Friday 25 December 2009
AS THOSE of you who know me will confirm, being wrong is not something that comes naturally to me, so when no notes appeared in DW, Dec 11 and I knew that I’d written them, it ‘obviously’ had to be Dog World’s fault. Unfortunately, further investigation showed that the email was still sat in my draft box with everything perfectly attached but very unsent. So now I have to be doubly annoyed – once for the missing set of notes and once for being wrong. On the positive side it was nice that so many of you came up to me at LKA to ask what had happened to them and to make sure that I wasn’t planning on missing any more.
Barrie Alton had an entry of 179 at LKA and awarded DCC, his first, and BOB to Sonia Johnson’s Sulez Sirocco by Sonshoby who has been knocking hard with six RCCs. RDCC was Steve Hare, Brenda Groves and Claire Kay’s Ch Verileas Dancing Deano at Jimbren.
Fearn Pynegar had a great day in bitches winning the BCC with Ch Berwynfa G Spot at Sandwash while the bitch she owns in partnership with the Saunders, Sandwash Ashes to Ashes, was handled to the RCC by Zina. BP was the Pye’s Burnden Secret Millionaire.
I like the LKA once you have made it into the venue but the staff at the NEC don’t seem to get any less officious. Marion’s mobility scooter kept cutting out and had completely died by the end of the day. What made matters worse was that even when it was on ‘freewheel’ the brakes were locked on so we didn’t have the option of pushing her or the scooter. Needless to say this was a real problem and you would have thought that these were such exceptional circumstances that the NEC would have simply allowed us to bring the car right up to the hall door to pick up both Marion and the crocked scooter. Not a bit of it. While I’m sure that they do get driven mad by folk trying it on with the car parking arrangements, they do need to be a bit flexible when the only alternative is getting an 86 year old lady to do a long walk that she really can’t manage. Last year they tried to charge her £7 admission when we had six dogs entered so the NEC is one of the rare addresses not on Marion’s Christmas card list.
In Bulldogs it seems to be very important to have the dogs ‘well covered’ though to a Boxer person’s eye this basically translates as ‘fat’ and some do seem to take it to extremes. But earlier in the year even we felt that one of our Bulldogs could do with bulking up a bit and so Stuart Lockwood-Brown and Tony Curtin recommended that we should try supplementing her normal food with chicken carcasses. To say we were sceptical is something of an understatement but Stuart and Tony kindly brought us bags of the stuff to shows and we are now managing to get a regular supply of wings and other chicken bits from our tripe supplier. We chuck a few raw bits and pieces on top of their dinners, the dogs absolutely love them and it certainly helps put weight on if you’ve got a picky eater. It also seems to ensure very solid end products which definitely helps when cleaning out.
I was pleased to see in a recent DOG WORLD that Yvonne Miller was among the first group of people to be awarded the new accredited breeders accolade of excellence. We were then pleased to get our confirmation of this accolade in the week and I also heard from Rodney Hughes at our show that Sue Harvey had also been recognised in this way. If any other Boxer folk have been given this prestigious honour please do let me know so that we can share in your success. It’s great to see the Boxer people supporting the ABS so well and being recognised for it. As an added benefit, once you are a member of this exclusive club, your membership of the ABS becomes free for five years.
At the Tyne Wear and Tees limited show Dave Rushton awarded BIS to Gary Pearce and Dale Francis’ Jenroy Dark Angel of Longsdale. I see that Gary has now passed his driving test so there will be no stopping the boys. Up until now neither of them could drive which must make life very difficult when you are trying to show dogs. The special puppy event was judged by Dave’s wife, Annette, whose winner was Steve Martin and David Parker’s Olleyville Meggie McPhee. Secretary Ros Jones would like to thank everyone who contributed to the Boxer Rescue fund which raised £222.
At the Cotswold Christmas match we were pleased that Lee Cox could come up from Vanitonia to judge for us and as Tom came as well he was roped in to do the handling at the start of the night. We had over 30 dogs turn up which was nice. BIM was Xandene Midnight Runner, BBP Winuwuk Suited And Booted, BP Star Chime by Norwilbeck and Adult Sugarwood Mystic Flame.
We also held our annual Dog of the Year which Claire Cook kindly judged, making Midnight Runner the Pup of the Year and Dog of the Year. Rounding off the evening the Ch Sugarwood Candy Floss award went to Winuwuk Enzo Ferrari as the most successful dog over the 2009 match season.
Bruce Cattanach has let me have a detailed health report, following his session at the last Breed Council. It is lengthy and, in places, quite complex, but please do read it thoroughly since it contains important information for all of us and it is Christmas so I’m sure that you’ve got more time on your hands than normal.
Bruce writes: “As requested, I herewith provide a summation of my report to Breed Council on activities conducted by the KC/BVA heart committee and veterinary cardiovascular society relevant to Boxer aortic stenosis (AS) testing, plus a further summary on the UK and US efforts to find the gene for Boxer cardiomyopathy (BCM/ARVC).
“Aortic stenosis – The objective of KV/BVA/VCS group is to set up a standard heart testing scheme to match the existing hip and eye testing schemes. Participating were Paul Wotton, Anne French, Jo Dukes-McEwan, Simon Swift, Serena Brownlie and Virginia Luis Fuentes who did so much in the setting up of our own aortic stenosis testing scheme, plus KC representatives Jeff Sampson, Dianna Brookes-Ward and Caroline Kisco, and me. BVS president Nicky Paull chaired. The breeds involved discussed were Boxers, Newfoundlands, Mini and standard Bull Terriers, Dobermanns, Wolfhounds and Cavaliers. Aortic stenosis, cardiomyopathies, and mitral valve disease were the diseases discussed, and the testing systems were auscultation, Doppler and Holter.
“Only aortic stenosis is involved as far as Boxers are concerned and Anne French remains the cardiologist principally responsible. The procedures are unchanged aside from an option that I introduced for the pass/fail criteria to try and rectify the excessively tough grading that has arisen subsequent to development of the original test system. The split grade 1-2 range will now, subject to breed agreement, be included as new pass score and is offered on a trial basis. Hopefully, this will increase the pass rate and so increase interest in testing. Justification for introducing the 1-2 range as a pass is that dogs with this score normally pass with Doppler (quote, Anne French). This change is something I have long fought for and I hope Breed Council will trial this change and see if it fulfils its twin purposes.
“With our heart testing system made part of a KC/BVA scheme several operational changes will be introduced. It is envisioned that for testing, dogs will be microchipped or otherwise identified. Also owners will be expected to supply relevant identification documentation, with notification of any registration transfer, change of names, etc. Documentary evidence of previous test results will also have to be presented. The results will then be sent directly to the KC which will publish them in their quarterly Breed Records Supplements and on all subsequent KC documentation. There is no suggestion that a heart list will be created, and it is still under debate whether or not all results, fails as well as passes, will be published.
“I would suggest that clubs ensure that the split 1-2 grade is instigated now and that the various aspects of the proposed procedures be considered fully by Breed Council before everything is fixed. In other words, really as soon as possible. This should include the need for a list, if wished.
“BCM/ARVC – As I have reported in the dog press, Paul Wotton and I had been asked to join the European funded research group (named LUPA) that is being promoted in Britain by Jo Dukes-McEwan. The aim has been to find the gene for BCM, and Paul and I had already been collecting blood samples for such a purpose. A first problem on joining was disagreement over choice of control (normal) animals. The LUPA concept was to use Holter testing of older dogs (seven years and over) as a means of identification. I’m afraid I objected to this on the basis that we have found Holter does not always recognise known carrier animals and instead urged the use of pedigrees for selecting BCM-free dogs. A compromise was reached in which older dogs of BCM risk-free pedigrees would be used. However, at this point the news broke that Kate Meurs in the States had found the gene. Everything that was known about the gene, striatin, suggested that this really was a good candidate, so expectations were high.
“I immediately wrote to Kate Meurs and asked if she would like to screen a sample of our dogs, indicating we had family data worked out and clear-by-pedigree controls. She promptly agreed but the results were totally dismaying. The gene seemed to be randomly distributed across our affected animals and our BCM risk-free controls. In other words, some of our affected cases typed negative and others positive, and many of our clear-by-pedigree control dogs also typed positive. This was particularly perplexing as our affected cases were not isolated individuals but linked with other family members, and therefore did have inherited BCM. And our clear-by-pedigree control dogs had been selected because they were older and had many progeny and therefore broadly reflected the majority UK Boxer population.
“More confusing was the finding that two such control dogs actually typed homozygous positive (double dose of the gene), which is supposed to give severe BCM. One was nearly eight and the other 13 years old and both were still healthy. I asked Jo Dukes-McEwan to Holter the 13-year-old and the result was unambiguously clear. Subsequently, on being put down for unrelated reasons, the 13-year-old dog had a post mortem. The detailed pathology failed to show any indications of the fibro-fatty lesions that characterise BCM. The American gene screen does not seem to have any relevance for UK Boxers.
“Regrettably, our material was criticised by the Americans, but the LUPA group recognised that there was indeed a big problem, and Jo Dukes-McEwan arranged with Kate Meurs to screen a second set of samples that she and Paul had put together. The results have not yet been announced but I might as well say they correspond well with those of the first set. There is very definitely a problem with this American gene test, at least with our dogs.
“While this was happening, the LUPA group was considering restarting its own gene search but shall we say that the Americans, including the main geneticist, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, quickly came on board and are now reinvestigating the situation using our UK material. In view of the delicacy of the situation, I asked Kerstin Lindbad-Toh what exactly I could say publicly. The following is her reply: “If you want to represent me you should say that it (striatin) is one of several genes for ARVC in the Boxer breed. The data is hard to interpret because we only have one, not the whole picture now! I do not think it (striatin) is the gene for ARVC, I think it is one of two or three genes together causing the disease. If you want to say what I think, you have to be explicit about this”. I, personally, do not see several genes working together as really being the right answer, but this is unimportant at the moment. The important point is that there will be new work and I would hope that everything can be resolved quickly. One battle remains for me, and this is to ensure the most suitable animals are used in the further genetic investigations. There will surely be a need to send more samples and probably conduct one or two other Holter tests on dogs of interest. I hope the Health Fund can accommodate this?
“As far as other BCM news in concerned, I have to make an apology regarding the list of deduced dogs. It is well out of date. The reason is that cursory scans of new pedigrees have not suggested anything of further concern to the breed, and then all my efforts have been directed towards finding the gene. The hope that the gene test would make the list redundant was a further factor. For the moment, however, it looks like the gene test is out of reach, so I will be trying to update the list in the run-up to Christmas. Trying to find owners who should be notified is a real problem, so if anyone thinks they might be able to help, please let me know. I have about 100 new cases to work through
“Other matters – Juvenile renal disease – Veterinarian, Marge Chandler, of Edinburgh University Veterinary School has asked me if Boxer people would like their breed to be included in an investigation of a juvenile renal disease. It is known in the US in Boxers. Suspecting that this initially would involve only a screen for cases and blood sample collections, I gave a provisional yes, but requested more information on what would be wanted. I am sure that nobody wants to start another genetic health furore but if it is to be a low key investigation, maybe it would be worthwhile. I should add that I have been involved for many years with this disease in other breeds. In two breeds a clear inheritance was indicated but in others, including Boxers, nothing I have been given has suggested any genetic element. Perhaps Breed Council would offer its views on research on this disease.
Degenerative myelopathy – This PA-like disease of older dogs is prevalent in American Boxers. A gene test is available (www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/DM/ancmntDM.htm) and unfortunately it has been found that the gene is present in some of our UK dogs. The evidence on Boxers actually having the disease is limited although, curiously, the disease is well recognised in GSDs, Corgis, Rhodesian Ridgebacks and some other breeds. The situation is therefore confusing. We probably have enough to deal with right now without taking this on, but anyone can use the gene test.
“Hypothyroidism – I feel I should signal the fact that hypothyroidism seems to be occurring quite frequently in UK Boxers now. It is a recognised problem in US Boxers. A simple blood test to identify the disease (not the gene) is available, and treatment is a first option.”
TIM HUTCHINGS, 02075 311284 or 01453-511755, winuwuk@btinternet.com