Reducing epilepsy in the Finnish Spitz

(Above photo by Kaisa Huttunen)

We published a Get a GRIHP! article on the Finnish Spitz in August 2020. While gathering information for the article, we got to know the work being done in the Finnish breed association Suomen Pystykorvajärjestö - Finska Spetsklubben ry (SPJ). SPJ, together with the other Nordic breed clubs of the breed, has worked very hard to maintain and improve health and genetic diversity in the breed. A very good example of this is the successful work in reducing the frequency of epilepsy - a polygenic disease not easy to breed against.

The work done in the Finnish Spitz is well worth checking out. We wrote about it - it became a series of articles which offer in-depth information on development and implementation of the Finnish Spitz Breeding Strategy. Here you are - I hope you like it!

Breed-specific breeding strategies to achieve positive outcomes - the Finnish Spitz as an example.

Part I. Tackling the main health conditions

Part II. Success story regarding epilepsy

Part III. Increasing and maintaining genetic diversity