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Health before looks -- Collaborative action is urgently needed to stop the practice of extreme breeding in dogs and cats This message was delivered to the European Parliament at an event organized by our Collaborating Partner the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations (FECAVA) together with the EU Dog and Cat Alliance and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe(FVE). (Download PDF below.) This event was "aimed at ending the unnecessary suffering of dogs and cats bred with exaggerated features such as flat faces, narrowed nostrils, skin folds and protruding eyes" and is part of the ongoing work, especially throughout Europe, to address health and welfare in brachycephalic breeds. The speakers represented the veterinary, welfare and breed organization perspectives on the issue. It was great to see this international, multi-stakeholder approach, similar to that we have promoted through the IPFD International Dog Health Workshops (IDHWs) and reflected in the many resources on the brachycephalic isssue on DogWellNet.com. Kristin Prestrud (a veterinarian from another of our Partners, the Norwegian Kennel Club) put into perspective that although there are wide variations across dog breeds in form and function, there should be defined limits for extremes, so that selective breeding does not compromise health or welfare. The challenge, raised at our IDHWs is that those limits are not clear nor consistent across regions and cultures; we need research and collaborative work to define those limits. As Prestrud, explained, for pedigree dogs breeding happens according to written breed standards - however those are often open to interpretation and may vary widely across countries. "“We love that dogs look cute, that they have some particular look that we love. And so, short legs have got shorter, heavy bodies got heavier, long coats got longer, loose skin got looser, long ears got longer and wrinkles more extended. Not in all cases, not in all breeds, but in several breeds.” And when breeders select really strongly for some traits and restrict genetic input from outside, there is always the risk of reducing genetic variation." The British Veterinary Association’s encouragement of data reporting of conformation altering surgery (and caesareans) - by veterinarians with the consent of owners - was described. Similar registers are underway in, e.g. Scandinavian countries. However, there are challenges to compliance with these programs and only time will tell whether they achieve the goal of determining the prevalence of dogs that need such surgery. Speakers also highlighted the role of veterinarians in this issue, saying, “we must be aware that there are a lot of vets who earn their money by doing this very expensive surgery." I was encouraged to see that the discussion by the politicians did not focus simply on legislation of breeding as being the best solution. They discussed the need to control the marketing of unregistered puppies and kittens, “the majority of which are on the internet and are totally without control” . It was estimated that over half of puppies In the Netherlands come from unsupervised sources and it may be as high as 90% for some breeds, e.g. the French Bulldog. One of the members of parliament suggested that "efforts would be better focused on reducing demand by making extreme breed animals unfashionable. “We have to make unhealthy bad conformation unfashionable, it has to stop.”" And, so, as has been discussed in much of our work, we come back to this fact: the challenges are about the people, more than the dogs, and successfully improving health and welfare of dogs needs an approach that addresses human-animal interactions, human attitudes and actions, and using techniques of education that are likely to result in human behaviour change. Addressing sourcing of dogs and communication for change will be two themes at the upcoming 4th IPFD IDHW in Old Windsor, UK, May 30-June 1 2019. Congratulations to FECAVA and their co-organizers for an important event and to the European Parliament for taking an interest in the health and welfare of dogs. Health before looks Collaborative action is urgently needed to stop the practice of extreme breeding in dogs and cats Download: European Parliament Event article by Parliament Magazine - 7-2018
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AKC-CHF 2017 National Parent Club Canine Health Conference
Brenda Bonnett posted a blog entry in Brenda's Blog
Last weekend I was honored to participate in the 2017 National Parent Club Canine Health Conference presented by the AKC Canine Health Foundation and Nestlé Purina PetCare, in St. Louis, Missouri. It is always great to interact with breeders and club reps that are so committed to the health and welfare of their dogs and their breeds. This meeting is a mix of breeders (106 parent clubs represented!), vets, and researchers and includes Board members from some of the collaborating organizations who sponsor research, including IPFD Partners and Sponsors: the AKC, the AKC-CHF and the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA). The OFA sponsored 32 veterinary students to attend the meeting. Our IPFD 2016 Student Kelly Arthur was among the participants! The research covered a wide array of key topics - from ticks and infectious disease - epilepsy - latest developments in cancer - to issues of reproduction (see list of speakers and topics, below). What an impressive panel of speakers and internationally renowned researchers. It was great to see two of our speakers from the 3rd International Dog Health Workshop, Jason Stull and Rowena Packer, as well as numerous others who participated in that meeting. It certainly feels like the international community of those committed to dog health, well-being and welfare is going strong! Thanks to the many people who stopped by the IPFD table to talk to us about our organization, DogWellNet.com and especially the Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs initiative (and to grab some chocolate to keep their energy up!). Special thanks to CA Sharpe, from our IPFD Collaborating Partner Australian Shepherd Health & Genetics Institute (ASHGI) for helping me out at the table. It was very gratifying for me to hear someone else talking so enthusiastically about our efforts. Congrats to AKC-CHF for their continued strength and leadership; for promoting multi-disciplinary interaction; and for an exciting conference. Attached is the PDF of the slides of my talk (slightly altered, of course) and the abstract. BONNETT - AKC-CHF Presentation - Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs BONNETT Abstract - CHF June 2017 The 2017 AKC-CHF Conference Program included presentations on the following topics... Lymphoma & Epigenetics - Jeffrey Bryan, DVM, PhD, DACVIM-Oncology Lymphoma & Flow Cytometry - Anne Avery, VMD, PhD Chemotherapy & FortiFlora® - Korinn Saker DVM, PhD, DACVN Genetics of Cancer/Lymphoma - Matthew Breen, PhD Diet & Rehabilitation - Wendy Baltzer DVM, PhD, DACVS Genetic Predisposition to Infections - Urs Giger, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, DECVCP Lyme Disease - Jason Stull, VMD, PhD, DACVPM Tick-Borne Disease - Ed Breitschwerdt, DVM, DACVIM (*Keynote) Ehrlichia & Lymphocytosis - Anne Avery, VMD, PhD Canine Cognition - Bill Milgram, PhD Genetics of Epilepsy - Gary Johnson, DVM, PhD Epilepsy & the Microbiome - Karen Munana, DVM, PhD, DACVIM-Neurology Epilepsy & Nutrition - Rowena Packer, PhD IPFD: Harmonization of Laboratory Genetic Testing for Dogs - Brenda Bonnett, DVM, PhD Semen Evaluation, Quality, and Effects of Aging - Stuart Meyers, DVM, PhD, DACT Brucella Update - Angela Arenas, DVM, PhD, DACVP Pyometra - Marco Coutinho da Silva, DVM, PhD, DACT New for 2017! Panel discussions with our speakers on: Canine Lymphoma Tick-Borne Diseases Epilepsy Reproductive Diseases AKC-CHF Facebook -
Here is the catalog and links to work on the 2017 IPFD Student Project on the global public health threat of antimicrobial resistance. This article will be continuously updated during the summer of 2017 and serves as an index to references, links, blogs and other resources. -
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THIS IS AN OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE - YOU MAY READ THE ARTICLE AND DOWNLOAD THE PDF FROM THE PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE. A representative study of Danish owners of four small dog breeds P. Sandøe, S. V. Kondrup1, P. C. Bennett, B. Forkman, I Meyer, H. F. Proschowsky,J. A. Serpell, T. B. Lund PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0172091 February 24, 2017 Breeds in this study include: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, French Bulldog, Chihuahua and Cairn Terrier. Abstract "A number of dog breeds suffer from welfare problems due to extreme phenotypes and high levels of inherited diseases but the popularity of such breeds is not declining. Using a survey of owners of two popular breeds with extreme physical features (French Bulldog and Chihuahua), one with a high load of inherited diseases not directly related to conformation (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), and one representing the same size range but without extreme conformation and with the same level of disease as the overall dog population (Cairn Terrier), we investigated this seeming paradox. We examined planning and motivational factors behind acquisition of the dogs, and whether levels of experienced health and behavior problems were associated with the quality of the owner-dog relationship and the intention to reprocure a dog of the same breed. Owners of each of the four breeds (750/breed) were randomly drawn from a nationwide Danish dog registry and invited to participate. Of these, 911 responded, giving a final sample of 846. There were clear differences between owners of the four breeds with respect to degree of planning prior to purchase, with owners of Chihuahuas exhibiting less. Motivations behind choice of dog were also different. Health and other breed attributes were more important to owners of Cairn Terriers, whereas the dog's personality was reported to be more important for owners of French Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels but less important for Chihuahua owners. Higher levels of health and behavior problems were positively associated with a closer owner-dog relationship for owners of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Chihuahuas but, for owners of French Bulldogs, high levels of problems were negatively associated with an intention to procure the same breed again. In light of these findings, it appears less paradoxical that people continue to buy dogs with welfare problems." The "study aimed to answer the following questions: 1) Do motivations for acquiring a dog, and pre-purchase owner characteristics, differ between owners of the four breeds? 2) Do levels of expenditure on veterinary treatments and health and behavior problems experienced differ for owners of the four dog breeds? 3) Do motivations prior to acquisition, and owners' experiences of health and behavior problems with their dogs, explain differences in the quality of the owner-dog relationship between the four breeds? 4) Do intentions of acquiring the same breed the next time a dog is to be procured change as a function of experienced health and behavior problems?" -
The Intersection of Welfare and Behaviour in Dogs and Relation to Health and Breeding
IPFD DWN Editor1 posted a file in IPFD IDHW #3
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The Intersection of Welfare and Behaviour in Dogs and Relation to Health and Breeding Paula Boyden BVetMedMRCVS Dogs Trust -
Why do people buy dogs with potential welfare problems related to extreme conformation and inherited disease?
Ann Milligan posted a article in Human-Dog Interactions
A representative study of Danish owners of four small dog breeds P. Sandøe, S. V. Kondrup1, P. C. Bennett, B. Forkman, I Meyer, H. F. Proschowsky,J. A. Serpell, T. B. Lund This newly published peer-reviewed research is available in DWN Downloads. external link: doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0172091.t001 "An array of previous studies thus indicates that both physical and behavioral attributes of dogs may have an impact on how attractive a specific breed or breed characteristic is perceived to be. However, as far as we are aware, no previous study has investigated the motivational patterns behind peoples' choices between dog breeds, or how these relate to the quality of the relationship between owners and dogs of specific breeds. To address this issue, we surveyed a representative sample of owners of four different breeds of dogs (two with extreme phenotypes, one with a high load of inherited diseases and one relatively healthy) with the overall goal of examining their motivations for acquiring their dog, the health and behavior problems encountered, and the quality of relationships between the dog owners and their dogs." -
AKC-CHF -- Dog News coverage of IPFD's Harmonization Project
Ann Milligan posted a article in IPFD in the Media
Many thanks to the AKC-CHF and our other sponsors for supporting the collaborative Harmonization of Genetic Testing initiative!!! See the Dog News Annual Issue for the complete article. -
How Beliefs and Attitudes about Dog Health and Welfare Limit Behaviour Change
Ann Milligan posted a article in Human-Dog Interactions
Among the presenters at The First International Conference on Human Behaviour Change for Animal Welfare held in Dorking, Surrey, UK from September 19-21st was IPFD's Dr. Brenda Bonnett. -
Dog Behavior and Welfare - New Tool for Owners
Ann Milligan posted a article in Breeding for Behavior | Mentality | Instinct
September 2016 News from PAUL McGREEVY | Professor Faculty of Veterinary Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY IT to pups’ rescue!!! The University of Sydney recently launched a world-first app that will not only help owners help their dogs be happier and healthier, but could also play a life-saving role by teaching young dogs to behave better. -
Société Centrale Canine - The 5-Generation Pedigree
Ann Milligan posted a article in More on our Partners and Collaborators
2016 News from The French Kennel Club... The SCC is proud to present the 5-generation pedigree In 2012 the work of the Breeding commission enabled the SCC to set up birth certificates and 3-generation pedigrees « enriched » with information about DNA (identification, parentage), selection rating, health and performances (breed standard compliance and work). In 2016 the SCC expanded upon the initial work done to 5-generation pedigrees containing even more key genealogical information. -
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This breed has information on both veterinary care events (VC) and LIFE insurance data (mortality). Files Available for Download: GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG VC 2006-2011.pdf The VC file has rates of most common and highest risk conditions requiring veterinary care. GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG LIFE 2006-2011.pdf The LIFE file has rates of most common and highest risk causes of death. Agria Dog Breed Statistics FAQs.pdf This file addresses frequently asked questions regarding Agria Dog Breed Statistics. Click on the green DOWNLOAD button above to access the files.