DogWellNet Digest: Issue #25 - 8 August 2019

News & Highlights

IPFD Board Nominations

We are now inviting nominations for open positions on the IPFD Board. A potential Board member’s profile should preferably include, but not be limited to:

• Time to devote to active participation in the Board and for our Mission
• A good network within or across communities/sectors relevant to our mission, e.g., the dog world (not necessarily limited to pedigree dogs); dog welfare; cynological organizations; education; research; veterinary medicine; pet industry, etc.
• Willingness and responsibility to share knowledge from their own organization
• Knowledge of and enthusiasm for IPFD
• Being well-established and well-known in their field of expertise
• IPFD would benefit from expertise in one or more of these areas: the business/ management of non-profit organizations, fundraising, marketing/communications, strategic planning, etc.

Click here for more information on IPFD Board Nominations

Nominations are open until all vacant positions have been filled, but we encourage you to submit your nominations by 31 August.

Breeds

Breed of the Month

★ This Month's Breed is the Petit Brabançon ★

The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) recognize them as one of three different breeds of griffon from Belgium, the other two being Belgian Griffon and Brussels Griffon. The American Kennel Club and Kennel Club recognize all varieties as a single breed.

New information for the following breeds has also been added to our Pedigreed Breeds Database:

Updated Breeds:

Updates on the breed pages listed below may include breed-specific VetCompass studies or links to plenary presentations from the 4th IDHW theme sessions.

Dobermann | Dalmatian | Miniature Schnauzer | French Bulldog | Bernese Mountain Dog | Greyhound | English Bulldog

New Breeds:

Markiesje

The Markiesje is an authentic Dutch Spaniel whose origin can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The Markiesje is finely built, black, elegant and intelligent. Cheerful and curious as long as it receives enough attention from its owner - this breed is 'under reconstruction'. Registration is done by the Dutch Kennel Club in a temporary register. 

Welsh Terrier

Originally used in hunting the fox, badger and even otter, the Welsh and Lakeland Terriers, which have considerable similarity, may well have had a common origin prior to the Roman invasion of Britain when their Celtic owners retreated to the Welsh mountains and the Lake District. He is a neat, workmanlike dog with a tight wiry coat normally of black and tan. Source: IKC

Articles

• The UK Brachycephalic Working Group recently posted a summary report highlighting its key activities and progress on relevant action items.

Blogs

IPFD's Ann Milligan and Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi added a post, Assessment of Welfare in Brachycephalic Dogs, which examines a paper addressing brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome in French Bulldogs and Pugs.

IPFD CEO Dr. Brenda Bonnett has posted several informative and thought-provoking entries in her blog:

• Brenda recently had the honour of giving a talk, Genetic Testing The Big Picture, at the annual American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) conference in Washington.
• In Brachycephalic dogs in The Netherlands, Brenda looks at the work our partners, The Raad van Beheer (Dutch Kennel Club), have been doing with various groups on proposed criteria for breeding brachycephalic dogs, recently submitted to the Dutch Government.
• Brenda reflects on a key underlying tenet of IPFD and our platforms - the sharing of information and experience that is relevant across breeds, across activities, and across regions in her post, What we can learn from each other: Show Greyhounds. 
• In New Pug Fitness Test - Germany, Brenda focuses on efforts to support brachycephalic health and welfare by the VDH (German Kennel Club) and our friend and collaborator, veterinarian Barbara Thiel.
• Brenda offers commentary on a recent news story from WGME CBS 13 (Portland, ME), entitled, I-Team: Are doggy DNA tests reliable, worth your money?
  
• In another blog entry, she sees parallels in campaigns against rhino horn use and current controversial issues in the dog world...and ponders a different approach to finding solutions.
• In Brachycephalics in Australia: Attitudes, issues and communication, Brenda reflects on Love is Blind - a joint initiative of the Australian Veterinary Association and the RSPCA.

IPFD Partners in Action

A big thank-you to Barbara Thiel and the German Kennel Club (VDH), who shared a German summary of IPFD's 2018 Annual Report (PDF) with us (published in the May issue of Unser Rassehund, the monthly journal of the VDH).

IDHW Sponsor Royal Canin unveiled PROactive - which helps cat and dog professionals run their daily activities sustainably and responsibly, with the health and well-being of their animals as their main focus - for the first time in the UK: ROYAL CANIN ® launch PROactive at the 4th International Dog Health Workshop

The 2nd International Conference of Kennel Clubs, hosted by the Swedish Kennel Club (SKK) in Stockholm, addressed a number of aspects of dog breeding with reference to the use of DNA testing to address inherited diseases of dogs. View Meeting Press Release (PDF) | Post by Rony Doedijns of the Dutch Kennel Club's Board of Directors.

Congratulations to our Partners at the Canadian Kennel Club for all they accomplished in 2018. We continue to work with the CKC to improve the health and welfare of dogs in Canada and around the world! Their 2018 Annual Report contains several references to IPFD, including a full-page feature on page 52!

Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs (HGTD)

Get Involved in HGTD! We welcome additional participant GTPs, more collaborators from any stakeholders concerned with dog health and welfare, the advice of experts, the participation of breed clubs and other consumer groups. We stand ready to provide more information to ongoing discussions.

Please feel free to contact us as we work together for healthy dogs and to support those who breed and own them: IPFD CEO, Dr. Brenda Bonnett, at brenda.bonnett@ipfdogs.com and/or HGTD Project Director, Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi, at aimee.llewellyn-zaidi@ipfdogs.com.

     4th IDHW Post Workshop Report

THANK YOU!
From our IPFD Partners, IDHW Sponsor Royal Canin, and co-hosts at The Kennel Club – to our speakers – to the more than 130 decision leaders from 17 countries who joined us to share their experiences and expertise on some of the most pressing issues in the dog world – we’d like to extend a huge “thank you” to everyone involved in the 4th International Dog Health Workshop!

From Information and Collaboration to Action: 4th IDHW

IPFD CEO, Dr. Brenda Bonnett, reflects on the 4th IDHW in her latest blog entry.

What our 4th IDHW participants are saying:

Post-Meeting Resources
We're in the process of compiling materials from the 4th IDHW so that participants can refer back to them - and so that those who were unable to attend can also benefit from this impressive collection of downloadable resources. They include:

• Presentations (Plenary Talks) from the workshop, sorted by Theme
• Posters
• 4th IDHW Theme Outcomes Presentations

Be sure to check back often for updates!

Report from the Genetic Testing Theme

This article, posted under DogWellNet.com's Genetic Counseling category, summarizes the pre-thru-post 4^th IDHW meeting activities around the Genetic Testing theme. A number of specific actions and projects were identified to address the concerns in the rapidly changing landscape of genetic testing. These mainly focused on supporting a structure that would enable dog owners, breeders, and veterinary professionals to be able to identify good quality, robust genetic testing that is applied appropriately in their dog/breed for the maximum health benefit to the animals.
Read: Report from the Genetic Testing Theme, from the 4th International Dog Health Workshop (8-5-2019)

Articles on the 4th IDHW

Vet Record News: 4th IDHW workshop - "Improving the health of pedigree dogs"

Lance Novak, Executive Director, Canadian Kennel Club: From My Side of the Desk: Canine Health and Wellness

Several articles by Ian J. Seath of the Dachshund Breed Council (DBC):

• My report on the 4th International Dog Health Workshop for Our Dogs
• My presentation to the 4th International Dog Health Workshop (IDHW4)
• Breed Health Strategies – Addressing the challenges: My July 2019 “Best of Health” article
• The why and how of Breed-specific Health Strategies – “Best of Health” June 2019

Working Group Forums
We are in the process of setting up forums on DogWellNet.com for those who will be taking part in the IDHW Theme Working Groups. More information will follow shortly for those involved.

Share Your IDHW Photos
We thank everyone who posted their photos and comments on social media during the workshop, and we ask all participants to forward photos that we can use on DogWellNet.com, in our Social Media, and in our publications. Where possible, please include a brief note describing who/what is in the photos.

Now, The REAL Work Begins…

Once again, we thank everyone who made the 4th IDHW possible. It is the work that starts now - to enhance the health, well-being, and welfare of all dogs - that will ultimately determine that the workshop was truly a success!

IDHW photos submitted by Helena Skarp, (SKK) and Ian J. Seath, Dachshund Breed Council (UK)

Make a Donation

IPFD is truly a "people driven" service organization. We allocate the bulk of our financial resources to maintain a small but dedicated team of consultants to manage our modest resources and facilitate the activities of our stakeholders, with the aim of achieving our collective goals.

You can specify how your donation is used (support IPFD and its programs and activities OR support the Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs). All donations are handled securely via PayPal.

Click Here to Make a Donation Now
 

We look forward to hearing from you!