Dalmatian dilemma faces KC
03 Sep 2009 08:02
WITHIN the next few weeks the Kennel Club will have to decide whether or not to register two Dalmatians who have a Pointer in their pedigree.
The bitches – aged two and three months – are 14 generations removed from the outcross, and said to be ‘99 per cent Dalmatian’.
The outcrossing was done to create Dalmatians with low uric acid, thus ridding them of a gene which makes them prone to kidney stones, bladder stones and gout.
Julie Evans, a championship show judge in the breed, has asked the KC to register the two bitches, but told DOG WORLD that she now intends to import them whether or not her application is approved.
She believes that one in four Dalmatians are affected by high levels of uric acid which she thinks was caused when an important gene was lost while breeders created the most desirable markings.
“The only thing left of this champion Pointer in these 14th-generation dogs is the gene the Dalmatian desperately needs,” Mrs Evans said. “The only way to introduce it was to outcross.
Heartbreaking
“The plan is to register them, but I’ve decided now that I’m going to go ahead and bring them in whether or not the KC agrees to register them. I am very concerned about the health of the breed. It is heartbreaking to see these dogs suffer and the problems can lead to a very painful death.”
A KC spokesman told DW this week: “In general terms we are very much in favour of improving health, but each case is taken on its individual merits.”
In general, it seems that most Dalmatian breeders and exhibitors are not in favour of the move. They feel that more scientific evidence is needed, and that the problem, which they feel has been exaggerated, can be controlled easily by diet. The issue will be discussed by the British Dalmatian Club (BDC) in October, but it is likely that by that time the KC will have made its decision.
Pat Wilson, former chairman of the BDC, said she feared what problems would be introduced to the breed by the Pointer.
“I am speaking from my own personal viewpoint, but are we at risk of introducing hip dysplasia?” she said. “Pointers are higher-rated for that. It would also encourage more orange and lemon flecks, dish faces and high hackney action.
“I have had Dalmatians since 1972 and can honestly say none of my dogs has ever had a problem with uric acid, mainly because I have never fed a high protein diet. I feed mainly fish and rice. Dogs might potentially have problems but it can be controlled, with diet and occasionally with medication.
“I read an article in a national newspaper which said dogs die a painful, lingering death but if you ring round, people say that’s not true. I think it’s all a storm in a teacup and that it would be a backward step to introduce these Dalmatians. I would be very reluctant to do so.”
BDC secretary Shelagh Stevenson said: “Dalmatians have the problem but not all present with it. Anything that could be done would be good, but I believe the whole matter needs more consideration and scientific evidence. However, we are not turning away from it. The breed clubs must discuss it properly and any progress would be good. But it needs to be done properly and scientifically proved.”
DW breed note writer Lynda Lewis, a member of both English Dalmatian clubs, said she also felt there was not enough scientific evidence.
“There are so many problems in the Pointer breed that I wonder if you get rid of one thing you might get something else,” she said. “I have never had this problem in my Dalmatians, and I have had them since the ‘70s.”
Many breeders are being influenced by the fact that the American Kennel Club (AKC) is refusing to register such Dalmatians, although some allege that there is a ‘political’ reason behind it.
Fourth generation
“The Board approved the registration two 31/32 Dalmatians – who had a Pointer in the fourth generation – in February 1981 at the request of the Dalmatian Club of America,” said an AKC spokesman. “It was done to address a uric acid problem in the breed which affected five per cent of dogs and one per cent of bitches.
“The DCA membership was not in agreement with the decision of its board and the DCA board subsequently requested that the AKC reverse its previous action. This was done in August 1981 and no progeny out of the dogs registered in 1981 were ever registered.”
The strength of feeling in the US led to the formation of an opposition pressure group, Genuine Dalmatians
“The whole matter is very political in the US,” Mrs Evans (Tyrodal) said. “But these Dalmatians are accepted in France. I can’t see the KC refusing to register them now.
“I’ve been liaising with Jeff Sampson and Diana Brooks-Ward at the KC, and the dogs will travel in January. Everything has been done – all the paperwork, all the way back to the Pointer. And their complete health records. The two bitches are waiting to be hip scored.
“The KC’s so-called closed register has only been in effect since the ‘30s – before then dogs were accepted with unknown parentage. Pointers have always been a part of the Dalmatian. It’s always been accepted that they are a strong part of the breed. The only issue is that Dalmatians are smaller in the US; if they’re over 24ins they are disqualified. Here we see 26ins every day of the week. But size-wise that would be sorted out in the first generation. The spots and markings on the dogs I want to bring in are as good as our Dalmatians here. That’s an old argument that doesn’t stand up any more.
“This would be the answer to a major health problem. Quite a few breeders will say they have never had the problem in their line, but what about pet people? If their dogs suffer from stones and it causes a blockage it can be extremely painful, and if it went unchecked it could cause a bladder to burst. Pet people are probably unaware that there is such a problem and wouldn’t know what was happening.
“You can’t really control it with diet. If a dog is predisposed to the problem, no diet on earth will help it. Anyway, why do restrictions have to be put on diet – feeding dogs low protein and putting them on medication isn’t normal.
Unpopular
“If I can do something about it I will, and I don’t care how unpopular it makes me. The matter is going to be discussed by the KC’s General Committee – but it’s only gone this far because they haven’t been able to brush me aside. I put forward the whole proposal and I want everything above board.”