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COVID-19 - a novel experience for dogs and people

Sources of accurate and relevant COVID-19 information for your dog, your puppies and you. In the face of the great uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and its impact on pets and pet owners, many veterinary and regulatory organizations have been providing excellent information and advice, as have kennel and breed organizations.  It is important to remember that recommendations and restrictions vary depending on location and owners need to access and follow local recommendations, especially as t
Brenda Bonnett

Concern about genetic testing Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) in French Bulldogs

IPFD friend and collaborator Dr. Jerold Bell, Adjunct Professor Tufts University, and Chair of the Hereditary Disease Committee of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, has recently circulated a letter about DM testing in French Bulldogs (attached below).  According to his research and communication with international neurologists there has never been a confirmed case of DM in this breed, and yet the test is recommended in several countries.   French Bulldogs do have spinal problem
Brenda Bonnett

Brachycephalic dogs in The Netherlands

As many of you may know, there has been a lot of focus of health and welfare issues in brachycephalics and in the spring information about Pugs in the Netherlands.  The situation of government regulations on dog breeding is a complex one, and without appropriate inclusion of all relevant stakeholders, we cannot be sure that the best interests of dogs will be served.  Our partners the Dutch Kennel Club have been working intensely with various groups and have come out with their thoughtful and evi
Brenda Bonnett

AVMA talk: Genetic Testing The Big Picture

I had the honour to be invited to give a talk at the annual American Veterinary Medical Association conference in Washington, DC on 04 August 2019. I was asked to speak on the One Health aspects of genetic testing.  Many of you will have heard of One Health.  The human medical establishment started to coin this phrase in the early 2000's to indicate an approach to health that considered humans, animals an the environment.  As a veterinarian and an epidemiologist I can tell you that we had t
Brenda Bonnett

Assessment of welfare in brachycephalic dogs

Assessment of welfare and brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome signs in young, breeding age French Bulldogs and Pugs, using owner questionnaire, physical examination and walk tests Authors: Aromaa, M; Lilja-Maula, L; Rajamäki, MM Source: Animal Welfare, Volume 28, Number 3, August 2019, pp. 287-298(12) Publisher: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare DOI: https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.28.3.287 https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/ufaw/aw/2019/00000028/000000
Ann Milligan

IPFD at American Veterinary Medical Association 2019 Washington DC

Several IPFD collaborators are speaking at the AVMA conference this weekend! Thanks to IPFD collaborator, Dr. Jason Stull, there are sessions focusing on Canine Genetics in the Dr. James H. Steele One Health stream, including:  Angela Hughes DVM, PhD from Wisdom Health is presenting  Utilizing Genetic Panel Testing in Dogs for Breed and Disease  and  IPFD CEO Brenda Bonnett, DVM, PhD who is talking about Genetic Testing to Improve Canine Health: The Big Picture and why t
Brenda Bonnett

From Information and Collaboration to Action: 4th IDHW

Thanks to our co-hosts, The Kennel Club, the 4th International Dog Health Workshop was a great success.  The consensus seems to be that the IDHWs just keep getting better and better.  This is due in great part to the efforts of the attendees - decision leaders from 18 countries, representing all stakeholders in dog health and welfare - including representatives from research,  the veterinary world, welfare organizations, kennel and breed organizations, and more.  Stellar plenary speakers set the
Brenda Bonnett

What we can learn from each other: Show Greyhounds

Many of our colleagues, collaborators, members and readers have a special interest in their own breed(s) and on DogWellNet.com we try to provide extensive breed-specific content.  However, a key underlying tenet of IPFD and our platforms is that there is great deal of information and experience that is relevant across breeds, across activities and across regions.  Therefore our emphasis on sharing. Thanks to Barbara Thiel who recently shared a presentation on Actual challenges in breeding s
Brenda Bonnett

New Pug Fitness Test - Germany

Thanks to VDH (the German Kennel Club) and our friend and collaborator, veterinarian Barbara Thiel, please see attached press release about their latest efforts to support brachycephalic health and welfare. They state that their goal is to identify "the most resilient dogs among the pug population in order to establish the healthiest possible pool of dogs for breeding". Pug fitness test Germany 2019.pdf The new effort in German exemplifies several important approaches: It has b
Brenda Bonnett

Are DNA tests reliable - news item

Thanks to our friend and collaborator Dr. Jerold Bell, veterinary practitioner, Adjunct Professor of Clinical Genetics at Tufts University, and Chair of the World Small Animal Veterinary Medical Association Hereditary Disease Committee, for sharing this link and video:  I-Team: Are doggy DNA tests reliable, worth your money? Several journalists are taking this approach of testing one or a few dogs by sending material to several companies and on the basis of that determining relative q
Brenda Bonnett

Rhinos in Vietnam: Messaging that doesn't impact the target audience

Our colleagues at Human Behaviour Change for Animals posted this on their Facebook page: "Fantastic work exploring the demand for rhino horn with the aim of creating campaigns with messaging that is more likely to work than current messaging.  At HBCA we believe that it is vital that we don't make assumptions about why people do or don't do things and  that we find out for ourselves so we enjoyed reading this article and the papers it links to." And directed us to: We asked people in V
Brenda Bonnett

Brachycephalics in Australia: Attitudes, issues and communication

Love is Blind is a joint initiative of the Australian Veterinary Association and the RSPCA: "We’re raising public awareness about the animal welfare problems caused by exaggerated physical features such as brachycephaly, short limbs and excessive skin wrinkling, and how these problems can be prevented." This campaign stresses many of the issues in international work being presented on DogWellNet.com and the work - building on previous Workshops - that will happen at the imminent 4th In
Brenda Bonnett

Breeding: A Moral Choice?

Thanks to Kevin Colwill for his thoughtful piece entitled "Breeding: Is it a moral choice" in the Our Dogs Newspaper and thanks to both for permission to reproduce here. In this concise yet thought-provoking article Kevin discusses his thoughts on the question:   When it comes to breeding pedigree dogs, how much is too much and how far is going too far? Some points worth considering: Issues in extreme breeds reflect on all breeders.  Certainly, negative attention in the me
Brenda Bonnett

Why do people choose the dogs they do - and what is the impact on dog health and welfare?

Why do people choose the dogs they do and how does that influence the health and welfare of dogs? What do we know – and don’t know – about these complexities inform our efforts to educate people and safeguard the well-being of our canine companions? A new open access article is an excellent, comprehensive review of published evidence about factors influence dog acquisition: Acquiring a Pet Dog: A Review of Factors Affecting the Decision-Making of Prospective Dog Owners By Kat
Brenda Bonnett

More on French Bulldogs: UK Breed Health and Conservation Plan

Following on from my blog on the Seminar for the FBDCA we are thrilled to find that the French Bulldog Club of England has shared their Breed Health and Conservation Plan (BHCP).  Link here;  PDF attached, below. These plans are being assembled by the health team at The Kennel Club, until recently spearheaded by Katy Evans (now the Jane H. Booker Chair in Canine Genetics at The Seeing Eye in the USA).  Similar to coverage in my talk (video link here), the focus is very broad in the BHCP and
Brenda Bonnett

Research - Long-term impact of DNA tests on dog diseases

2019 Lewis TW, Mellersh CS. Changes in mutation frequency of eight Mendelian inherited disorders in eight pedigree dog populations following introduction of a commercial DNA test. Plos One, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209864 DNA Testing - General Subject: DNA Testing Type: Research Journal/Source: peer-reviewed research publication Authors/Researchers: University, Kennel Club (IPFD Partners); HGTD Participants Recommended For: Veterinarians, Owners/Breeder
Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi

Nearly 20 Years of DNA Testing – What Can We Learn?

Ian Seath, a great friend and collaborator of IPFD has provided a clearly and thoughtfully profiled an article from our Partners at The Kennel Club in the UK in his post: NEARLY 20 YEARS OF DNA TESTING – WHAT CAN WE LEARN? Ian does a great job of summarizing and highlighting the material in this important paper and I will let you read his coverage, and, as he suggests, the original paper: "I don’t want to dwell on the detail of the research; you can read that for yourself, here
Brenda Bonnett

Consequences and Management of Canine Brachycephaly in Veterinary Practice: Perspectives from Australian Veterinarians and Veterinary Specialists

Consequences and Management of Canine Brachycephaly in Veterinary Practice: Perspectives from Australian Veterinarians and Veterinary Specialists Fawcett, et al., including Paul McGreevy, University of Sydney, Australia Animals 2019, 9, 3; doi:10.3390/ani9010003 https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/1/3   For: Veterinarians, health care professionals, all stakeholders       Review: Brenda Bonnett, DVM, PhD This comprehensive review covers the heal
Ann Milligan
Brenda's blog

Latest on brachycephalics from Sweden

IPFD has an ongoing role to report on international activities for health and welfare for dogs and to serve as an information hub. Issues with brachycephalic dogs continue to be at the forefront of health efforts by many stakeholders.  Our partners at the Swedish Kennel Club have recently posted information on two initiatives involving 'Trubbnosar' (short nosed) breeds. 1. We previously posted information on the activities of the SKK in brachycephalic health , as well as, a new, c
Brenda Bonnett

French Bulldog Health Seminar October 2018

I was honored to address the French Bulldog Club of America at their National Specialty in Louisville, KY on October 31st, 2018. The invitation came from the Health & Genetics Committee of the French Bull Dog Club of America (FBDCA).  This invitation was prompted by my presentation on the IPFD Harmonization of Genetic Testing initiative at the AKC-CHF Health Conference in St. Louis in August 2017.  Jan Grebe, Calvin Dykes and the others on the Committee stressed that  the "club is dedic
Brenda Bonnett

Pilot study of head conformation changes over time in the Cavalier King Charles spaniel breed

Pilot study of head conformation changes over time in the Cavalier King Charles spaniel breed https://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/184/4/122.full Breed Specific: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: Conformation Traits/SM|CM Knowler, SP., Gillstedt, L., Mitchell, TJ., Jovanovik, J., Volk, HA., Rusbridge, C.   (2019) Pilot study of head conformation changes over time in the Cavalier King Charles spaniel breed    Veterinary Record 184, 122.   Abstract Modern interp
Ann Milligan

"We do this for the dogs' sake"

I have frequently heard people say that what they are doing is 'for the dogs''  when it might seem it is mainly for their own goals.- but the Swedish Kennel Club has posted an informative video about the Breed Specific Instructions that makes it clear that the only goal with this program is to promote the health and welfare of dogs.   Renowned judges explain why they think their role in promoting health and welfare is so important.  We have lots of information on the BSI and the Swedish Breed-Sp
Brenda Bonnett

European Parliament event: Health Before Looks

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 
Brenda Bonnett

Breeding policies and management of pedigree dogs in 15 national kennel clubs

National Kennel Clubs are major stakeholders in the governance and regulation of dog breeding. As such, they have been the targets of major criticism related to dog health issues. It is therefore interesting to investigate to what extent health and welfare is a priority for kennel clubs (KCs), and what are the capacities and actions implemented to deal with those issues.   A survey was sent in 2017 to 40 KCs with 15 answers received from 11 European (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Gleroy

Blogs Disclaimer
The contents of these blogs are for informational purposes only and represent the opinion of the author(s), and not that of the International Partnership for Dogs (IPFD). This is not intended to be a substitute for professional, expert or veterinarian advice, diagnosis, or treatment. We do not recommend or endorse any specific tests, providers, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on, or linked to from these blogs.

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