DogWellNet Digest: Issue #36 - 17 February 2021

News & Highlights

IPFD News

• IPFD CEO Dr. Brenda Bonnett, HGTD Project Manager Aimée Llewellyn-Zaidi, & Board Member Dr. Marty Greer participated in the Embark Vet Canine Health Summit (hosted by Embark and the Westminster Kennel Club on Feb. 15-16, 2021), which offered the latest insights & best practices from leading experts in the fields of veterinary medicine, canine genetics, dog breeding, & more, via panel discussions & dynamic presentations.
  
  We prepared an article that provides links to resources on DogWellNet and from our partners to support panel discussions.

IPFD In The News

• IPFD CEO Dr. Brenda Bonnett is first author of the international chapter of the upcoming book, Health and Welfare of Brachycephalic (Flat-faced) Companion Animals - A Complete Guide for Veterinary and Animal Professionals. This book will equip veterinary professionals, animal welfare scientists, breeders and owners with the fuller story about brachycephalic health and welfare. It is available for pre-order now and will ship after 15 July 2021.

• Full video of the recent online event, Reframing Discussions on Dog Health & Welfare: What's Needed for Progress?, by APDAWG, A-Law, and IPFD's Brenda Bonnett is now online. The discussion explores current global dog health and welfare issues and methods of improvement, including changes in legislation.

• IPFD Contributor Ian J. Seath recently published a post in his Sunsong Dachshunds blog entitled: 2020: A dream or nightmare year for pedigree dog health? Our Dogs Annual 2021, in which he addresses the international nature of issues in pedigree dog health. Ian references several IPFD efforts and initiatives including our Globally Relevant Integrated Health Profile (GRIHP) documents.

Blogs

• Brenda Bonnett has posted two new entries in her blog:
  
  In Linebreeding vs. Inbreeding – Let’s be perfectly clear, Brenda discusses the inherent risks of linebreeding/inbreeding and what can be done to increase genetic diversity within a breed. 
  
  In The Big Picture - in the Dog World as a Whole and for your next Breeding Decision, Brenda focuses on comments our friend and collaborator Ian J. Seath made on DNA health testing in his recent Best of Health article.

Breeds Resources

★ This Month We Feature All Dogs ★

Breed-Specific Questions, Answers, Tools and Resources

This article highlights DogWellNet content and resources that can assist puppy buyers, new or existing owners, dog breeders, breed managers and veterinarians to answer basic questions that pertain to health, welfare, management and breeding of dogs. The Big Picture - how the complexities of health, welfare, and human-animal interactions come together - for all dogs. See Q&A's for pointers to DogWellNet content... Why DogWellNet?

DogWellNet.com - so much better than a Google search or social media post: 

• Impartial, accurate, evidence-based data, information, and commentary from IPFD consultants and global experts 
• In collaboration with our partners - kennel and breed clubs, academics, specialists and veterinarians; international resources 
• The Big Picture - how the complexities of health, welfare, and human-animal interactions come together.  For all dogs.

• What are the breed's typical characteristics?
• What are the important health issues in the breed?
• Which DNA tests are applicable to the breed?
• Find Links to Evidence-based Resources

Updated Breeds

• We recently updated Get a GRIHP! on Dachshunds to include the HGTD Phene reference link (pointer to "Application Information" section) and  Infographic as well as links to the UC Davis page and the 2020 research paper, Breeding schemes for intervertebral disc disease in dachshunds: Is disc calcification score preferable to genotyping of the FGF4 retrogene insertion on CFA12?. Canine Genet Epidemiol 7, 18 (2020). And we've added the Dachshund Annual Health Report for 2020.

IPFD Partners in Action

• IPFD Collaborating Partner, The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), has recently published the latest edition of Dog Breeds: What You Need to Know, a regular feature in their online news section (and in the WSAVA Bulletin) that highlights IPFD resources on a particular breed with a focus on breed-specific diseases.
  
  In the latest Dog Breeds: What you need to know, the focus is on how breed-specific information supports medical decisions and client communication through helping to suggest or confirm diagnoses, helping owners make sense of ‘Why my pet?’, and informing anticipatory guidance and preventive medicine.

You can also view previous editions of Dog Breeds: What You Need to Know in
our archive article here on DogWellNet.com.

An article on Demand for puppies in 2020 and 2020 Breed Registrations information has been posted by the Finnish Kennel Club. So much Great News on health research and statements entered in the Kennel Club's dog register from IPFD's partner, the FKC - pioneers in promoting the health and well-being of dogs in Finland, emphasizes chairman of the Kennel Club's breeding science committee, Kirsi Sainio!

• On 1 August, 2021, Kees de Jong (pictured to the right) takes over as CEO of the Swedish Kennel Club when Ulf Uddman retires after more than 35 years in the role (view full article in Swedish).

• Congratulations to our Partners at the Finnish Kennel Club on reaching the 125th year of publishing their Koiramme magazine! Access to Koiramme is a member benefit of Kenneliitto, and all issues of the magazine from 1896-1939 are now available to members on the National Library website.

Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs (HGTD)

New to HGTD Phenes Database: Key Comments

"Key Comments" is a new information section in our phenes database, providing practical, real-life breed specific test information. Complementing the Breed Relevance Ratings, Key Comments lists special information that could be important to how to use a test, apply the test to your breed, or prioritize testing. 

Ask Aimee

Our HGTD Project Manager, Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi, provides answers to your questions on canine genetic testing in Ask Aimee. In her latest instalment, Can my dog's ancestry test tell me who its parents are?, Aimee addresses a common mistake of confusing "Ancestry" tests for parentage or genetic identification tests.

If you’d like to submit a question to Aimee, please email her at aimee.llewellyn-zaidi@ipfdogs.com.

HGTD & Genetic Testing Blog
The HGTD & Genetic Testing blog provides regular updates on our rapidly expanding genetic testing resources. It currently features regular input from Brenda Bonnett and Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi, but be sure to look out for future posts from special guests

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 and/or HGTD Project Manager, Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi.