Lancashire Heeler Health
Important Information from The Kennel Club Registration
Department See new film Dogs - A Healthy Future
Read Article ' Epilepsy or Not ' by Loulou Eklund Kennel Tumlux
from Sweden.
Advice on DNA Testing puppies for PLL click here (Mating a Clear to a Carrier)
The three articles below are all on the same page
Advice on how to Register Hereditary Clear puppies with the Kennel Club
Advice on what to do with PLL 'Research Results' for dogs who have given
blood over the years
Animal Health Trust update on DNA testing June 2010
link to KC Database for Clear DNA tested Lancashire Heelers
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/7512/lancashireheelerpllclears.pdf
link to KC Database for Carrier DNA tested Lancashire Heelers
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/7513/lancashireheelerpllcarriers.pdf
link to KC Database for Affecteds DNA tested Lancahire Heelers
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/8140/lancashireheelerpllaffecteds.pdf
to come back to this page from the above pages click on the blue back button at the top left of the page
Link to KC Database for individual dogs tested under the BVA scheme over the years
http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/health/search/Default.aspx
Important News
The Kennel Club Genetics Centre at the AHT issues mid-term report
The Kennel Club Genetics Centre (KCGC) at the Animal Health Trust (AHT) has issued an update
report highlighting the significant progress the centre has made.
Since being established, in March 2009, the KCGC has focussed on helping dog breeders to
reduce or eradicate inherited disease from their breeds. This has been achieved through the
development and provision of essential tools which minimise the risk of breeding affected puppies.
Cathryn Mellersh, Head of Canine Genetics at the AHT, said: "The creation of the KCGC has
been a huge step forward into inherited disease research in dogs. The Centre has helped to
focus attention on this important area and without the support of the Kennel Club and all the
various breed clubs and individual breeders, we would not have made so much progress."
Five different mutations associated with diseases in 20 breeds of dog have been identified.
For all of these mutations, DNA tests have been developed at the AHT. Breeders are now
able to find out whether their dog is clear or carries the mutation by supplying DNA to the
AHT genetic services laboratory through a simple cheek swab. Thanks to the development
of these tests the carrier status of more than 11,000 dogs, in the UK and across the world,
has been established.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director said: "By committing 1.2 million
pounds to the Kennel Club Genetics Centre to investigate the mutations responsible for
inherited diseases, the Kennel Club Charitable Trust has helped make big strides towards
eradicating inherited diseases across a number of breeds. The Genetics Centre is making
excellent progress in helping to enable breeders to ensure that only healthy dogs are used in
future breeding plans.
"The funding given by the Charitable Trust is also helping scientists at the Genetics Centre
to conduct research into developing wider breeding strategies to improve the general health
of dogs and maintain genetic diversity in our pedigree breeds."
As well as individual dogs, whole breeds are also benefiting. The development of estimated
breeding values (EBVs) enables whole dog populations to be evaluated for the risk of inherited
disease - even if individuals have not been scanned or DNA tested themselves. The Centre
currently has EBV projects underway looking at hip and elbow dysplasia in Labrador Retrievers
and syringomyelia and mitral valve disease in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
Maintenance of genetic diversity is another important issue being addressed by the Centre,
one which lies at the heart of the popular Mate Select service recently launched by the Kennel
Club on its website.
Sarah Blott, Head of Quantitative Genetics at the AHT, said: "The development of the Mate
Select service is an important step forward and, I think, in time its value to dog breeders will
become more and more obvious as we create more tools to add to it.
"In terms of breeding solutions, I hope the service will become a one-stop shop for all,
enabling dog breeders to ensure, as far as possible, the good health of the puppies
they produce."
The KCGC set out to investigate a number of inherited diseases between 2009 and 2013.
There is still much for the Centre to achieve. It is currently investigating the genetics of a
wide range of inherited conditions, including idiopathic epilepsy in Border Collies and
hereditary cataract and progressive retinal atrophy in many breeds, including Siberian
Huskies, Miniature Schnauzers and Tibetan Spaniels.
For further information on the progress of the KCGC, dog breeders are encouraged to
download the mid-term report for free from either the AHT or Kennel Club websites.
Ends
To download the whole report, please visit:
http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/11698/KCGC-mid-term-report-final-.pdf
Photographs:
An image of the front cover of the report is available on request from the AHT press office.
Images of some of the breeds mentioned in the report are also available.
Additional notes:
The Animal Health Trust is an independent charity, employing over 200 scientists, vets
and support workers. It aims to improve the health and welfare of horses, dogs and cats
through research. It also provides specialist referral services and continuous education
to vets. Visit the website at www.aht.org.uk
The Kennel Club Genetics Centre is led by Dr Cathryn Mellersh and Dr Sarah Blott, two
of the AHT's genetics experts. Both have pioneered screening tests to identify a dog's
genetic status and minimise the risk of producing affected puppies
The Kennel Club Charitable Trust has donated over 5 million pounds since its formation
to help fund research into dog diseases and to canine support and welfare charities.
Money made by the Kennel Club, through events such as Crufts, goes back into the
Kennel Club Charitable Trust and into education and health initiatives to help all dogs.
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COLLIE EYE ANOMALY (CEA)
CEA is a condition that a puppy is born with. There are several aspects to CEA and it is the subject of on-going research. CEA is an ‘umbrella’ term which covers several conditions, all within the spectrum of CEA. They include CH (choroidal hypoplasia) coloboma, retinal detachments and intraocular detachments (in very extreme cases). CEA/CH causes abnormal development of the choroid, an important layer of tissues under the retina. It can be diagnosed when a litter is screened at 6 to 8 weeks of age, Litter screening only has one diagnosis which shows if the puppy is affected To determine whether the puppy is either clear or a carrier a DNA test for Choroidal Hypoplasia is available by blood test from a company in the US called Optigen.
Coloboma is a 'pin' prick in the eye tissue layers this condition is rare and can be diagnosed by the opthamic vetinary surgeon, the coloboma in most cases are not obvious until the dog reaches an age of 18 months. Research into Coloboma continues at several laboratories.
Please note that the Optigen test is for Choroidal Hypoplasia only.
PERSISTENT PUPILLARY MEMBRANE (PPM)
This manifests itself as a ‘cobweb’ over the eye and is the remnant of the blood vessels that fed the eyes when the puppy was in the womb. They usually disappear by the time the pup is 6-10 weeks old but sometimes small pieces remain, called ‘tags’. They cause the dog no distress.
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