|
|
Cairn Health
The following motion was passed at the Club meeting of 2 June following consultation with members.
The Committee wishes to make it perfectly clear that this is NOT intended in anyway to be mandatory. The Puppy Sales Officer will continue to recommend members’ puppies when she is advised of them but will tell the enquirer of the Club’s position. Those members who don’t test can then discuss the matter with the purchaser and if they decide to proceed with the purchase then that is a matter entirely for them.
“The Cairn Terrier Club of NSW recommends that all puppies be tested for liver function.
The Club further recommends that buyers only purchase puppies that have tested clear using an accepted testing method. Such advice should be given to any prospective buyer when they approach the Club as to puppy availability.”
The Cairn Terrier Club of Victoria Inc formed a Health Watch Committee in July 2005 as a result of a small number of The Cairn Terrier Club of NSW Inc gave the matter considerable thought but decided that it would encourage its members to lodge appropriate information with the Victorian Club’s Committee rather than set up one of its own. It was felt that it was more appropriate to have a central body collecting and collating information on the breed in Reports are accepted from all over The Committee produces an annual report which is freely available to those in the breed interested setting out the health issues reported to the Committee during the year and any outcomes known and to date two have been issued. A list of PSS tests including actual scores is included in the report. It is the Committee’s hope that, in time, the data base will build in to an important record which may assist in further research. We believe that it is too early to form any opinions at this stage, particularly when researchers here and overseas are still undecided as to the mode of inheritance and at present our sample of tested puppies remains small. Each year more breeders are sending in their litter reports and it is hoped this trend continues to grow to build up a more accurate picture of the nature of the problem in Please download the Health Reporting Form here CTCV Health Watch Committee Report 24/1/2008 The Health Watch Committee is pleased to present the yearly report of all medical conditions and bile acid testing of litters received since last year’s report. We would like to thank all those who have sent in their Reports this year and hope that more will be received in the future. Confidentiality All Health Watch Reports are treated as confidential unless the owner/breeder of the dog agrees that the information may be shared. Please remember to tick the box on the Report Form to indicate whether anonymity is required. Scores received this year are published at the end of this report. Number of Reports Received We have received a total of 21 Reports, broken down as follows:- 6 Medical Reports (However, 3 of these are bile acid screenings only) 16 Litter Reports (Bile Acid Testing) The other 3 medical reports concern: 1 case of Addisons Disease in a male cairn 1 case of Liver Cysts 1 case of Dry Eye Litter Reports Sixteen Litter Reports, were received since the last Health Watch Committee Report. In total 71 puppies were bile acid tested. Five of these pups were retested at the recommendation of the laboratories concerned due to their above average postprandial scores. Two of the puppies scored within the normal range and were cleared. Portal Shunt Unfortunately the other 3 puppies retested at extremely high postprandial scores and after further testing and scanning were diagnosed with Portal Shunt and were later euthanized. Two of the pups concerned were passed on to Prof. Linda Abraham, (BSc BVet Med PhD(Lond) MRCFS MACVSC) at the Werribee Clinic for her assessment and research. The Health Watch Committee, as well as the owners/breeders of the affected puppies wish to express their sincere gratitude to Linda for all her help, advice and support throughout the year. Her professional expertise and interest in our breed has certainly made the difficult times much easier to cope with. The post prandial scores of the affected puppies were 171, 187 and 40 at 6 weeks. It cannot be stressed firmly enough that any puppy who scores above the laboratory’s reference level must be retested to ensure that a shunt is not present. One of the affected puppy’s first bile acid tests showed a post prandial score of only 40 at 6 weeks of age. However at 8 weeks it was 213 and at 12 weeks it was 347. This proves how much credence we need to place on the laboratories recommendations for retesting. If the breeder of this particular litter had not insisted on retesting the puppy then there would have been dire consequences for the new puppy buyer. It should be noted that all three of the above puppies were post mortemed and liver shunts were confirmed in all three cases. It is also important to note that if only one test is being done then it is the post prandial test which is a more reliable indicator of liver function. The other important point is to ensure that the puppies eat enough food to give an accurate assessment. If your vet is unsure about the post prandial testing procedure please ask them to make a quick call to Dr. Abraham at Werribee who will set them straight. (All vets know the Werribee phone number.) Dr. Abraham is happy to test any cairn litters at Werribee at an extremely low cost per puppy. Just telephone the clinic and ask for her personally to arrange a test. Hopefully testing will be free of charge later this year if the Grant is successful. Linda is also testing adult Research Grant As reported last year and for the benefit of any new members “Dr Linda Abraham, BSc BVet Med PhD(Lond) MRCFS MACVSC, who most of you know is a registrar at the Werribee Clinic of Melbourne University’s Veterinary Hospital has applied for a Research Grant to fund the bile acid testing of Cairn Terrier puppies. If successful the money will be used to test pure bred litters in order to ascertain the most beneficial age to gain accurate results. At present we are finding that some pups show lower scores when re-tested at 10 days to several weeks later. There would be no charge to breeders for testing, or for further testing (such as scintigraphy) if the application is successful. The results of the tests would be anonymously reported in a statistical way and no individual dogs or breeders would be named. This data would be invaluable in helping to diagnose Portal Shunt in our puppies.” We have recently heard from Linda who advises that the Grant has been approved and she is now awaiting Ethics Approval before she can start. Members will be advised shortly in more detail regarding the free testing procedure. It is important that all breeders take advantage of this funding allocated to us by the ANKC. As more details become available they will be reported in the Bulletin and on the website. Summary Please continue to send in your reports as soon as they are available. We would especially like to have more information on other ailments in Secretary:
Mr Robert Bartram
PO Box 429
Queanbeyan 2620
|