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I was thrilled to receive an invitation last fall to deliver two workshop talks at the 2025 AKC Canine Health Foundation National Parent Club Canine Health Conference. This was the 30th year celebration for CHF, and the event did not disappoint. Dozens of keynote and workshop talks were provided to the more than 200 attendees from across the veterinary, research, and breed club spectrum. As a first-time attendee, I felt privileged to contribute to the event and introduce the International Partnership for Dogs and our resources on DogWellNet.com to this important North American audience. There were many friendly faces present, including several of our previous International Dog Health Workshop speakers, our friends at the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, and new friends at the AKC Canine Health Foundation. While the official theme may have been “Science for Health, Vibrant Dogs”, it felt like the unofficial theme was “Making Connections with Dedicated and Motivated Dog People”, who truly care about supporting science and research that is impactful and meaningful to dogs. The display table kindly furnished by CHF was extremely helpful in highlighting IPFD’s presence at the conference and served as a ‘home base’ for networking between the sessions. And congratulations to the winners of our draw for two bags of Silver Falls gourmet coffee, made in my home state of Oregon! All of the featured talks were provided by researchers that had received grant support from CHF and ran the spectrum of interests, including investigating specific diseases, veterinary care and techniques, parasites and non-inherited disease, and behavioral training. The breakout sessions focused on audience-specific learning, and my presentations to both the veterinary and breeder streams had two goals: 1) To demonstrate the value of IPFD’s tools, resources, and broad international community 2) To highlight IPFD’s role as a leader in collaborative efforts to enhance dog health and well-being on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world. I cannot thank the entire CHF team enough for their generosity and support in welcoming me and IPFD to the conference. I look forward to the next steps in strengthening our relationships with CHF and the North American dog community!

The prevelance of NCL8 mutations in English Setter populations globally, is unknown. In part, this is due to there not being a centralised database collecting this information, or depending on the country, any collation of genetic or health test results. With panel testing being a common form of genetic testing, having all the possible (e.g. rare) variants included mean we might in future have a bit more information on the frequency of mutation and any impacts breeding strategies may have. As for why some countries include this test, it is typically down to input from the national breed clubs, researchers/veterinary advisors, test availability, and disease risk/severity. The breed relevance ratings IPFD uses is based on the availability of breed-specific research that indicates the variant being tested for is causal for the disease, not on it being "recommended" as that can vary depending on a number of population-specific factors.

Has Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis been detected in the English Setter population outside of a laboratory colony since the test for NCL8 was developed in 2014? I'm well aware of the history of the disease which was first discovered in Norway in the 1950's, but after more than 40 years of having English Setters in the USA, I've never heard of a case in my breed here. The test for NCL8 is available from a few American labs, but I think I'm one of the few who has used it (with Normal results from a dog with an imported sire having several Norwegian ancestors). In contrast, a number of European clubs either require or recommend the NCL8 test. What is the current status of this disease? Jane Burrows