DogWellNet Digest: Issue #41 - 26 August 2021

News & Highlights

Blogs

• In her latest entry, The Relatedness of Breeds - A fun, interactive resource with some cautions, IPFD CEO Dr. Brenda Bonnett shares her thoughts on an interactive tool from The Guardian for looking at the relatedness between breeds. 
   

• In cased you missed it: Brenda recently introduced us to the new textbook: Health and Welfare of Brachycephalic (Flat-faced) Companion Animals - A Complete Guide for Veterinary and Animal Professionals, Edited By Rowena Packer, Dan O'Neill; Copyright Year 2021, with a focus on chapter on ethics. This thought- and hopefully discussion-provoking blog is entitled, Veterinarians and Brachycephalic Dogs - Ethics and Reality. The blog and the Part One of the textbook are important reading for anyone with a concern about dogs, dog health, and welfare.

Breeds Resources

Breed of the Month

★ This Month We Feature the Finnish Spitz ★

Brief Description: 

The national dog of Finland, the Finnish Spitz, is by far the oldest of all the Finnish breeds. It was bred directly from the native landrace dog population without crossbreeding, and it has followed the Finnish people since ancient times. A dog similar to the Finnish Spitz has been found in prehistoric cave paintings. The Finnish people lived in isolated residential areas in the wilderness in the Northern part of Finland, from Kainuu all the way to Murmansk, and their dogs remained purer in comparison with dogs living more south where they easily got mixed with other dogs.

See More: From the Finnish Dog Museum (Online)

Get a GRIHP! on Finnish Spitz: This article is part of a series to highlight the Big Picture of health, welfare, and breeding and to help develop Globally Relevant Integrated Health Profiles (GRIHPs) for many breeds.

Learn more about the Finnish Spitz in our Pedigree Breeds database.

Pedigree Breeds Database Updates

We routinely update breed pages in our Pedigree Breeds Database. There is always something new happening in dogs! It's wonderful that breed enthusiasts throughout the world are constantly working to improve the lives of dogs through development of breed educational materials and tools to enhance health and welfare. 

Some breeds are quite popular worldwide, while others have smaller populations like the Danish-Swedish Farmdog.

Recognized in Denmark and Sweden in 1987 under the breed name Danish-Swedish Farmdog. The breed has been known for a long time on farms in Denmark and Sweden. The Farmdog is used as a watchdog, ratter, and companion.

These are dogs with big personalities, fun, playful and built for dog sports like agility and flyball. Lively, friendly, and a relatively healthy breed, international collaboration to benefit understanding of this breed of dog has moved rewarding dog-human relationships with these dogs forward.

Check out the Danish-Swedish Farmdog in our Pedigree Breeds Database

IPFD Partners in Action

• IPFD Collaborating Partner, The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), has recently published the latest edition of Dog Breeds: What You Need to Know, a regular feature in their online news section (and in the WSAVA Bulletin) that highlights IPFD resources on a particular breed with a focus on breed-specific diseases.
   

In the latest edition:
Meet the Finnish Spitz – Update your knowledge!

You can also view previous editions of Dog Breeds: What You Need to Know in
our archive article here on DogWellNet.com.

• IPFD Contributing Partner, the Finnish Kennel Club, has added shoulder osteochondrosis (OC) and elbow incongruity (INC, chondrodystrophic breeds) in their health tests.
  
  Screening guidelines for OC
  
  INC instructions for screening of Elbow Dysplasia, list of breeds

          Screening guidelines for INC:  English version

Harmonization of Genetic Testing for Dogs (HGTD)

What's New in HGTD?

• The HGTD & Genetic Testing blog provides regular updates on our rapidly expanding genetic testing resources.
  
  In the latest instalment, HGTD This week: Guess my dog! Are breed/type genetic tests right for you?, HGTD Project Manager Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi explores some of the reasons for variation in results, as well as any benefits and risks to using these tests. 

Ask Aimee

Our HGTD Project Manager, Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi, provides answers to your questions on canine genetic testing in Ask Aimee.

If you’d like to submit a question to Aimee, please email her at aimee.llewellyn-zaidi@ipfdogs.com.

Get Involved in HGTD!
We welcome additional participant GTPs, more collaborators from any stakeholders concerned with dog health and welfare, the advice of experts, the participation of breed clubs and other consumer groups. We stand ready to provide more information to ongoing discussions.

Please feel free to contact us as we work together for healthy dogs and to support those who breed and own them: IPFD CEO, Dr. Brenda Bonnett and/or HGTD Project Manager, Aimee Llewellyn-Zaidi.