files specifying outcomes and recommendations for action can be viewed in these links or by downloading the pdfs further below:

4th IDHW Concept of Breed   

4th IDHW SUPPLY AND DEMAND     

4th IDHW Extremes-Communication     

4th IDHW Breed-Specific Health Strategies     

4th IDHW Genetics     

With the pandemic, the usual work of encouraging follow-up participation was even more challenging.  Nonetheless, some strides have been taken, including:

• Initiation of the International Collaborative on Extreme Conformation in Dogs (ICECDogs, webpage coming soon).
• Collaboration on a new textbook on Brachycephalic Health and Welfare - available soon.
• Enhancement of the Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs, especially the Breed Relevance Ratings.
• Various initiatives relative to Supply and Demand.
• Ongoing communication on breed-specific issues through our partnership with WSAVA and production of Get a GRIHP! articles.
• Promotion of multi-stakeholder cooperation in our Reframing Discussions article.

Most importantly, as I review the key issues identified, developments in the last two years have underlined the importance of the priorities set by the attendees of the 4th IDHW.  Unfortunately, the challenges continue even two years on, sometimes at least partly because a lack of sustained actions.

We plan a serious of blogs/articles on each topic, to raise (or try to re-raise) awareness.  Please check out the files below and let us know if you have been part of initiatives to address the problems or even your perspective of where we are at in 2021 relative to 2019.

The question remains - when decision leaders and those active across stakeholder groups come together and agree on needed actions, but progress is limited - how do we identify and overcome the barriers to effective change?  Talk is important.  Agreement is wonderful.  Goals are crucial to establish. Feelings like those in the word cloud here, expressed by attendees after day 1 of the 4th IDHW, are great.

But without sustained, effective actions, those positive feelings we all had at the meeting melt away...

Is it time for re-evaluation and reconnection, to revitalize our collective efforts? 

IDHW - Extremes-Communication - Theme Outcomes (1).pdf IDHW Genetics_Theme Outcomes.pdf IDHW SUPPLY AND DEMAND - Theme Outcomes (1).pdf IDHW Concept of Breed_Theme Outcomes (1).pdf IDHW BSHS_Theme Outcomes.pdf